Clinging to memories

ILLUSTRATION: RUMMAN R KALAM

Mary stepped out of her house as the blinding Sun shone on her face. "Forgot my shades, again" she mutters to herself. Regardless, she treads along the pavement, barely hiding her eyes from the rays. 

Mornings are seldom enjoyable affairs for Mary, who cannot function like a sentient being until she's had her daily quota of caffeine. Then it's the same old routine of going to classes while braving the hurdles of the dusty streets and the stray dogs that Mary swears are out to get her. This day isn't that different, but neither is it completely the same. You see, Mary always had her best friend Amy with her. 

It'd been a while since Amy left. Mary had gone through a myriad of emotions when she realized that she wouldn't be able to have those old, late night conversations in her flat anymore. No more Amy protecting her from that stray dog that she just passes as she is walking towards the coffee shop. No more ordering the same coffee for Amy every day. 

A message notification pops up on Mary's phone. It's Amy. Ecstatic, Mary fumbles with the fingerprint sensor before finally being able to unlock the damned device. 

"Got your coffee, yet?" the message read.    

"I'm standing in the queue now. What's the time there?" replied Mary. 

"It's dark." A brief pause ensues. Mary finishes ordering her coffee and gets back to her cell phone. 

"As always," Mary replies with a laughing emoticon and a smirk on her face.

"Did you just make fun of my fascination with black clothes? When are you gonna cut it out?" the reply message reads. 

Mary laughs after reading it. Amy's always had a slight affinity for gothic clothing. A trait Mary always found ironic, seeing as how Amy is always cheerful and energetic all the time.

"Lindy and the gang are having a stayover tonight and I'm not sure if I wanna go," Mary walks out the door of the coffee shop and hastens her pace as she realizes she might be late for class. 

Another beep signaling the arrival of the reply. "Haha, I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that one. You should go. It'll be good for you. Ever since I left, you haven't chilled out in a while" 

"We all miss you Amy. The gang really hasn't been the same without you ever since…" the message abruptly ends there as Mary wipes away a tear from her face. She presses send, regardless. 

"We'll all be together in the end, won't we? Stop worrying about it. You just need to be patient." Amy wrote back. 

Just as Mary was going to type the reply a pop up message came up. 

"Thank you for your time in using our app! We strive to offer the best resemblance to your deceased loved ones by analyzing their past behavior on social media. Would you like to rate our service?" 

Mary rubbed her eyes in angst. She pressed the cancel button and started walking faster to class. Another message followed promptly.

"You've exceeded your daily quota of 15 minutes, buy the premium pass for only $99 a year to keep your lost ones' memories alive."