Another Us

120. I love playing computer games, so do you. As you already know, one of my favorite games is Sims. This all-time favorite life-simulated game allowed a person to control virtual characters of one's own making. It's very much akin to a virtual dollhouse and since I used to be a dollhouse/barbie type of child, this was no doubt quite appealing to me as a teenager as you could imagine. I was quite addicted to it, and I nurtured our characters up until we had our ideal house, careers and family. We even had adorable pets. Yes, I made sure that the virtual you and the virtual me had our respective astrological signs and saw to it that they did things that we would normally do or perhaps hope to do one day. Yes, admittedly I cheated at some parts of it: I cheated on the money-making aspect of it so I could freely decorate and add rooms to the house and so that our Sims would never run out of food. I also cheated on the immortality aspect of it by letting ourselves drink potions that would keep us young and healthy and far from the clutches of death. Time moved so fast in that world that in no time at all our children were grown up and had families of their own that were all conveniently located in one neighborhood so that we could visit. It was a fun game. When I saw our sims kissing or cuddling, I couldn't stop myself from wishing that we could do that too or that someday we would have a life, as luckily provided for, though not as perfect as theirs. Our sims never fought. We fight some of the time and have the privilege of making up. Because their lives were too perfect and unrealistic, somehow it became tiring and repetitive to play. The sensation of your lips next to mine or having you take me in your arms made me come alive in more ways than one. Real life is indeed so much better. It's unpredictability is glorious. Better to build better versions of ourselves in reality than in fantasy.