A VIRTUAL QUEST

A virtual reality. Wishful thinking. A place nicer than our own place.

‘I haven’t been this happy in a long time!’, he exclaimed as we left Costco earlier this afternoon. He was carrying a large white box, but felt guilty that he spent money on himself. A third of the money he spent on the Oculus Quest he earned from selling chips at school. The other monies were from various birthday and Christmas gifts from family. And some tooth fairy money. Years of savings.

Once home, my son proceeded to open the box with his iPhone next to him as he filmed the long-awaited moment of finally getting to the object of his desire. Something he has been wanting for the past three years.

‘Try it’, he said after he tried it himself.

I wasn’t too sure about it, but I put on the headset and hand controllers to see what he was so excited about. The scene was beautiful. It looked like a tropical setting on one end with hanging chairs to sit in. There was a dining table to my right with a large shelf display above it. Then a sofa was off to another side. All very cozy and inviting.

I gave him back the headset and controllers and went to my room to work on my spreadsheets. Later I browsed Zillow as encouragement but only became discouraged as I realised I would not be able to afford a house in this area. Possibly not ever. Almost certainly not on one income.

‘That’s why you need to find someone’, my son stated again, for the hundredth time. But also mentioned it was not just for being able to afford the house. He really doesn’t want me to be alone.

‘No, I’m not willing to do that again’, I tried explaining, especially still being in debt from my last attempt. ‘I will see about getting a second job’, I continued, but am not sure there are enough hours in the day for that option.

Sometimes things are as they are and will never be the way we want them to be. The reality is that Austin has become too expensive for most people and nearly impossible for a single parent. Sometimes we have to accept those things as they are and live vicariously through the stories in movies. The ones with happy endings.

He handed me the headset once more. But not the hand controllers. He wanted me to see another scene. The winter mountain scene. It looked so real as I reached out to touch it. The red virtual net was there to keep me inside that beautiful scene. A snowboard in the corner. A large wood lodge overlooking chair lifts against a snowy mountain.

An altered reality. A virtual quest. A place far away from our own. One we wish to escape to.