Is perception of reality affected by our imagination?
Get to hasty conclusions is perhaps what happens to Arielle, in the novel “The Glass Enclosure“?
[…]
After a long day at work Arielle decides to go jogging, it’s what she needs to unwind, and relax to fight off the stress accumulated during her day.
She slips on some running shoes, something comfy, and takes her beloved iPad to keep her company with some music. She’s used to running ten kilometers, five each way, but after a few minutes the sky grows dark. A heavy shower is on its way and Arielle heads home reluctantly.
On her way back she notices a blonde girl who looks just like Nicole getting out of a car, which looks just like Amedeo’s. Since they’re on the other side of the street Arielle can’t see clearly, she’s sure it must be them when she sees a guy in a hat get out of the car.
It looks strange to her, the two of them together. Nicole said she’d stay in the office till late because she wanted to catch up on a project, Amedeo said he’d be at his studio all night. What on earth are they doing together?
They always said they were old friends but that they hadn’t seen each other for years. Arielle stops and tries to understand if what she is seeing is her imagination or if it’s really happening. She watches them as they enter a restaurant and sit down by the window. Now she can see them perfectly well, she is sure it’s them. To put her mind at rest Arielle calls Nicole with a simple excuse. She’ll ask her if she’s at the office if she says yes, she’ll be lying.
Nicole’s phone rings three times, Nicole is looking for something in her bag, behind the window Arielle can see her. She has got no more doubts. It’s Nicole and Amedeo sitting together in the restaurant.
”Hello?”
”Hi Nicole! Are you in the office?”
Silence.
Meanwhile the girl in the restaurant rises from her chair and looks up in desperation. ”It must be her!” Arielle repeats in her head.
”Yes Arielle… I’m in the office… why are you asking?”
So she’s just lied, Arielle was afraid she would, and now…
”Oh nothing … sorry… perhaps… I’ll manage on my own”
The girl in the restaurant stares for a while at her phone, baffled.
Arielle hangs up. She runs as fast as she can, she feels like an idiot. She’s upset. So suddenly her ordinary workout turned into a nightmare. As if it weren’t enough, the rain begins to fall. She doesn’t care if she gets soaked, she’d run all night if the rain could wash away her thoughts.
[…]
You can read more and download the novel “The Glass Enclosure” on
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