A man struggling to get over his girlfriend leaving, turns to eBay auctions as a source of comfort, what he finds is quite unexpected though.
He had looked at the screen for so long now that when he turned his attention to the room around him, everything was smudgy and made of shadows. The air was thick and warm; his living room was a static page.
He pushed back his chair and sipped at the tepid beer. He didn’t know how long he’d made internet auctions a habit, but it made sense to him, in his new world without her. Only this kept his body and mind operating on a level which shut her out. For the time being anyhow. EBay; a whole world of other peoples stuff, and more besides. He didn’t like to ponder the thought too long as it made his head reel – thousands upon thousands of objects and things; bits and pieces and odds and sods, all of which would probably find another home, but all the time there were factories and individuals still churning everything out…These thoughts would make him feel a little nauseous – but at least it kept her out for a time.
He kept scrolling down the screen to see what which auction was ending soonest… pictures caught his eye; there were trainers, a bookcase, a china boat. A water fountain ‘not great condition’…it didn’t matter, there were five bids on it with two minutes left to go… yes, this one would do, he could do it again. He flexed his fingers and typed in £20 as his bid, knowing that he didn’t even like the thing, didn’t even want it, you’ve been outbid! The computer answered jovially, Don’t let it get away!...
He had looked at the screen for so long now that when he turned his attention to the room around him, everything was smudgy and made of shadows. The air was thick and warm; his living room was a static page.
He pushed back his chair and sipped at the tepid beer. He didn’t know how long he’d made internet auctions a habit, but it made sense to him, in his new world without her. Only this kept his body and mind operating on a level which shut her out. For the time being anyhow. EBay; a whole world of other peoples stuff, and more besides. He didn’t like to ponder the thought too long as it made his head reel – thousands upon thousands of objects and things; bits and pieces and odds and sods, all of which would probably find another home, but all the time there were factories and individuals still churning everything out…These thoughts would make him feel a little nauseous – but at least it kept her out for a time.
He kept scrolling down the screen to see what which auction was ending soonest… pictures caught his eye; there were trainers, a bookcase, a china boat. A water fountain ‘not great condition’…it didn’t matter, there were five bids on it with two minutes left to go… yes, this one would do, he could do it again. He flexed his fingers and typed in £20 as his bid, knowing that he didn’t even like the thing, didn’t even want it, you’ve been outbid! The computer answered jovially, Don’t let it get away!...