#glass memory

Corporate has taken an interest in studying your memories…and to what effect they may have on your interpersonal relationships and work productivity. Do not worry.

This is just a test.

…

You wake up. Shake the covers from your body. You are now freezing, so you race to your closet and grab a hoodie from your dirty laundry bin. You go to the kitchen. Make eggs. The radio is on again, even though you swear you didn’t touch it. You don’t understand the words they are saying. You don’t need to.

You sit down at the table. Sunlight barely peaks in through your dusty window. You eat. You drink. You wash your hands, cause the fork slipped and fell into your eggs that were drizzled in ketchup. You picked up the fork. And then your hands were covered in red stains.

You finish your eggs. Add your plate to the dishwasher. Grab your lunch from the fridge. You are eager to go to work. Maybe they will have another cat drive like last time. You go to your room. You dress in black. It is almost time for work. You are happy.

You open the door. Step outside. You are holding a briefcase. A lime green car picks you up, just in time. You would usually drive yourself. But you won’t refuse a ride.

There is a woman in the front seat. She is playing the radio. Very familiar sounds. She asks you to please put on this blindfold. You comply.

You arrive at a towering building marked by a blind eye. This is where you work. A department store. It is not a complicated job. You like that. You step out of the car. The woman takes your briefcase. She says you are clear for examination.

You walk into the building. Push through the glass double doors. Ready to say hello to the cashiers like you always do. But something is very wrong. Someone flipped a switch in your brain.

Everyone is a stranger. No one is familiar. They could not have replaced an entire department store of workers in a matter of days. You know this is where you work. You are sure of it. And yet, who are they?

“Who are you?” The cashier says. He is dressed in black. 

You state your name quickly. You move to the break room. His eyes follow you in silence. Where is your briefcase?

There are two employees. They introduce themselves. They congratulate you on your first day. This is not your first day. 

You clock in. You grab your nametag from a table of names you can’t seem to remember. You go out on the floor. You listen to the radio from the overhead speakers. You stay preoccupied. You fold pants. You ask customers how their last visit to Jatty’s Candy Cave went. 

You keep your head down. No one speaks to you. You speak to no one. You feel two things. Suspicion and fear. 

Later in the day, an associate acts like they know you. Addresses you by name. But you avoid their gaze. They are confused. They ask if you are feeling well. You tell them the truth. You’ve never seen them around here in all your years. How do they know who you are? 

They throw up their hands. Walk away slowly. You go back to size running a rack of shirts.

The day is spent in a panic-induced focus. You have never been this productive. Neither have your coworkers. The radio kept saying things you did not think were words. Sounded like a mantra or…something.

You leave work. That same woman meets you at the exit. She returns your briefcase. Assures that the experiment is complete. You ask her what she means by that. She smiles. Gestures for you to take a seat in her lime green car.

You did such a good job, she tells you. All of you did.

So you get in the car. It is time to go home.