Absence

Prologue

It was all so sudden.

Or at least that's how it felt like for Maria.

Those sorts of things work that way, bending the perception of time. The whole process - from being scouted at the mall to receiving the crew at her house, and hearing the news she was in the cast for the latest Big Brother TV show - took 2 months. But it didn't feel that way.

The gears turn quickly and cold. Once they had enough material of her and her husband reacting to the news, a bunch of impersonal logistic decisions started being made, and for a while, the reality-tv-star-to-be became a lifeless puppet, only answering questions and doing as she's told. Give me your cell phone. We need your emergency contacts. Any allergies? Please sign this consent agreement. And this. And this. And this.

She wondered if all of her future cast members were all going through the same, or if all that was just for her.

She wondered who her future cast members were.

She wondered.

Such a tsunami of actions and thoughts can change a person's perception of time. It was just a few minutes ago when she was able to go to the kitchen and get a glass of water for herself, by herself. Now, she gets up from the chair, and one of the producers quickly asks "What's wrong? Do you need something?", and gives a Big Brother-branded bottle of water for her to drink, once she explains what she needs.

Maria notices her husband is not even in the room anymore. And it's time to go.

"Can I give him a kiss and say goodbye?"
"You already have."