TV
Jared’s life as a sphinx carried on as normally as it would in any other universe he had at his disposal. The three of them, those belonging to the skunks, wolverines, and tigertaurs, all hung in his closet where he’d first encountered them after a fortnight in that Egyptian realm. Lacking was a fourth option, one that should’ve been given upon the return of the other onesies. A month had passed since then, and no sign of any package or letter from Leland had shown itself. Jared worried if the magician had grown bored of him. There was no way he’d lost track of Jared somehow, not after the extreme feats of locating the drifter which Leland had pulled off three times now.
Jared was disappointed, but not crushed. He could certainly live the life of a mythical winged creature, though the honeymoon phase of discovering such a place had worn off eventually. Flying became as exciting as walking or taking the elevator. Without such an ability in the other universes, he opted not to go back to any of them. Until the opportunity to experience a new universe and creature arrived at his doorstep, Jared would enjoy the eclectic world of intelligent, flying mammals with whom he shared the megatropolis.
Not every day was spent flying or working (his job as a restaurant host carried over to this place too. Go figure.) Time spent at home was more or less the same as it had been when he was a human: either curled up on the couch and watching TV or in front of the computer. The only difference here was the nature of his furniture, that being simple cushions for him and his big quadrupedal body to lie down on. All the television shows that existed in the human universe existed here as they did in all the others (sans the tigertaur one) albeit with a certain sphinxian flair. Not only were all the cast sphinxes, but there seemed to be a shift in tone and line delivery, kind of like the actor or the writer was speaking directly to the audience as if on stage and not on screen. Perhaps the sphinxes hadn’t quite escaped their Shakespearean phase.
With the novelty of it all having long since worn off, Jared was left to browse channels and stream as aimlessly as he once would when there was nothing to watch. He’d rewatched just about all his favorite movies and TV shows. It was time for something new. Jared was atop his TV room cushion with his lion legs loafed beneath him. He thumbed away at the channel paddle, his bored expression appearing and then disappearing to the flash of the TV screen. A journey through what Netflix and Max had to offer yielded nothing of interest. Regular TV was no better with nothing catching his interest. I could be outside flying right now, he thought to himself while imagining the muscles in his body actively atrophying. But going out to fly required removing himself from the comfort of his pillow. In this world, flying was like walking. Why go out and do that when there was a perfectly good TV to rot his mind with?
His journey through the channels continued at a tepid pace, and the hopes of finding something to watch gradually dwindled. At this point I should just get on my computer and go to YouTube, he thought dismally. No point in languishing here all night. There ought to be- The thought was cut short by something on TV. His Nubian eyes went wide, and his torso snapped to attention. The legs beneath him came out from beneath his body, ready to stand because he’d been so startled. What the hell was that?
Written by TheGreatJaceyGee on 01 September 2024
