In the TV Light
The day had been long. Grace entered the dark kitchen looking for food. She found a box of cereal and poured some into a bowl. She carried the bowl, some milk, and a spoon with her to the couch where she settled in amongst the pillows. She aimed the remote at the TV, turned it on, then poured some milk into her bowl, watching the cereal change as she did. The TV lit the dark room, and Grace looked up to see a teenage girl lying in a hospital bed—her face wounded and distorted. An interviewer stood over her. Apparently they were in Afghanistan. The interviewer said, “Why do you think the men poured on acid on you?” The teenage girl with the damaged face said simply, “They do not want girls to go to school.” Grace put her cereal bowl down on the coffee table. She leaned into the TV light. The girl with the damaged face looked right at Grace. It seemed that way. It really did. And then the light changed. The image switched to a commercial about some man throwing a crystal ball at a vending machine. When the vending machine broke open, the man laughed and laughed and laughed. He laughed so loud that Grace had to turn down the volume. The man who threw the crystal ball laughed right at Grace. It seemed that way. Grace switched channels hoping to find the teenage girl who just wanted an education. But Grace could not find her anywhere.
Comments
When I saw that commercial on TV, I had such a negative response to it. Then I found out it won some contest as the most popular Super Bowl commercial this year. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, and I like that you call it a micro-story.
Jan 8 February 09
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This captures for me that kind of weird moment when events that seem unlike each other (the news report with the burned girl, the commercial) converge in a juxtaposition that seems to hold some truth in it. This micro story of Grace evokes a person’s desire to hold on to the truth (I’ve felt it) while at the same time experiencing it slipping away.
Jane Kokernak 7 February 09