Random
Source Code
Random
The act of two people uttering the identical word or phrase, in the exact tone and cadence, to convey the same thought, at precisely the same moment.
They were so close, their perceptions and observations were linked in such harmonious synchronicity, that many times a day they spoke in perfect unison, often to the amused astonishment of those listening. "We need a word for it" she suggested. And an instant later, they both said "simulalia".
O. Z. stands for being overzealous, a brain disorder. Those afflicted do not know when to stop - planning a party down to the most minute detail, decorating a room or giving an endless stream of gifts on Christmas when a few would more than suffice. Frequently mis-diagnosed in children as industriousness or generosity, by adulthood it's incurable.
"I'll just tidy up", she said, heading for the kitchen, "a few minutes." Hours later she emerged, having rewashed the clean dishes, glasses and cutlery, scrubbed the floor, wiped, re-wiped and sterilized the counters, thrown out loads of perfectly good food to neaten the fridge and arranged their Urban Dictionary mugs in alphabetical order, her O. Z. out of control.
A talent or propensity to be ungrateful.
She had finally had enough of his ingraptitude, deciding that the next time he woke her at 2:30, from a sound sleep, he would be set free to find out just how many women wanted to 'take care of' him at that hour.
Events or moments from a seemingly-remote past, almost beyond the reach of memory.
He tried to explain to his four-year-old, but the images felt retroscopic - the world healthy and sane, no one afraid to leave their homes, Obama in the White House.
A tip so small it is in fact something to sneeze at.
He figured their server - "My name is Jason and I'll be taking care of you this evening" - having spilled water all over the table, and their laps, having left chunks of cork in their wine, having believed that 'medium-well' and 'medium rare' were indistinguishable and trying to persuade them of same, and having asked, "You two really a couple? ... Hot chick like this actually went out with you???" before turning to her and asking what she was doing next weekend, and lastly, sneezing on their desserts... deserved an appropriate tip, he calculated Jason's gratchooity, rounding it down to the closest dime.
The challenge, going forward, of creating drama in a world stripped of actual human interaction.
He'd need to set his story in the past. Or in the distant future. How could he tell a 2020 love story of a couple wearing masks? Home alone, staring at screens? Storytelling required contact. For the next while, this would be the writer's dilemma.