Tears of the Kingdom is out! And with it, I’ve been thinking a lot about the new recall ability. I was inspired to write this short story, I hope you enjoy :)
The two hadn’t the slightest inkling they were going in opposite directions. William and Jean, both thought they were going forwards.
William was raised in the countryside. He spent every waking moment discovering what was about to happen. He still does. He can’t help but do it. He remembers lots of what he has experienced, but as time drifts further away, the memories fade.
The end of his rural life coincided with the beginning of his urban one. Every day, he would wake up, go into the city, and work until he was off at 5:00. Then he went to the library where he would see Jean manning the desk.
William didn’t yet know they would be friends, it didn’t start off that way. At first, they only ever interacted when William checked out a book or a DVD. He didn’t have good taste. But polite smiles eventually turned to friendly ones, as they began talking more.
They would discuss the books they read, the movies they watched, the people they saw, and the other strange occurrences in their lives.
When William was fired, they were sad together. When William was hired again, they celebrated together.
The years drifted, and even though some of his fondest memories faded, William died a happy man. Jean was not happy.
At the beginning of Jean’s experience in existence, life felt dry. He missed William, and he loathed that there was such a lack of people he enjoyed being with as much as him. But he knew it wasn’t long until he would see him again.
The sadness grew as that time grew nearer. But after the funeral, they were finally reconnected. The sadness quickly wore off as Jean immediately forgot any anticipation of William’s upcoming death.
Then came the best years. Jean would continue remembering the things he did, not only the things he enjoyed pre-living but the moments that kept him up at night.
His friendship with William grew more and more casual as the years went by. They had fewer things to talk about. William’s taste in books grew worse. Eventually, William came into the library where Jean worked for the last time, but by that point, their friendship meant nothing to Jean anymore.
Jean spent every moment knowing exactly what was about to happen. He couldn’t help but do so. And once he did, every trace of it was erased. The strange era of his childhood grew easier to remember, but soon enough his brain began developing.
During his last years, Jean could only live in the present. His capacity for memories grew worse. Everything became more and more confusing, until the moment when Jean didn’t understand anything anymore.
William and Jean would never be able to understand the manner in which the other existed. Their own existence felt as though it was the only conceivable thing. If they understood the truth of their nature, living in the shoes of the other would seem impossible, because every word they spoke would seem to be gibberish, and every thought process would be considered illogical, because for one of them, actions led to consequences, and for the other, consequences led to actions. But for both of them, the sun still rose and set, the other was their friend.
Oscar, I'll have to think about this for a while. - Mark