As Seen on Your TV

(Signs of the Times is a work of fiction based on true events. Views expressed are the characters’ own. Viewer discretion is advised.)

TV on. Channel change. Blue light glow cast across the borders of your living room. It’s so late it’s early and you can’t sleep.

The pills you take don’t work. The vodka in the cabinet makes you anxious. It doesn’t matter whether you drink it or not. You’re just anxious.

The face on the TV tells you things. Your mind softens. Your eyes adjust to the light. Starched suit with a lavender tie. Cheeks angular. Skin porcelain. Hair coiffed into the shape of a candle flame.

He tells you things about the war. His mouth barely moves. Efficient and economic rhetoric.

“Let’s begin with the emergency in…” he says. It’s frank. It’s no-nonsense. It’s the state TV. You watch it for free.

Your nights are less lonely with the man on the TV. He tells you deadpan about the emergency. The mission. The operation. He talks matter-of-factly. He talks on fears that you weren’t even aware of. Issues you didn’t think existed.

“Let’s move onto the crisis in…” he says. A crisis? For who? You thought it was an emergency. Is there a difference?

The dawn is selecting targets for the light to attack. Another sleepless night passes. The man on the TV keeps you company every night. He tells you as it is, as it was, as it should be. You begin to believe.

You shower. Brew coffee. Take a sip. Fatigue creeps across your eyes. The day begins.