The Sweet Escape

by 125389

It's 2007. Smartphones are in their infancy and aren't widespread, fandom culture is niche and close-knit, and you can exist in absolute privacy without algorithms or the internet bleeding into reality. Shopping malls are at the height of their power, your frontal lobe is nowhere near fully developed, and life is good for you and your Tamagotchi.

You're sitting on the bus, listening to your MP3 player, and looking forward to going home with no worries or obligations. You glance down at your Tamagotchi, Nikatchi. She's bouncing around as usual, the little black pixels conveying as much joy as you're feeling, and it compels you to spend a minute playing jump-rope with her. Your perfect score earns a victory tune, and you feel as bright as Nikatchi's smile.

The bus driver kindly bids you farewell as you leave, and you step out into idyllic weather with the clouds looking like piped buttercream on a blue cake. After you walk the short, remaining distance home, you find that the Limewire download that you started last night is finally done, and you click on it, confirm all is well, and feel pleased that you'll have a movie to watch tonight. You complete your Neopets dailies, and then you visit Myspace, where your friends are complimenting your recent photo, which wasn't easy to take given how you had to strategically angle your digital camera while raising it over your head. Seeing yourself in your friends' top eights is a pleasant reminder that you're important to them, and you're important to Nikatchi too because she's made a mess. You tidy it, and then Windows Live Messenger blinks on with a message excitedly telling you to check LiveJournal.

You've won a fanfiction contest, and the prize is a coordinating art piece! Nikatchi is doing that adorable thing where she gets close to the screen, and she congratulates you with her animated grin. You're eager to claim your trophy, but there's only a warning from Photobucket saying that the image isn't available. Upon notifying the artist, .Xx, she replies, "Nyoro~n :3," and links you to the piece on her DeviantArt. It looks suspiciously like an anime screenshot recolored and drawn on in Microsoft Paint, but that's fine because it's your OC brought to life! You print it out to tape to the wall, where you've also got song lyrics that you printed prior, and it reminds you that you've been wanting to buy a new ringtone for your Razr. It rings before you're able to do so, and you answer to a friend, whom you invite to hang out.

They bring their Tamagotchi to connect with yours, and you watch Nikatchi dancing with her playmate until your friend remembers something. They take from their backpack and deliver to you the notebook that you two have been passing back and forth for roleplay because it's your turn to write the next part, and then you spend over an hour together on your PlayStation 3. The gaming ends because your friend needs to care for their Tamagotchi, and as they do so, they ask if you remember the existence of PlayStation 2 memory cards. Not only do you remember, but you still have yours. You both reminisce about how dated they are, and it segues into your friend mentioning the new flatscreen TVs. You're satisfied with your box TV, but assessing the latest technology is an excellent excuse to go to the mall.

The mall, a bustling consumer paradise! It's almost like the building is alive for how vibrant it is, and its banner of "Welcome to Tamagotchi Town" greets you warmly. Your mom drops you and your friend off, and the $20 that she gives you makes you feel like royalty. You head to Sears, but the TVs are forgotten as you near the portrait studio. Your friend elatedly pulls you toward it, and you both pose before the background of abstract, airbrushed swirls. The photographer, Memetchi, encourages and praises you, and then her eyes sparkle as she exclaims, "Look who's joining us!" Yattachi emerges from behind the backdrop; Nikatchi had transformed while you were taking pictures, and you and your friend celebrate by posing with Yattatchi so that there's a wonderful photo of the three of you raising your hands in the air. Yatta! Yippee!

Now that you've a bunch of wallet-sized, soft-focus photos to share with your other friends, you resume walking until you arrive at Borders, where you lounge around reading manga awhile before proceeding to Forever 21—er, Forever Tamagotchi. The 20 Gotchi Points that your mom gave you earlier are more than enough to buy a new outfit, and then you continue roaming the mall aimlessly and happily as the day fades into evening. Yattatchi suggests enjoying a film at Tama Tower, and your friend says that renting from Blockbuster is an option too. You tell them you've already got something at home but that dinner at the food court would be nice. Your friend, however, has spent their money on photos, and you've spent most of yours on clothes. You consider earning more Gotchi Points at the Game Center, but it's not necessary because Tama Pizza allows you to have fun working for your meal.

During the trip home you see the Gotchi Bank and the Tamagotchi School among other things, and the buildings whisper their goodbyes and goodnights. Your friend soon leaves, promising to call tomorrow, and then you're falling asleep with Yattatchi clutching your hand—wait, you're clutching Yattatchi's hand. That's not quite right either. You're holding your Tamagotchi in your hand.

As you trace your thumb over its plastic shell, the daydream fades and is replaced by sleep that'll barely remedy your exhaustion, and the calendar returns to modernity. In the morning you view your social media, but trends and the world now move so quickly and carelessly that it's draining to try and keep up with anything. Why bother? It's all AI and outrage anyway. You float through work mindlessly, a ghost from nine to five, but on the bus ride home, your Tamagotchi beeps, reviving you and the illusion. Life will never again be as simple as it was, but when you pass the Gotchi Station, you brighten with the acceptance that we all escape somehow.