Forever
Audrey
by
Edward Motketsan
Will grabbed his TV dinner from the
oven and peeled back the tinfoil. Steam rose as he carried the
food with a hot-pad into the living room. He set it on the sofa
and picked up the remote control, waiting for the odd-coloured
meat to cool off. He began to flip through the channels when he
came upon an old, classic movie. Setting the remote down, he put
the dinner on his lap. Taking a small fork-full of meatloaf, or
whatever it was, he blew across it and put it into his mouth.
"One of these days I must learn to cook," he said,
before swallowing the chunk.
Will finished his dinner while he
watched Breakfast at Tiffany's, starring one of his
favourite actresses, Audrey Hepburn. He took a sip of beer from
his glass to wash down the last bite of meatloaf and polished off
the brownie. At least the dessert was good, but then it would be
difficult to screw up the brownie.
"Oh, come on!" he yelled
out at the TV, which began to flicker. "Not now. I like this
movie."
He stood up, walked up to the TV
and hit the side of the console. Still, it flickered between
channels. He placed his beer on top of the TV and adjusted the
antennas. The screen came back to its normal state.
"There we go, that's more
like-you son-of-a . . ." he said as the picture started to
scroll upwards. "What's wrong with this piece of
garbage?"
Will moved the TV out from against
the wall, careful not to spill the beer resting on top. He went to
the closet and retrieved his toolbox, carrying it over to the old,
dilapidated set. After popping it open, he used a screwdriver to
unscrew the back panel. He searched inside for the habitually
loose wires and jiggled them back and forth. "Phhhssssssss,
phhhhssssssss," the set responded.
"I hate you, you piece of
electronic junk!" yelled Will, as if he were actually
conversing with it. He was adjusting the signal potentiometer when
Audrey's voice returned. "Ah, there we go."
He stood up and went back to the
couch, not bothering to place the back cover on the TV, knowing it
would act up again. Sitting down and watching the movie, he
frowned at the picture. "I've seen this movie a thousand
times and I don't ever remember that scene."
"Well, what are you staring
at?" Audrey asked in her innocent voice.
This is a very odd scene,
thought Will. No wonder they edited it out.
"It is not very polite to not
answer a person when they ask a question,"
said Audrey.
"I wonder who she's talking
to?" he said aloud. "Why is she just staring into the
camera? Billy Wilder really was stretching the creative mindset on
this scene."
"I'm talking to you. Why do
you stare at me like that?" Audrey asked.
"Because TV is crap today and
the only movies worth watching are the classics," Will
replied with a smile. "And besides, you're the best actress I
have ever seen." I'm losing it. Now, I'm talking to my
television, he thought to himself. I need to get out more.
"Thank you," Audrey
replied.
Will lowered his eyebrows and got
up to get another beer from the kitchen.
"Where are you going?"
"I was just getting another
beer," he laughed.
"I could use a drink myself.
And a cigarette-it's been a long time since I had a cigarette. Do
you smoke?"
He closed the refrigerator door
slowly and turned around. A look of puzzlement crossed his face as
he was gripped by alarm. He moved slowly toward the living room
and peeked around the corner, stared at the TV. Audrey stared back
at him.
"Well, what's wrong, darling?"
He swallowed the lump in his throat
and managed to ask, "Are you talking to me?"
"Well of course, darling! Do
you see anyone else here?"
Will stumbled back into the kitchen
and ran the cold tap in the kitchen sink. He pushed his head into
the cold, running water and splashed it on his face. "This
cannot be happening to me. I'm too young to be going crazy. It
must have been that damn dinner-the meatloaf looked odd. I knew I
shouldn't have eaten it." He grabbed the dishtowel and dried
his face and hair. There we go. I feel okay now.
He went back into the living room
and sat down on the sofa.
"I thought you were getting a
drink?"
"This is impossible! You are
not talking to me!" Will said as he jumped from the sofa.
"But of course I am, darling.
I am talking to you, and you are talking with me." Audrey
smiled the innocent smile that only she was capable of.
"But how?" Will moved
closer to the TV and sat on the floor in front of it. "How is
that possible?"
"Energy is a funny thing, not
even Einstein had it right, although he was closer than most. We
are made up of energy and it lives on forever in the universe.
There are certain moments when energy occupies time and space.
Sometimes, that energy can pair up with other energy-like yours.
What is your name, darling?"
"My name?"
"Yes, or do you prefer
darling?" Audrey said with a devious smile.
"My name is Will.
"Well hello, Will. I'm Audrey.
It is so nice to meet you."
"This is unbelievable. I'm
talking to Audrey Hepburn! Or is this some marketing ploy to get
people to watch more TV? Tell me something about yourself that
nobody would know."
"If I do that, would you know
I was telling you the truth?" Audrey said with a smile.
"Okay, you have me there. But
I just . . ."
"Why don't you ask me the more
important questions? After all, Will, I cannot stay very
long."
"Why not? How long can you
stay?"
"I'm not sure exactly, but
remember how I was telling you about time and space and
energy?"
"Yes?"
"They are small bits of energy
and they don't occupy it sequentially. It's such a dynamic
universe we live in."
"What did you mean the
important questions?"
"Is there life after death, is
there a God, or what is the most important thing to do while we
are living?" Audrey's innocent smile and dark eyes were even
more engulfing than Will had ever seen in any movie.
"Is there life after
death?" he asked.
"But of course, darling.
Aren't I proof of that?"
"I guess so. What is God
like?"
"God is the fabric that holds
all the energy together. It's not only the space but also the time
in which all energy can call its home. Whoever said that God was
everywhere was quite right. He is everywhere and every time."
"What is the most important
thing for me to do while I'm living?" he asked.
"Nobody can tell you that,
Will. I will tell you, however, that doing things for yourself is
energy wasted. The more you do for others and the more your energy
becomes intertwined with theirs will make for a much happier time
later on. That is the best part of our world-the relationships
that we start, tend to, and nurture our whole lives. And even
after our lives, we still build new relationships."
"Is that what you are doing
now, building new relationships?"
"But of course, darling,"
Audrey said with a huge grin. "Well, I think my time is just
about up."
"No wait! Not yet. Will I see
you again?" he asked, kneeling in front of his TV.
"You never know when or where
two energies are going to meet up. But the probability that we
will meet again in your lifetime is pretty slim. But, in your
afterlife, I can guarantee that we will meet again and again,
somewhere, sometime."
"I would like that," he
smiled. "You have always been my favourite."
The picture began to get fuzzy. He
jumped up and hit the sides of the set.
"It's time for me to go. We
shall meet again, darling. Oh, and Will-"
"Yes?"
"I'm not sad any more. I'm
very happy. Bye."
"No wait!"
But the picture had turned all to
snow. Will slammed his hands against the sides of the set . . .
but nothing. She was gone. Audrey was gone.
Will opened his eyes and looked
around. He saw the inside of the back of the TV set. He was lying
on the floor behind it with the screwdriver in his hand. Something
dripped off the back and hit the carpet. He looked at the top and
saw that his beer had spilled over and run into the box. The
inside was smouldering and appeared to have shorted out.
I must have gotten a shock.
He stood up slowly and felt
somewhat unstable. Walking down the hallway and into the bathroom,
he splashed cold water on his face again and then dried it with
the hand towel. Did it really happen? Or was he just knocked
unconscious when the beer spilled into the TV and he was
electrocuted? It was a pretty bizarre dream, one that he would
never forget.
A few months later, Will was
walking through a bookstore and noticed Audrey Hepburn's
photograph on a book cover. It was a new release, penned by her
son. Will picked it up and smiled. He purchased the book and
brought it home. Sitting in the living room, he took it out. The
TV was still broken and he hadn't bothered to get it repaired. He
started to read the biography.
"My mother had a secret,"
he said. "And that secret was that she was very sad."
Will just stared at the words on
the page. Was it a coincidence? Did that night really happen? He
remembered asking Audrey to tell him something that nobody would
know. Well, no one except maybe her son. He recalled how their
conversation ended when Audrey told him that she wasn't sad any
more, that she was very happy now.
Will grinned and looked up at the
TV. "I'm happy for you, Audrey. You so deserve to be
happy."
He immersed himself in the book.
