Member-only story
A Quirky Sign of My Recovery From People Pleasing
Every interaction is a chance to assert yourself
The room is rapidly filling with water. The old man looks at me. I’m his only hope. My stomach drops as he scrambles onto a stool to buy time. His breathing is heavy as the water creeps to his midsection. Paralyzed, I can do nothing to stop it. Nor can I look away.
An animated pointer finger hovers over the shapes under the floor. Manipulating the shapes to make three-of-a-kind would destroy them, creating a cavern in which water could fall, reducing the flooding. But the impotent finger keeps trying the wrong shapes, unable to make any real progress, waiting for me to buy the game so I can give a directive.
The man, known as King Robert, tries to keep his mouth and nose above water. He’s desperate, eyes begging me for mercy. The finger continues to move lazily back and forth, at once refusing to come to his aid and demonstrating how easily I could do so.
All that’s required to save the man’s life is to buy the game so I can do what the animated finger refuses to. But I won’t do it. I watch resolutely as the King takes his final gulps of oxygen. I feel his hope give way to quiet resignation. As his face submerges, the screen fades to black.
