|
THE FALL OF WATER
Choose-Your-Own-Path Fiction-Experiment
Created 6-11-2003 by Jay Manaloto
Based on concepts by Larry & Andy Wachowski
Music lyrics by Evanescence
Overall Structure - View the overall ever-expanding and ever-changing
structure of this choose-your-own-path parallel-universe-type story.
After her night shift, Diva Domingo sat back in the old fabric seat of her gray 1990 Toyota, in the drive-thru
line of her favorite burger joint. Looking from her sideview mirror, to her rearview mirror, then back to her digital clock, she sighed,
"Damn, 10:30 p.m. already?"
In the car ahead of her, a mid-90s model, American-made, she couldn't help but gaze at the young woman's mirror-reflected eyes. 'Hmmm,
teenager... maybe early twenties...' Diva wondered. In the back seat of the mid-90s car, a little boy, 5 years old, maybe 8, bouncing
around, looked out the window this way, that way, then out the rear window at Diva. 'Is that her kid?...' she asked herself.
Then unexpectedly, Diva noticed the young woman's soft eyes... the increased blinking, the growing redness around the corners, the
beginnings of tears... it was as if she was on the verge of crying. 'Why is she crying?...' Diva continued to wonder.
'So young... is she a mother?... no boyfriend... getting dinner for herself and her son?... it's so late... is this after her shift at work?...'
Diva felt a surge of slow-motion sadness.
But just as suddenly, the young woman fought back her tears, and picked up her order from the drive-thru window.
Minutes later, Diva picked up her own order: A burger with everything, and fries.
With the old Sony stereo playing the pounding yet haunting Evanescence CD "Fallen" on
low-volume shuffle, and the just-as-old 13-inch Sony TV playing muted exercise info-mercials in the other side of her small but adequate
apartment, Diva sat at her computer, stuffing ketchup-soaked fries into her munching mouth.
"...Blurring and stirring the truth and the lies..." the shuffled track continued in the background.
Diva took a sip of Diet Pepsi, then typed, 'Is this it? This is how the rest of my lief' -- she backspaced and corrected -- 'life is gonna end up?'
She clicked "Post Message" to add her question to the "Downtrodden yet Defiant" message board. And Diva clicked her other window to
continue her web search for -- why did she think of these? -- for 'what is the matrix' and 'sky is falling'...
"...I'm going under... Drowning in you... I'm falling forever..." the track continued.
Minutes later, someone named 'Ash2Ash' replied to her post, 'What do you mean?'
Diva typed, 'I mean I was just at the burger drive-thru, and I saw a girl not much older than me, with her son, and I saw her cry for no
reason. In a few years, I can see myself in HER life.' She posted her message and returned to her search. She tried a few links, but
ended up with fireworks displays of -- 'Welcome, Waterfall!' 'Sign up for this, Waterfall!' or 'Buy that, Waterfall!' -- stupid popup windows
and phony message boxes... So far, it was just a bunch of pornographic, literary, or other unrelated links... nothing she was really looking for...
"...Save me from the nothing I've become... Bring me to life..." the next shuffled track continued.
'What's wrong with crying?' Ash2Ash replied.
'There's nothing wrong with crying, but' -- Diva paused to think, then continued -- 'but to cry for no reason, that makes me so sad.' She
closed another crop of popups and boxes, but...
'Why?'
But Diva couldn't close one strange little black box in the lower-right corner of her screen. It had no picture, no text, not even a "Close"
button... just a black background. With an irritated shrug, she returned to the message board...
'Why? I don't know' -- Diva again stopped to think about this -- 'I guess if you can cry for no reason, you can also LIVE for no reason.
Maybe that's what makes me so sad.'
Suddenly, the last of the shuffled tracks ceased, and the uncloseable black box began to display bright-green letters one by one.
'T-h-e s-k-y i-s f-a-l-l-i-n-g ...'
"What the--" Diva gasped.
Just as suddenly, the message board window flashed white, and was replaced with another uncloseable but larger black box.
Diva could only stare as, this time, the larger black box began to display bright-green words one by one.
'Someone once said that your eyes were the windows to your soul. Then perhaps your tears are pieces of your soul that have broken
and fallen away. Or perhaps your tears are illusions, as are your eyes, your drops of blood, and every part of your physical body.
Only your soul would remain true.'
"What the f*ck is this?" she whispered loudly.
As if in response, the words disappeared to black and another message began.
'Remember, the sky is falling...'
And the entire screen flashed white then faded back to her regular desktop... the "Downtrodden yet Defiant" message board window,
the "sky is falling" web search window, and behind them, the crystal-clear wallpaper of Niagara Falls.
Moments later, Diva's land-line phone -- Brr-Ring! -- shattered the blanketing silence.
Choose Fall A to pick up the phone.
Choose Fall B to let the answering machine take the message.
|
|