Well, I tried quickly looking back on today’s events: my current predicament hasn’t changed one bit, of course. I’m still stuck, and surrounded by TVs. There’s been no solution or progress.
This is bad...because I’ve been tending the store since I was little, I’d gotten used to boredom. It’s like nothing happening isn’t a pain anymore, or like I’m more readily accepting of it.
Let’s reflect. It seems like I really can’t move a finger, and accepting this situation will only lead to my going senile. No, wait, or would I starve to death first? I should be putting effort into being able to move again, and then raising my voice to call for help. Yes, let’s go, my instincts for self-preservation!
“SOMEONGFHFHF?!” The moment I raised my voice, although that probably wasn’t the cause of it, my entire body was rocked by a violent impact. That was dangerous; I almost bit my tongue.
What was that? I wondered. My surroundings were, as always, basically black, so I couldn’t see very well. I can’t really tell what’s what, but it looks like not just me, but my entire immediate area is shaking, like an earthquake. My posture shifted weirdly, and I was shoved into even closer contact with the TV screen.
Something’s been flipped upside down, somehow. It’s a weird feeling. Apparently my face is pointing downwards, or at least that’s the way gravity is going. I’m under a lot of pressure, and if I’m not careful, it feels like my neck will break.
“Hiii...!?” Obviously this was very painful, and I struggled to change my situation while letting out a weird voice. Having my neck broken under my own weight would be way too uncool of a death for me! And also, I’d rather not die.
This unnatural condition didn’t continue for long, though, as I suddenly felt weightless: I was thrown into space. Being freed from gravity, my arms and legs were similarly freed, and my vision was wrapped in light.
It was a sudden change from before, when I could only see static, and my world was smeared in color. My eyes couldn’t get used to the light, so I couldn’t stop blinking, either.
The static filled TV screen that I was smushed against just before looked sort of like the side profile of a lonesome person, for a moment. It was probably just an illusion, including the minor feeling of regret that I felt at having parted with the TV screen’s slight warmth.
✦ ✦ ✦
It’s not like I’m an idiot or anything, so even I have come up with a few theories about this strange situation I’ve been suddenly hit with. There are several possibilities:
①: It’s all a dream. This is the best, most proper explanation. Unable to withstand the boredom of tending the store, I was hounded by drowsiness and dozed off. And therefore, I am experiencing some sort of weird dream.
②: I’ve been caught up in some incident (this is just conjecture based off of my situation). We run an electronics store, so of course we also stock old model CRT TVs. We’re a rural town, so there are old timers who wouldn’t understand anything about plasma TV’s or digital broadcasting. So, for those sorts of customers, we also stock a wide variety of previous generation electronics, too. Actually, they sell fairly well.
And so, while I was in such a store, there was a fairly strong earthquake and I was caught up in its collapse. I was, therefore, buried in the avalanche of stuff, and became unable to move while being stuck in a weird position.
This was also a very plausible theory, or so I thought. I mean, it was a fact that I couldn’t move, and that my face was pushed up against what seemed like a TV screen... If this was true, then actually, I’m lucky that I wasn’t crushed to death instantly under all the electronics and stuff.
③: I’ve been caught up in some sort of sudden disaster that I can’t even guess at. A situation like: I’ve been thrown into another dimension, or I’ve suddenly sprouted psychic powers, or other incidents that outpace the scope of human knowledge. Something like what’s in those novels I was just reading. Even if it’s not something so unrealistic, I could have been kidnapped and am currently in the back of a moving truck or something, stuffed in with the TVs.
Either way, I’m bored with nothing to do, so I tried imagining different things. Whatever is correct, I’m still not sure of, and to be honest any of them would be fine. ① would be the safest and most relieving, while ② would put me in danger but also in a spot of potential profit. If it’s ③ there would be nothing I could do about my situation so there’d be no point in worrying.
Really, there was no point in even thinking about this. Also, right now probably wasn’t the best time to do so, either.
“Ooohh!” I flew while raising an idiotic cry. I wasn’t flying like a bird or a butterfly; no, I was just thrown into the air.
Humans don’t possess the necessary equipment for flight, so all that’s left now is the falling. Caught by gravity, I fell while turned upside down.
I tried flailing about to fix this, but it didn’t work. Ok, wait, my mind isn’t catching up to this situation! I thought desperately. Time out, please! I took a deep breath. Loosening the bandana I used to tie up my hair, I slapped my cheeks and forehead. It was a rule that, while tending the store, I had to wear a bandana and apron. The hem of my apron was fluttering, and I could see the logo of our store that read: “Monochrome Electronics.”
No, wait, I realized, now’s not the time to notice that sort of thing. I earnestly took in my surroundings.
“Eh, ummm...” I’ve been speaking nothing but nonsense for a while now, but I think anyone would do the same in this situation. I am...extremely high up. I don’t know exactly how many hundreds, or even thousands, of meters above the earth’s surface I am, but if I continue like this and hit the ground, I’m dead for sure.
It’ll be death by falling. It feels like my life has constantly been in some small amount of danger for a while, now.
“An amusement park...?” I reflexively said what I saw, just like a toddler would.