Immersive Protection

The child’s eyes were glossed over as he sat a meter away from an old television set, staring into it. The room was dark, night sky was draped outside the window and the lights were off. The only source of illumination coming from the flickering box in front of the child.

In the background voices yelled and screamed through the thin walls. One was that of a young mother, high and frantic. The other was lower, deeper, with a heavy baritone. Through the wooden filter of the walls the boy could just make out what the two adults were saying, but instead of focusing on them he decided to tune them out, his entire attention being placed upon the flickering screen.

The child made no movement when he heard the volume and clarity of the voices increase. He sat there, watching. Almost immediately he was not really sure that he was hearing the voices.

He decided that he wasn’t, and sat.

He did not even bat an eyelash when the deeper voice seemed to explode through the entire house, immediately followed by a small wail and a heavy thump in the room over top of where the single boy sat, watching television.

Images flashed by and he absorbed each one, becoming a part of them. In one moment he was on the plains of Africa in a Safari jeep following a pack of tigers. The next he was in front of a counter while a tall slim English man showed him how to use a magical blender. As each scene floated by there was no disturbance when they changed. The boy floated with them, placing himself into each commercial as they were televised.

A heavy callused hand was placed onto his shoulder and from somewhere far away the same deep voice that hadn’t been shouting moments before said, “C’mon son, we have to go.”
But the boy couldn’t go. Not yet, he had to find out how affordable a timeshare could be.
From that same distant place the woman’s voice screamed out “You son of a bitch! Take your hand off my child!” She fell into tears then and started sobbing and sniffling.

A new show was going to air in eight days about his neighbours living in the big apple. They seemed to be getting into a lot of shenanigans down there trying adjust to the fast paced environment and constant reoccurring comedic situations.

A loud crack filled the air and the heavy hand that was lying upon his shoulder fell away. A hollow thump sounded behind him. It was followed by two hesitant footsteps coming from his left, but they seemed to falter and another thump similar to the first was heard.

The child did not hear any of this however, as he was currently driving a new sports car down a winding highway somewhere along a lush green hillside in Europe