Written by Barelin and edited by Megansdad
This story is a work of fiction. Please delete previous versions published. Based on watching The Twilight Zone.
Figure 1 For this story https://roadtovrlive-5ea0.kxcdn.com/wp- … blylrg.jpg
Magic Glasses (Revised)
I can remember playing pretend games with my friends when an ordinary thing like a hollow tree was a ship going out to war and, less dramatically, pretending that a pair of sunglasses had the magic power to see through clothes.
Of course, those silly games I used to play were a lot of fun when I was young. My friends and I would put on those pretend magic glasses around my sister or one of her friends. It would cause them to instantly start covering themselves as if those magic glasses could see them naked. I still cannot forget how much fun that was. Well, I am a lot older nowadays. Any of those pretend games like that are long past. None of that silly stuff could happen in the real world.
My story started this morning when I was getting ready for work, as I do every weekday. I would relieve myself, walk naked to the kitchen and turn on the TV to one of the morning news channels. I would then start fixing myself a bowl of cereal or something else simple and sit down and eat.
This morning everything seemed normal until I glanced back at the TV. I had only listened to it since I turned it on. I almost dropped my bowl on the floor once I looked at the screen. Everyone on the set of the local news was naked. I’ve been watching this news channel before work for a year and couldn’t understand why everyone was nude. On top of that, the attractive lady that just presented the weather didn’t show any sign of embarrassment or the fact that she was showing everyone everything.
I must be dreaming and grabbing the remote to another channel. Amazingly, the same commercial of a known actor was in a truck commercial talking without a stitch. I saw various individuals naked until I came to the classic show Friends. Almost fell onto the floor, convinced that I was dreaming every one of them on the screen was unquestionably naked, Monica Chandler and the rest. I grabbed the remote and turned it off.
After my wife passed, I lived in a small apartment alone. Know that some of my friends have played jokes on each other. No possible way any of them could pull this off. Be able to convince the cast of Friends and those in Hollywood. What was wrong with me, and should I call my boss and ask for the day off as I stepped into the warm water?
I attempted to make some sense of what has witnessed on the screen or going crazy. I mean everyone. I was more than a little overwhelmed by what I’d seen. As I stepped out of the shower for work, I was shocked I could feel the towel but couldn’t see it. First, everyone was naked on the television, and now my towel was invisible. Very frustrated and blindly dried off with a towel I couldn’t see. Walking to the bedroom, I said, “This is not funny!”
I walked into the bedroom only to find the bed I had slept in last night was nothing but wire springs and strips of wood forming. My closet appeared completely bare of clothes. I could feel the shirts and slacks hanging up before me. The problem was I had no idea what I was grabbing would match. I took out an invisible shirt and what felt like slacks. The only items I could find were my leather shoes and the bottom part of what appeared to be my tennis shoes on the floor by my dresser. I found socks and underwear and managed to get dressed.
Worse, I noticed the time and realized I needed to leave now if I was going to beat the morning traffic. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see what I had put on. I looked down and saw I appeared nude. I knew there was no way I was walking out of this house completely naked, not to mention going to work. I would most certainly get arrested.
Standing next to my bed, I started dialing one of my college buddies who lived a few blocks from me. Fortunately, he was home, so his wife didn’t answer the phone. I wasn’t quite prepared to talk to anyone else. I was ready to explain my dilemma, but he agreed to come over.
Little more relaxed, I called my office and told them I would be late this morning. My secretary picked up the line. As if planned, the doorbell rang as soon as I hung up. Looking through the peephole, I saw my friend Dave standing there, carefully opening the front door so as not to flash the neighborhood.
The first thing Dave said to me was, “Did you get dressed in the dark?” I attempted to explain my morning to him but was having trouble trying to make sense of it. His expressions while explaining my morning were bizarre. Eventually, he said, “Are you high on some drug I need to know about?”
I replied, “No, this morning started like any other until I turned on the television and noticed everyone was as naked as you are.”
He then sat down on the wood and springs that used to be my couch and said, “I do not know what you are seeing, but I am currently wearing one of my old t-shirts with some shorts. Let’s see if I can help.”
I looked over at him and said, “Dave, please help! I cannot see any type of fabric. I can feel the carpet in this room, but for whatever reason, I cannot see it right now.”
After about a minute or two of him staring at me while I stood there, he walked right up to me and looked into my eyes. didn’t know what he was looking for until he said, “When was the last time you changed your contacts?” The sad part about what he said is I do not know when the last time I changed them was.
Since I hate sticking my dirty figures into my eyes, I replied, “A month or more, I don’t remember. Shit, two months!”
“You shouldn’t wear them any more than a week at the most. Let’s wash your hands and get those things out before they cause you to see through more than clothes,” replied.
I wasn’t sure how many attempts were until the left contact was out. My left eye burned like crazy, causing both eyes to tear up. I almost blinked, and the right one popped out. Both eyes burned like crazy when Dave pushed me back under the sink water. Both of my eyes were burning and watering like crazy. He handed me what felt like one of my washcloths. I just held it to my eyes until they stopped watering for what seemed like forever.
After I opened my eyes again, my vision was still blurry, but for the first time this morning, I could see I was wearing clothes that didn’t match. My eyes were still sore, but at least I could see a little of the living room carpet and the fabric on the couch. it was a bit blurry to see back into the room and say, “Your desk is a mess, but I found these glasses.” I slipped them on, and things were still blurry, just not as bad as it was with those glasses.
Very relieved, Dave placed the discarded contacts into the container and handed them to me. It felt strange for someone else to assist me in slipping on matching clothes for the drive to the eye clinic. I never made it to work for the next week recovering from that nasty eye infection.
One more thing before I go, the thing about that crazy morning I miss more than anything before work. It was an extreme disappointment not seeing that weather girl in nothing but her beautiful smile.
The End
Wonderful. I’d love to be stuck with a problem like that. Though I guess there are some people you wouldn’t want to see naked…. Maybe I’d save those contacts for special occasions? And I’d probably explain my mismatched clothes as a case of sudden onset colour-blindness