The outcome of today’s events were essential to Tiffany’s future. She knew it well.
Standing on the green, she gripped the club tighter with her hands. Her ball was only three yards away from the hole. If she won the last hole, she would carry onto the Semi-Final stage of The Masters Competition.
The 2 o’clock sunshine baked the golf course, showering beads of sweat on her forehead and bringing the players’ anxiety to a rising simmer. The wind was blowing gently, but it still couldn’t cool her nerves. The tension she felt was like a vine of ivy, creeping slowly onto her back. She took a deep breath, clutched her putter tight, and crouched down to review her strategy one last time.
The texture of the club’s grip reminded her of the first time she played golf at the tender age of seven. The same scalding sun was high up in the sky, baking the driving range. A new set of baby golf clubs had been placed in front of Tiffany – a gift from her parents. The seven irons, shimmering under the sunlight, lured Tiffany with promises of untold fame and glory
“I’m going to win The Masters one day!” She crowed, waving her club confidently even though she had missed the ball with each swing.
Nurturing such a grand dream, she had worked her way to the top through years of intensive training and competing. Now, her skills were so developed that she was well known as the champion of all golf competitions. Regardless of how tough a match was, Tiffany was always the one who raised the championship cup high and smiled triumphantly in front of the cameras. She was the brightest star in the sky, overshadowing all others.
In her previous games, Tiffany would simply walk up to the ball, think about her strategy for a mere second, and then hit the ball without an ounce of doubt.
However, it was different this time.
Looking around, she noticed for the first time the oddly vacant expression of the caddy standing behind her. Her opponents, who were all dressed similarly in red skirts and white T-shirts, were all staring at her with the same patient, enigmatic smile. Everyone was still and silent.
Chalking up her uneasiness to nerves, she stood up straight.After adjusting her position, she took a deep breath and hit out. The ball, at her strike, sailed off into the sweltering air.
The ball rolled up the hill, tilted slightly to the right, and headed towards the hole. It continued to engage, slowed down as it approached the hole and… finally fell in! Tiffany was the winner again. Her feelings of anxiety were washed away by the waves of happiness and pride as she cheered.
However, no one else stirred. They simply stood there, observing her with the same uncanny smile.
Tiffany walked to her caddy. “What’s the matter? I won! Give me a high-five!”
The caddy didn’t respond. Tiffany wanted to shake him. But as she reached out her hands, they passed right through the caddy’s shoulder. She gasped and immediately backed-pedaled, astonished by the sight of her caddy slowly fading away. As she stood there paralyzed by shock, the disappearing caddy slowly reappeared. However, his form had taken on the shape of something completely unusual. His clothes and skin were now composed of numerous units of rectangles.
He had become a set of pixels!
As everything within sight swirled away into thousands of pixels, she kneeled and succumbed to the overwhelming scene before herShe looked at her hands and saw that they too were disintegrating into small rectangular pieces…
“Mom, this game is boring. I want another one,” the voice of a child echoed out. Tiffany looked up, but she saw nothing but pixels. “You can win all the time if you choose Tiffany.”
The reality of her existence finally dawned on Tiffany. She could not believe that she had been a video game character for years, and all she had ever done was simply act in unswerving accordance to the computer program that had been written for her.
‘But my accomplishments in golf are the recompense of my hard work!’ Years of grueling practice, along with moments of disappointment and frustration, flashed in front of her eyes. How could those merely be lines of code?
The pixels were everywhere, melting everything into streams of gold and silver. Tiffany knew that she was also losing her physical form, but she still managed to open her mouth.
“No! You don’t understand…” she shouted fiercely, “You don’t understand how much effort I put into each game. I qualified for the Final of The Masters by myself, not through your controller!”
“If Tiffany wins The Masters, I’m going to delete the game.” The voice from beyond continued.. Obviously, the child was unable to hear anything from this “virtual” world.
The sound pierced through the cloud of pixels like rolling thunder, convulsing Tiffany’s world. Tiffany heard other voices. They were everywhere, engulfing her and wrapping around her like a cocoon, almost like threads of silk, begging her to extend the lifespan of this world.
A single teardrop made of silver pixels fell onto Tiffany’s blurry cheek. It quickly melted into her face, but the cold sensation lingered.
She had fought for this moment for years. Through every setback, she had clenched her fists and persisted.Repeatedly reminding herself of her childhood dream, she had overcome numerous opponents until she stood on the tee at the Final of The Masters
Now that the day was finally here, she was faced with two daunting choices: achieve her dream or save this world. Tiffany already knew what she had to do. Swinging with all her strength, she wrenched herself from the constraints of the computer program. The ball dodged left and disappeared into the bushes.
Eventually, it was not Tiffany who held the trophy when the Final concluded.
She felt a sense of relief when the flashing lights from the cameras focused on her opponents, and the chants of the winner’s name surrounded the course. The disappointment from her failure still crept up inside, but it was worthwhile to Tiffany. She smiled and glanced up at the sky. It was dusk now, and the golden sun was slowly sinking below the horizon. Rays of sunlight brushed Tiffany’s face. She could feel the warmth spread throughout her body, comforting and thanking her.
Tiffany knew it was the program that gave her these emotions, the chance to make decisions, and the determination to sacrifice.
Tiffany also knew that she would be able to see the sun tomorrow at the driving range, precisely at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. ‘Just as it always had been,’ she thought with a content smile.