A Fable For Our Time

         A Fable For Our Time

  Harry shuffled along with others of his freshman class, into the theater. It was required in order to gain enough activity credits for graduation. It was said to be a play about a love story. He thought, " Why couldn't it be about football, or something else?" "Why aren"t there plays about football?"

Harry quickly found a vacant seat, and all around him students began to locate their cell phones. Cell phones began to appear from pockets, purses, and back packs.

A  hush came over the audience as the lights dimmed, and a guy carrying a phone in his hand, texted the students. Harry didn't receive, as he had not yet turned on his phone. "It probably wasn't important anyway," he thought. The man left the stage and the lights went out. Up on the stage some people appeared and began texting each other. None of the students looked up, as they were all bent over their phones, and texting as if they were mad. 

With thumbs flying, the play began to unfold. Harry was right, it was a love story. It was about two young kids who were in love, but their families hated each other. "Probably supported different teams," Harry thought. Harry's thumbs ached, and players appeared on the stage, only to be ignored. Harry found the story interesting, but the language was difficult to understand. "If Shakespeare had had any pity for his audience, he would have written smaller speeches for the players, and saved my thumbs." 

Harry really liked the duel, and fighting. Players armed with cell phone came and went on the stage, but nobody was watching. They were glued to their phones. 

It was not long after the girl in the play stabbed herself to death, that his phone went dead. Silence,quiet, no activity. Then he remembered, he had forgotten to charge his phone. And so there he sat alone, while all around him his fellow students  were quietly texting, as the players, still being ignored on stage, continued the play. Harry didn't know what to do next. So he counted the number of lights on the ceiling, and then counted them again, and arrived at the same number. With nothing else to keep him involved,he decided to take advantage of the darkness, and take a short nap. His nap was soon interrupted by the sound of loud applause. The play was over. The actors, clutching their cell phones, bowed to the students, who had abandoned their phones. Later,Harry wondered what the boy had done after his girl had killed herself. But he couldn't text his friends because his cell phone was dead. 

               Aloha 

               Grant