20:20 Hindsight (572 hits)
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Submitted by Bigmike (View user info) at 2004-10-19 00:47:42 EDT
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The Lost Episode.
"2020 Hindsight"
"It's time for your medication, Mr. Forrester" the duty nurse said as she stood over the table that George Forrester was working at. George had his head buried in a notebook, furiously scrawling words at a pace that would wear out anybody else on his floor. He looked up at the nurse with his characteristically blank stare. His eyes shifted to her face, the little white cup she was holding, her breasts, her face, and finally the little white cup again. He reached up with his left hand and grabbed the cup ever so gently from her and lifted it to his lips. He tilted it so that the pills, a little red one and a little blue one, fell into his mouth. He put the pill cup down onto the table and reached up again for the cup of water that the nurse was offering him. He tilted that to his mouth also, spilling a little down the left side of his chin as he swallowed and washed the pills down in one gulp. He set that cup down next to the pill cup and dismissed the nurse as if she were never there in the first place. His head went down to the notebook again and he resumed his frantic writing. "Can't stop" was all he could say. "Can't stop."
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"I can't believe it has come to this. I just cannot, for the life of me, understand why I am here. They all should be in here, not me. They all made me do what I did. They all laughed and made faces and talked behind my back. I wish I could see them all now, still doing it to every new person that works there. I wish I had my glasses back. I really wish I had my glasses back........"
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George Forrester was an up and coming associate of the law firm Bendel, Baker, and Black. "The Big B's" as they were known in the profession were aggressive, tough, and intelligent. George was an associate lawyer just starting his career when he caught a lucky break. He met a girl at a party that had a sister that knew someone that had a brother in law that worked for The Big B's. He had found out through her that they were in desperate need of three associate lawyers who were aggressive enough to handle being with the best law firm in the city. George went down the next day with a resume and a dream. It took three weeks, but in the end they had hired him.
Being the new kid on the block at The Big B's was like being the lowest bird in the pecking order. You had to fight for the best cases, but you usually got the shit detail. The work consisted of drawing up agreement drafts, researching information for depositions, getting coffee, all that sort of stuff. It was nothing like what George had thought it would be. George had imagined big cases, big money and beautiful women. What George got was lower level cases, middle of the road money, and no women. As a matter of fact, after three months with the firm, George had a feeling that people were laughing at him. He could feel their eyes upon his neck as he wandered the halls at the firm, looking for a little bit of information here and there, or running errands for one of the partners. Whenever he entered the firms lounge, all talk would cease and everybody would look up at him. He could feel their stares as he went to get himself a cup of coffee. He could hear their whispers as they gossiped about him or made fun of him.
His self esteem was going downhill drastically, but he needed the job. After all, it looked good on the resume to work at such a prestigious firm. "They will all get theirs in the end" he would think as he ignored their condescending behavior. "Someday I'll catch them ridiculing me and I'll have their jobs" he would say aloud to himself at night, right before falling asleep.
It didn't help that George's eyesight was starting to fail. Every time he tried to catch someone mocking him or ridiculing him he had a hard time seeing what they were doing. He figured it must be because of all the reading and computer work that was part of his job. Researching facts all day long was taking its toll on his eyes.
On his way home from work one day he was sidetracked by thoughts of revenge and glory and found himself in an unfamiliar part of town. As he was sitting at a red light he casually squinted around and noticed an opticianry. It was about six thirty in the evening, but the lights at the front of the store were on so he pulled his car around the corner and parked.
"No time like the present" George thought as he got out of the car and walked up to the door of the optical establishment. Above the door, perpendicular to the wall was a large pair of eyeglasses fashioned out of metal. On the front of the door was painted in a very nice script, "2020 Hindsight". Directly below that it read "A different kind of Optical". He opened the door and went in.
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"They were all making fun of me, laughing and pointing. They were making spitting sounds and grabbing their crotches. The women would flip me the bird over and over again. The men would make jerking off motions at me as I walked away. They were all laughing at me constantly. Ridiculing me behind my back like I didn't know, like I couldn't see them. Well I could see them. I could. The joke was on them..........."
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A little bell sounded as George entered the darkened shop. To his right was a coat rack and directly in front of him was what looked like someone's living room. There were plush armchairs and sofas placed strategically around the room. There were also tables residing at the end of each sofa. Little lamps with lampshades edged in fringe were on the tables. The room's dark paisley wallpaper was bathed in a warm light that emanated from these lamps. It reminded George of his grandmother's house in Vancouver. It was old and comfortable. George felt at home almost immediately.
"Welcome to Hindsight!" said the man that appeared out of nowhere to greet him. George was a tad bit startled at the sudden entrance of this man, but he smiled nonetheless. The man seemed cheery enough in his white coat and horn rimmed spectacles. He was partially balding and had longer hair than George would expect on an eye doctor. "I'm Doctor Franklin. Nice to see you have dropped by for a visit!"
"Thank you, Doctor" George managed to get out before the doctor continued. "I was driving by and noticed that you were open. I think I need glasses because I am having a hard time reading my work. My name is George Forrester."
"Well let's get you in for an exam, shall we Mr. Forrester?"
Doctor Franklin took him by the arm and led him around the corner into what looked like an examination room. As George looked around he couldn't help but notice how old all the equipment was. What was more unusual was that it all looked so brand new and shiny, as if it were just unpacked. George was impressed by how Doctor Franklin took care of his equipment. The Doctor sat him down in the exam chair and began asking him questions.
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"I got those fucking glasses and I could see them then. Those bastards thought they had it made but I knew better. I saw all their taunting and their finger motions, all their laughing and their perverted gestures, all their throwing things at me and sticking their tongues out. I saw it all. I saw it all. I saw it all..........."
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As they came out of the examination room, George was thoroughly impressed. Doctor Franklin had given him one heck of an examination. He even explained what each piece of equipment was for and how it was used. George was now an expert on what a slit lamp did and how a phoropter was used. He also learned what a Goldman test was and why optical correction was in diopters. George was also excited because the doctor had told him that his correction was minor but necessary for reading his work. It was a condition called presbyopia which sounded to George like the name of a Presbyterian splinter group. The doctor explained to him that presbyopia is a condition whereby an individual loses the ability to visually accommodate at close range. It affects distance vision also, due to the strain it puts on the eyes. They had a nice conversation in the exam room and George had told Doctor Franklin all about his work at the firm. He had even gone into some of the seedier stuff like office affairs and how he felt about some of his co-workers.
"Sit here please, Mr. Forrester" Doctor Franklin said. "Let me get some glasses for you to try."
Doctor Franklin took George out into the living room area and sat him down in a plush armchair. George was already feeling tired from a long day at work and the armchair put him even more at rest. The soft glow of the lights made him even sleepier and as the doctor left the room momentarily, George put his head back to rest.
After what seemed like just a few minutes, Doctor Franklin was back with a tray of glasses. He explained to George that all of the glasses in the tray had been prepared especially for him. George thought this was strange, but when he tried on the first pair he found that he could read with them on.
"Are these pre-made reading glasses?" George asked the doctor.
"You could say that" Doctor Franklin replied with a smile. "These are special glasses for a special person. They will help you see much better than you normally would. They will help you see everything that you need to."
George didn't question the doctor as he tried on about ten frames. He settled on a tortoise shell pair of horn rimmed glasses. He thought they made him look dashing and intelligent. As he wore them, he found that he could read every little letter on the reading card. It was as if he had super vision. George took the glasses off and got up from his chair. As the doctor watched, George crossed the room to a painting on the wall, and put his glasses on to study the painting up close. He was looking at all the fine detail on the painting when he noticed movement in his periphery. He concentrated on that movement and found that with a little focusing he could see what was happening behind him. He could see the doctor sitting in the chair opposite of where George had been sitting. He could see the doctor beaming with delight. He could see a rosy red aura around the doctor's body and he could see heat emanating from the top of the doctors head. He could also see the doctor picking his nose and flinging it at him.
"Hey!" George exclaimed as he turned around to look at Doctor Franklin. "Stop that!"
Doctor Franklin looked up at George with a smile. He had been rearranging the frames in the case that he was holding.
"Stop what?" said the doctor.
"You........you........what were you just doing?" George asked tentatively.
"Just getting these frames ready to be put back." The doctor said. "Are you feeling well Mr. Forrester?"
George removed his glasses and examined them. There were no mirrors or anything else unusual about them. "Guess I'm just a little tired. I think maybe I need to get home and relax. I'll take these."
After paying a reasonable sum of one hundred and fifty dollars, George bid Doctor Franklin goodbye. As he was headed out the door, Doctor Franklin offered him an eyeglass case, a business card, a handshake, and a bit of advice.
"Sometimes we see well enough without correction Mr. Forrester. Sometimes we see more than we want to with glasses. Be careful with what you've purchased today my friend. True clarity of vision is hard to come by and when we have it, it may not be what we truly want. Good luck and good night."
George was puzzled as he left the office. He opened the door, the little bell rang again, and he stepped out into the cold night. On the way to his car he looked at his watch. Ten thirty was what it read. He could not believe that he had been in the doctor's office for nearly four hours.
"Time flies" George thought as he got into his car. He took the business card out of the case, put his glasses on, and read it.
The card was a midnight blue color. In the middle of the card, written in a nice, white script it said,
"2020 Hindsight"
Then across the bottom of the card, also in white was printed,
"The eyes are the windows to the soul."
George pocketed the card, started the car up, and headed for home.
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"How can people be so sneaky? So despicable? They were all crafty in how they did it too. One minute they would be ridiculing me behind my back, the next minute they were sitting there looking at me like I was crazy. I AM NOT CRAZY! Those bastards were good. No wonder they were working for the best goddamn firm in the city. They were sharp. Smart. Fast. They were so fast that I never caught them outright doing the things they were doing. I could see them, but no matter how fast I was, they were faster. They were faster. I couldn't figure it out. I had to stop them........."
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George went to work the next day with his new glasses tucked neatly into the breast pocket of his suit coat. He was feeling pretty good and thought that he would have a productive day now that he could read better. He entered his firm to what he thought were smiles and greetings from his associates. "So far, so good" he thought to himself as he sat down and dug into the stack of papers on his desk. He carefully reached into his pocket and pulled out his glasses. As he slipped them on, he realized that now everything was going to be better. He read through the Martin divorce easily and was well on his way through the Sheckler-Harrison property dispute when Dick Bendel's secretary knocked on his door.
"Come in" George said, and Jill Salisbury came walking into his office. As she sat down in the armchair across the desk from George, she smiled. George always liked Jill and had, on more than one occasion, pleasured himself to her visage. She had a very pretty face and legs to die for. She was always dressed to the nines and wore her makeup like a professional.
"Hi George" Jill said. "Dick wanted me to come in and get the Fowler file from you. He has a little research to do getting ready for the pre-trial. Could you be a sweetheart and get it for me?"
"Sure thing Jill. It's right here in my cabinet." George replied.
As he turned around in his chair to get the file, George sensed movement in his periphery. As he looked for the file, he glanced at the motion and could see Jill very clearly behind him. She had propped both her legs up on his desk and had her left hand buried under the folds of her skirt. Her right hand was massaging her right breast and her head was tilted back over the top of the chair. As he pretended to look for the file, he watched as she started to move her hips back and forth with the rhythm of her hand. She then picked her head up and looked directly at him, her tongue darting out to lick her lips suggestively. He reached down and felt the hardness between his legs.
"You like that don't you" George remarked to her as he turned around, file in one hand, bulge in the other. A big, lewd smile had appeared on his face.
Jill gave him a funny look. "Like what?"
George could see now that she was sitting in an upright position, hands folded across her lap. He could also see her look of disgust as her eyes went from his face to the hand massaging his bulge.
George instantly pulled his hand away from his crotch and pulled his chair forward so that his lap was hidden under his desk. He could feel his face getting red with embarrassment but there was nothing he could do.
"I saw that, you know" George said to her as he handed her the Fowler file. "I saw it and I was hoping you felt that way about me."
Jill looked frightened as she grabbed the file away from him and immediately stood up. "Are you ok, George?" she said as she backed away from George's desk quickly. "Yes, and it seems you are too, Jill" was George's reply. When Jill got to his office door she left quickly and quietly.
George tried to reason with himself about what had just happened as he got up to get some coffee. He flipped his glasses up on his head and walked down the hall to the lounge. As he entered the lounge, three associates from accounting were sitting at the table talking amongst each other. As George crossed the room, their talking stopped. He paid no attention to them as he crossed to the coffee maker. He lowered his glasses down onto the bridge of his nose as he poured his coffee. As he looked into his periphery, he immediately saw the three associates behind him. The two men were flipping him their middle fingers with both hands. They were also sticking their tongues out at him. The woman had a handful of her crotch with both hands, swaying her hips suggestively at him. The look on all of their faces was pure hatred and disgust. The rage was rolling off of them in waves.
George wheeled around, spilling coffee all over the counter and walls of the lounge.
"Hey! Cut that shit out right........" George cut his sentence short when he noticed that the three accountants were just sitting there reading what was left of the newspaper. They all looked up at him, startled and confused.
"What are you talking about, George?" the woman said to him, a little fear in her eyes and on her tongue.
"Yes, what's up man?" said one of the other men.
George stood there for a moment and then put the coffee cup that he was holding down onto the counter. He refused to talk with them as he stormed out of the room and back to his office. Once there, he closed the door behind him and tried to look at the days events with reason. He couldn't figure it out, but he knew the doctor had given him a gift. He was able to see what was going on behind his back. He could see the ridicule and shame he was being subjected to. He knew it all along, but now he had proof. They did all hate him. They were all making fun of him. His suspicions were all confirmed. He would have to monitor it all very closely.
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"They thought they were so smart. They thought that they could hide it from me. Ha! They weren't smart enough. I caught them. I beat them at their own game. I stopped them all from doing it to others. They thought they were so cool, so good looking, so sexy. They weren't though. I showed them that they weren't. I taught them humility. I made them stand up and take notice. I SHOWED THEM WHO I WAS! I EXPOSED THEM..........!"
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George drove back to the optical shop that he bought the glasses from to see Doctor Franklin. He wanted to ask him about the nature of his glasses. He thought he made the correct turn when he went back, but he just couldn't find the place. He didn't quite remember how he had got there in the first place and he wasn't sure what street it was on. There was no listing in the phone book for 2020 Hindsight Optical, and there was no telephone number or address on the business card so after awhile, he just gave up looking.
The people at work were continually harassing him. Everyday he saw someone making gestures or pointing at him and laughing in his periphery. He recorded it all in a personal journal in case he was fired unjustly. After all, he found out with the help of his glasses that everybody there hated him.
After a month, George was counseled at work for his strange habit of accusing people of doing strange and horrible things. After two months, George was fired. Allegedly, he had witnessed associates doing all sorts of strange things behind his back. They were having sex, making lewd gestures, flinging fluids at him, and calling him every name in the book. He didn't go down easy. As they were dragging him out, he accused everyone from the partners on down to the mail staff of everything from harassment to throwing feces at him during work hours. Everyone's fears had come true. George Forrester had gone off the deep end. His lawsuit was summarily dismissed and his name ruined as a matter of public record. It didn't help that he accused the Judge as well as the people in the jury of ridiculing him as he tried to defend himself. He had seen them after all. He had seen them in his peripheral vision with his glasses on.
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"........and now I'm in here. Serling Memorial Hospital, Seventh Floor. Psycho ward. How did I get here? How did I get here? How did I get here? How did I get here? I don't belong here. I don't belong here. I'M NOT CRAZY! They had it coming. After what they put me through, they all deserved it. Those fucking cops....those bastards....they deserved it too. They are the ones, they are all crazy. Fuck them. Fuck them. Fuck them. Fuck them............"
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Three days after his lawsuit was thrown out of court, George was arrested as he was walking down the street towards Bendel, Baker, and Black. He was wearing army fatigues and was carrying a loaded M-16 rifle, an AK-47, two different handguns, one of which was a Glock 9mm, the other a .357 magnum. He had a knife strapped to each thigh. He had three hand grenades attached to a belt around his waist, and he was wearing a complete set of full body armor under his fatigues. When the cops stopped him and asked him where he was going, all he replied was, "To hell."
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"I can't wait to get out of here. Two, maybe three more years and I'll be free. I'm going back to get them all. They say they won't give me my glasses back, but I'll get them too. I'll get those glasses. I'll see how everybody in the world feels about me. I'll know when to get revenge. I'll be smart this time.....I'll be smart this time...........Where are my fucking glasses. Stop laughing at me. Stop it. STOP IT!!!!"
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George kept his head down and continued to write. The nurse scooped up both cups off of the table and turned to walk away. As she did, George bolted upright in his chair and turned around to face all the rest of the patients in the room with him.
"STOP LAUGHING AT ME YOU FUCKERS, STOP MOCKING ME!"
Only this time, they actually were laughing. George didn't need glasses to see that.
Submitted for your approval. George Forrester. An up and coming lawyer with just a bit of a self esteem problem. His insecurities got the better of him after he found out that how you feel inside can sometimes alter reality permanently. As his vision failed him he decided that it is time for a correction. He got that correction in the form of a gift that was not quite welcome but not unwelcome either. This particular gift of "Hindsight" was not necessarily 2020. His reality came in the form of a set of glasses. Glasses purchased............in the Twilight Zone.
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