The Store
Ever have those moments where you have to stop and think back? Think back to all the points in your life and say to yourself, “Shit, I wish I could erase that. I wish I could erase it all.”
A few months back, a new store opened up. For some weird reason, the store was close to everyone. No matter where you were, all you had to do was take a short walk down the corner of your street, and the store would be right there.
The store took memories. I don’t mean metaphorically, by the way. The sole actual purpose of the store is to fish out whatever unwanted memory you have swimming inside your head. All you have to do, is walk in, give them a date and time of the event or events you want to erase, and they will take it off your head like it was never there.
Within its first month, it hit the big time. Day after day, the store is packed full of customers eager to get rid of the monsters that haunt their minds. Some even go as far as taking everything out; deliberate amnesia. Social media has been buzzing nonstop about this mysterious store. It soon earned the name “The Do-Over.”
It made people feel like they could start again like they were brand new. This ideology is where my problem begins. A friend of mine recently suggested I take a trip to the store to “settle my issues.” He said he was optimistic that what I needed was a quick clean (that’s a slang referring to when your memory gets erased) to take care of those nightmares I keep having. Do I have issues in dire need of settlement? Absolutely. Do I desperately need the dreams to wither away? With all my being. However, I do not believe my problems are going to go away simply because I can’t remember them.
Trust the media to make the store out to be some messiah that descended to wash us clean of our bad decisions and painful past. I, for one, will not drink up the Kool-Aid served in the media headed cult. It is just hard to believe that all suffering, hurt, and regret can be whisked away by the disappeared memories.
No disrespect to counter opinions, but looking at it from my logical perspective, I don’t think I can stop being damaged because I can’t remember what destroyed me in the first place. I understand what the store stands for, and how nice it is to feel like all our problems could be so easily fixed. However, just like most things in life, it is nothing but an unfair illusion that only makes a fool out of us. Like I told my friend. “The dreams, no matter how scary, remind me of how strong I have been and will continue to be. They show me how flawed my journey is, and that tells me that growth is inevitable.”
Putting aside my solid stand on the matter, I throw no judgment towards those that rush the store like a child to candy. I do this because some days, my feet develop a mind of its own, and I find myself standing right in front of said store. It takes a lot of will to restrain myself, and when I get home, the exhaustion I feel is proof that it was not an easy decision. I do this because I understand that sometimes we may need a place to store all the ugly in us, even though it doesn’t change anything.
