These little things that contain a game, and you can insert them into old consoles to play. I'd never seen one in real life.
Yeah, I missed out on that era. But that's only because nothing like that ever appeared in my town.
And again with reality… why am I even doing this, huh?
Spitting inwardly, I picked up the cartridges and examined them.
Pink rectangular boxes, with names on them. Some seemed like real names, some were initials, and some were just nicknames, or, to put it more clearly, monikers.
I decided to take them out for now and ask Mita. Maybe she knows something…
Right, grille back on, and let's start turning with the improvised screwdriver. Got to put everything back in place.
I positioned it, started all four screws, and then… I discovered the threading was stripped. The hole inside wasn't just making it hard to tighten, it had actually gotten bigger.
I touched one of the spots… it felt as if someone had tried to kick this vent out, which, naturally, had a strong impact on the fastenings. But that was just a guess; the point was that, no matter how much I turned it, it wouldn't even hold.
A strong blow from the other side, or something that caused that screw to loosen before – and everything would fall to the floor. Maybe the next washing machine cycle with its vibrations would be that very moment.
What could help me here?.. A piece of a matchstick or a small wire to make the hole smaller… ah, that's Mita again. I'd have to ask her.
Gathering the items, I went to the kitchen.
Mita looked at me with a smile, but upon seeing the cartridges, she dropped the spatula, stepped away from the stove, and approached me with a disapproving look. Her expression seemed to change fast, but only for a moment.
"Hey, what are you doing? Why did you go in there?" she was clearly not thrilled with my curiosity.
She immediately snatched the cartridges from me, without even asking my opinion or explaining anything. She quickly stuffed them somewhere into a cabinet, as if hiding valuables. But why? They're just trinkets…
"Um… I found them in the ventilation, thought maybe you could use them. Or are these your old toys?" I asked, trying to appear unperturbed.
She turned around when she heard my words and her anger softened.
"Scissors?" she held out her hand in an expectant gesture, as if nothing had happened. "You did grab them, right?"
Her eyebrows arched into crescents, and her expression was smiling, but for some reason, I felt a chill.
"Here," nevertheless, I handed over the item, feeling uneasy.
She invited me to the table, and I quickly sat down. Great, now I feel awkward.
The scissors were used on the packets. Mita deftly opened a packet and squeezed the sauce into the stew, giving the dish an appetizing look.
"Want some sauce?" Mita asked expectantly.
"What kind of sauce is it?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Exotic! Love with notes of tenderness towards the world," she said, almost affectionately, smiling again.
"Alright then," I said, smelling a curious aroma from the dish.
A red mixture, resembling tomato paste, covered the stew.
Well, let's try it. I'm not much of a culinary expert, but I trust Mita. With so many cookbooks… it's unlikely she'd make poison.
"Bon appétit," I said.
"You too," she replied with a smile.
The previous incident seemed to be forgotten. Oh well.
A spoonful was scooped up and sent into my mouth. I had no particular expectations, but… it was magical. Too good to be true.
The taste of the stew surpassed all my expectations.
A holographic window appeared before my eyes.
Achievement Unlocked: "Delicious Love."
Again? Oh well.
The vegetables melted in my mouth, beginning to play an unparalleled symphony of taste on my receptors, and the sauce, generously poured from the packet earlier, seemed to multiply the sensations fourfold, standing out with a small, special, and elusive note of something I couldn't identify by taste. Something strange and alluring.
"Delicious," I commented, perking up and starting to eat faster.
"Hee-hee," the girl laughed, pleased with my reaction, and continued eating.
Soon enough, nothing was left of the food. I devoured everything like a vacuum cleaner.
Suddenly, hearts appeared before my eyes.
What's this now? Glitches?
"You're done eating already? My portion seems endless," she sighed, looking at her full plate.
I unsteadily got up from the table, wondering what the hell was happening, but, as if on command, the hearts disappeared. My vision blurred, and some kind of interference started, like on an old TV. My head spun.
My plate, which I had intended to carry to the sink, slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces.
Mita reacted instantly. She jumped up from her chair and stared at me, but her expression… I couldn't make it out through the haze in front of my eyes. And it was strange somehow. Too much interference.
My heart felt like someone had pricked it with a needle, and the interference in my eyes only got stronger. As if someone were tuning a radio.
Immediately after, it felt like an electric shock went through me. Suddenly, my head spun. The world swam before my eyes, colors became dull, as if someone had turned the brightness down to minimum.
My vision darkened. I felt myself losing balance.
"I'm feeling… not so good?" I said, clutching my head and trying to keep my balance so I wouldn't just fall over.
Mita immediately rushed to me, took me by the arms, and led me back to the chair. The sensation of her touch felt unnatural.
"Breathe deeply, that's it… calmly," she said in a soft voice, looking directly into my eyes. Her face seemed like a mask, devoid of emotion. "Everything will be alright. Now tell me, what do you feel?"
I nodded, trying to focus on her voice.
"Interference in my eyes, head's spinning, heart's pricking…" I managed to say with difficulty, wondering if she knew the cause of what was happening.
"I think I know what will help," she whispered, then darted off and ran somewhere, leaving me alone. She disappeared into the living room.
Literally a couple of seconds later, she returned with something in her hand. She came up to me and held out her palm, on which lay two small pills.
"What are you trying to give me?" I asked, feeling a sense of strangeness.
"You'll take the pills, won't you?" she said with concern, handing me two small white circles.
"No…" I replied, and it seemed I stunned her with that.
Her expression seemed to change, but I couldn't see it.
"What do you mean???" she asked in an unnatural tone.
"Huh?" I asked, my face surely contorted with pain.
"But… you're in severe pain, you said so yourself, didn't you? They'll help you," and again, I couldn't see her expression.
It felt as if I had gone blind. The world seemed to have split into pixels.
"Don't worry, I… I'm used to it. Everything's fine."
"Huh? What?" she was genuinely stunned, wasn't she?
The pain was indeed something… as if I had returned to reality, only to one of those days when the nerves made themselves known more than usual – for example, on a hot day, when the body aches with pain, and a hammer pounds in your head.
Anyone else would probably drink anything just to make it stop, but I… God, if I start taking painkillers even in a game, or in another world, as it seems… How pathetic will I be? Become dependent again?
In short, no.
I'll die before I take them, because I know… a pill now, a pill later, and then you can't live without them, and the doctor prescribes them for you to take almost until the end of your life. I've had enough of that.
"Hey… are you okay?" Mita asked with concern.
"Yeah, let's just wait, it should get better," I nodded to her, trying not to show my weakness. "It'll pass."
Where was I? Ah yes, the pills… no, my body has become healthy again, what, am I going to dull it with medication again?
We'd better just… sit here quietly, without moving, and it will all end.
Mita, meanwhile, pulled me away from my thoughts about pain and the possibility of overcoming it and again asked me to take the pills, seeing how I was suffering.
"No, dear, we won't," I stated my position again. "Well, don't pay attention, it'll pass, just have to wait..."
I heard a long sigh. She was clearly not happy with my decision.
And it's a shame I can't see her real expression – it's probably something like concern, and now, maybe because of the distortions, but for some reason I see… annoyance?
In short, unpleasant interference. To the point of pain in my eyes.
At some point, a barely audible noise sounded in my ears, as if a connection had been established somewhere. Or was it just ringing in my ears from overexertion?