Essai impromptu #1

All that was given to me was one picture. It was a living room, with a huge cabinet, some books, a television screen, an exercise bike, a tidy desk, a chair... and it was warmly lit. There was a boy in grey pants and a yellow shirt, lying on the carpet in the centre, with a headset next to him. He was lying down on one arm.

Now, try to visualise this... for based on this picture, I had to come up with a very short story of what was going on, and why it happened. There was an extra question : "if you had one hour, and you were staring at the same scene in the same room, what would you do and why ?" I was required to be as creative as possible. This was for a survey by YouthSays.com.

And this is what I wrote :

The boy is lying down in the centre of the room, plagued with fatigue from his routines. Several weeks of hell in his workplace have given him nothing but burdens, burdens and more burdens. Sleep has eluded him.

Nothing else matters to him - only rest. Rest. Nothing else. He was once told how the best gift one can get as an adult is sleep - he is now counting on those words.

As he watches his favourite anime show on TV, he looks at how the episodes have painted a blissful picture of life. He watches, even if it is a direct contrast to the reality of life. And so he stares fixedly at the TV screen. Just like us, he idealises things. He wishes life can be as brilliant as the events in his favourite show. He, like many of us, looks forward to something beautiful in life.

Had I one hour with him, in that same room, in that same scene, I'd sit by him and keep watch over him, and if he isn't too fatigued to talk to anyone, I will talk to him. After all... we go through the same suffering.