The Broadcast

by Liam Fialkov

  Sarah’s efforts to make amends did not skip the bedroom. She made a point of being available and loving, and to accept him whenever and wherever he wanted. On his birthday she came back from work early after shopping in the supermarket. When Jonathan helped her with the groceries, he noticed she had purchased an unusual amount of chocolate. “What’s all this chocolate for?” he wondered.

  “Later I’m going to make a chocolate spread,” she answered, “and then I’ll rub it all over my body. Your job would be to lick it off.” She giggled when she saw the immediate effect of her words on him; the bulge in his pants. “Men,” she smiled, “You are so transparent.”

  “Women,” he responded, “You are so mysterious.”

  They returned to hiking together on the trails of their land, rediscovering and reconnecting to nature, and finding once again the mystery of the forest and the magic of the water flowing in the creek.

  The three dogs were overjoyed to come along with them. Loyal Bono, Bucky, and Narla always went with their owners. They tagged along when Sarah or Jonathan walked separately, but it seemed that the couple’s shared hikes made the dogs especially happy.

  On one Saturday morning, they went for a trip and picnic in the forest. They stopped by the creek, where they had a picnic with sandwiches that Sarah had prepared, and fresh orange juice that Jonathan had squeezed.

  “There is something about the program, The Broadcast,” Sarah said while enjoying her sandwich, “that for some reason speaks to me personally.”

  Jonathan nodded and looked at her curiously.

  “I know that this show is important to you,” she said, “after all, your brother is producing it. So maybe it’s because of you that I feel connected to it, more than any show I’ve ever watched on TV.”

  “Well,” he responded, “it is indeed a unique program that allows us to see events that we never had access to before.”

  “But beyond that,” Sarah said, “I feel that in some way, the program corresponds with my life. And as it is going backward in time—if I too would go back in time, I would be able to acquire insights that would have a direct impact on my life in the present.”

  “But isn’t that true for all of us?” he wondered. “You are a psychologist, and in psychology, there’s always an effort to solve the residue of the past and its implications on the present. Maybe investigating our history is a kind of psychological process that allows us to understand our behavior as a society.”

  Sarah pondered his words and said, “But I feel, that something personal might be revealed to me that is somehow related to The Broadcast.”

  After they had enjoyed their meal in the natural surroundings, Jonathan looked for a flat piece of land, and when he found the perfect spot, he spread a blanket over it, making sure that there were no stones underneath.

  “What are you doing?” Sarah asked.

  “I would like to make love with my wife,” he answered.

  “I have a better idea,” she said, and a spark of naughtiness flashed in her eyes.

  “What?” he wondered.

  “Let’s make love at the site…”

  “Are you sure?” He apprehensively asked, while trying to think of the various aspects of the idea.

  “It’s a pagan site,” she said. “Let’s make pagan love, and we’ll dedicate our love to the gods and the universe.”

  “OK,” he hesitantly said. “I hope that we won’t harm the spirit of the place.”

  “If we’re honest, respectful, and most of all, loving, then the site will accept us,” Sarah promised, and felt that the site was calling her.

  They folded their belongings and made their way in the direction of the site. While walking, Jonathan continued to wonder whether they were doing the right thing, and the more he contemplated the issue, he realized that he would deeply regret it if he would let his fears stop him.

  At the bottom of the strange hill, the dogs stopped, as they always did. Sarah and Jonathan continued, climbing up the hill, cutting through the densely growing trees and bushes. The road wasn’t long, but it required significant physical effort on their part.

  They reached the summit, where there were no more trees, and a friendly blue sky welcomed them. Leaving their bags at the side of the glade, they stepped in with a feeling of reverence, and this time also with a considerable level of excitement.

  Sarah walked to the center of the site, the midpoint of their private Stonehenge. She stood still, closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and from her inner being, she asked the spirit of the place to grant her permission to do what was in her heart and mind.

  A low, muffled rumble was heard, and the land shook slightly. It could have been frightening, but the two of them had were already familiar with the expressions of the exceptional place, and their hearts were not overcome by fear, only with a sense of veneration.

  Then, Sarah swiftly dropped her clothes and stood stark-naked and barefooted. She looked at her husband, who followed her to the center, but it seemed he hadn’t managed to free himself of his hesitations. She understood she had to lead; she held his hand and pulled him closer to her. The sun stood at mid-heaven, warm but not burning harshly and a mild breeze blew among the branches of the trees. She embraced him, looked at his eyes and felt how his body responded to her nudity. “Take a deep breath,” she gently whispered, and he filled his lungs with air, and then slowly exhaled.

  She helped him undress and guided him to sit on the rock in the center of the circle, which was warm to the touch. She then stood in front of him. He hugged her, looking into her eyes, pulling her and bringing her closer to him. He saw a spark of foreignness in her eyes. She was his beloved and familiar wife, yet, there was something different about her, like another spirit, and he imagined her to be the pagan priestess of the site. Slowly and gently, they joined.

  The sexual connection was pleasant and pleasurable, but not much different and unfamiliar than what they were accustomed to. They loved each other as they had numerous times before.

  After some time, Sarah heard a flap of bird’s wings behind her. She didn’t turn her head. The sound increased and got closer until she could feel the flutter gently touching her. She looked around and was astonished and could barely believe her eyes. The trees bent and curved backward; the usually straight trunks were arched and had the shape of petals. They were not in a glade, but at the heart of a gigantic flower. She felt how their bodies and souls were uniting. They no longer made love to one another; instead, there was immense love, and they were at its center, breathing as one body. There was union, and they were there; there was the divine, and they were part of it. The world revolved around them. The trees, birds, blue sky, the earth, and the massive rocks; everything rejoiced and celebrated their love. The time unified. The past, present, and future merged and flowed together, surrounding them in a circular orbit and they could reach out and touch every place and time in the universe.

  They understood. They knew the essence, the source, and the answers to the questions that need not be asked. And in their hearts, they felt gratitude for the world, for creation, and for the blessings of God.

  She woke up and found herself lying inside the circle of rocks, her body shivering in the evening chill. She looked around and saw him lying next to her. She touched him, and he trembled and woke up.

  “Come, my love,” she whispered. “It’s getting dark.”

  They got up and dressed, and made their way down the hill, to where the dogs were eagerly waiting. They knew that they had gone through a sublime experience, and their hearts were filled and overflowed with appreciation and thankfulness.

  In the following days, Sarah continued to function in her world and fulfill her duties. She nurtured her house, loved her husband, saw her patients in the clinic—and felt that she was lightly floating, and elation filled her whole being. The sensation of awesome well-being did not subside for six weeks, and even spells of nausea and vomiting did not diminish her good feeling.
/>   Chapter 48

  Jonathan

  Aseries of minor earthquakes inflicted several cracks on the only bridge leading to Jonathan and Sarah’s land. The county’s engineer who was sent to assess the damage had unequivocally determined that the bridge had been severely harmed, and it wouldn’t survive another rainy season, during which the water flow in the creek significantly increased. But when Jonathan went to the county offices in order to find out when the work was scheduled to begin, he was told that the county was in a dire financial situation, and they wouldn’t be able to help him this year. He would have to reinforce the bridge with his own money, and next year they would try to allocate the needed funds.

  Jonathan claimed that the weakening of the bridge was a consequence of the logging, which was approved by the county. He said that the bridge was not meant to carry all the heavy equipment that passed over it, and thus, the county bears the responsibility to fix the damage. But they reiterated the assertion that they simply had no money, and Jonathan had to give up.

  Now Jonathan and Sarah were facing an enormous financial expense, if they didn’t want to run the risk of getting cut off. When they checked their sources of income and the money they had saved, they saw that they would have to take a loan from the bank, and they suspected that the bank wouldn’t approve such a loan with Sarah as the sole provider. Jonathan had also made money from time to time, doing car work, but he didn’t bother reporting his income to the tax authorities.

  The first action they took was to allow more trailer owners to move onto their land, in exchange for paying rent. Among the new tenants was a young man from New York named Willie Fowler, who owned a large, new RV. Fowler introduced himself as an enthusiastic, environmental activist who participated in demonstrations against forest logging in different states in the US. He told Sarah at their meeting that the issue of the rainforests in South America was particularly important to him. Sarah, with the environment dear to her heart, accepted him as a tenant, even though she held some reservations as to the man’s character. She perceived him as a flatterer, and too eager to agree with everything she said. She also noticed his strange habit of sneaking hasty looks to the sides, as if trying to locate a hidden danger.

  However, even the additional trailers, up to the maximum capacity the land could hold, were not enough for the enormous expense involved in repairing the bridge. Sarah hinted to Jonathan that it might be time to sell the antique cars, which he was not as attracted to working on as he had been in the past, but he avoided giving her a direct answer.

  After a long time in which Jonathan had hardly worked, and he had spent much time in the forest and in front of the computer, he understood he had no choice, and he would have to return to the workforce.

  About a dozen years earlier, Jonathan withdrew from his studies of graphic design and animation in college. He didn’t want to spend his valuable time driving back and forth to the college, where he sat next to young people who viewed him as an old man, a relic from a different era; he also wanted to avoid spending time preparing for unnecessary exams. But after his withdrawal from institutionalized studies, he didn’t allow himself to rest, but he actually increased the pace of his studies. Jonathan was not someone who needed external discipline to engage in the fields that attracted him and appealed to his heart. He purchased the software, as well as instruction books, and he diligently immersed himself in studying the applications that interested him. He started in two-dimensional graphics and progressed at his own pace to programs of animation and virtual reality. He realized that he wasn’t endowed with a creative imagination, but the clips that he created were very accurate and reflected his tendency to strive for perfection and precision in the minute details.

  From time to time, he anonymously uploaded works to the Internet. The responses were positive, and viewers expressed their favorable impression of his talent and ability.

  Jonathan never thought of turning to animation as a source of livelihood, because he assumed that he had already missed the boat, and managers in the field of graphic art were probably looking for younger and more creative people than him.

  But when the financial pressure increased and hovered like clouds over their heads, his and Sarah’s, he started to consider the possibility of trying to get accepted in the line of work to which he was attracted, and in which he’d invested so many hours.

  The apprehension was significant: a fear that he would get rejected, and even laughed at. He didn’t dare to try his luck until he convinced himself that his chances of getting accepted were very low, so he really had nothing to lose.

  Sarah encouraged him to look for a job in the field that was close to his heart. Both of them knew that if he didn’t succeed, he could always find a job as a car mechanic.

  He answered a classified ad published by a large company that was looking for an animation specialist. The company’s base was in the Silicon Valley, a forty-minute drive from his home. The name of the firm was Anim-Art, and it was headed by the billionaire Barry Dawson, who was its founder and visionary.

  When Jonathan arrived for his job interview, he looked a bit out of place and stood out in his appearance, due to his advanced age. He sat in a waiting room and waited along with five young people, all of whom were hoping to get the desired position, which carried with it a high salary. While he was already over the age of forty-five, they looked half his age: ambitious young people, optimistic, driven by motivation and self-confidence.

  When they called his name, he entered a clean room with large windows, where he was received by a beautiful oriental-looking woman whose name, he learned from a small signboard on her desk, was Mrs. Shirley Chang. She introduced herself as the human resources manager.

  She asked him a few background questions: what his experience was, how many years he was active in the field, and in what computer programs he was proficient. After she had written down his answers, he was politely asked to return to the waiting room, and wait with the other applicants.

  After about twenty more minutes, a friendly young man showed up. He was dressed in an athletic outfit and had long hair tied in a ponytail. He asked them to come with him.

  “My name is Douglas Green,” he told the small group that followed him, “and I’m in charge of examining and assimilating new employees.” Douglas Green led them to a large room and guided them to sit in front of well-equipped digital workstations. “I just want to clarify,” he said, “all the questions that you were just asked in the human resources office, and all the credentials and degrees people brag about, don’t amount to much here at Anim-Art. We want our people to demonstrate remarkable performance capabilities, and your task today is to impress me.”

  Douglas Green gave them a testing assignment. They had to exhibit their capabilities by creating an animation film showing the first day at school of a first-grade student, by using 3-D programs of their choice.

  The clip had to be about five minutes in length, and they were allotted three hours to accomplish their project. The young man left them in the big room to do their assignment, and he went to work in a nearby office that had a big window, through which he could see them, and they could see him.

  Jonathan was ready for the challenge. He was familiar with the programs and was skilled at using them. He took a deep breath, and with a pencil and paper, he dedicated a few minutes to manually designing the clip. He did it while the other candidates were already working on the computers.

  When he finished planning, he enthusiastically turned to the computer and focused on his work. His ideas and thoughts streamed from his mind, through his hands, became discernable on the computer screen, transforming into lines, shapes, colors, figures, and movements, which took on a life of their own. He progressed rapidly and confidently, so completely immersed in his project, that the world around him ceased to exist. There was only his creation, which materialized in front of his eyes. It took him about thirty minutes to complete his project. Then he saved his work, got up,
and knocked on Douglas Green’s glass window.

  “What’s the matter?” the young man asked. Green assumed that Jonathan might have encountered some technical difficulty, and it didn’t occur to him that the assignment could be completed in such speed, less than a quarter of the time that was allotted.

  “I’ve finished,” Jonathan said.

  “Finished everything? A five-minute clip? Douglas Green wondered, his face expressing disbelief.

  Jonathan had the impression that Green doubted him and thought that the older man had probably produced an unworthy project.

  Despite his misgivings, Green treated him with respect. He invited Jonathan to enter his office and sit next to him. From Green’s computer, he had access to all the workstations. For a moment, he looked at the file that Jonathan created, and then he started to play the clip. During five minutes, Green watched Jonathan’s project with utmost concentration. He didn’t say anything and just nodded his head from time to time. Several times he stopped the film and rewound it a little, to look again at particular segments. For a moment, Jonathan regretted being in a hurry to submit his work. Maybe he should have spent more time on some of the details, or in shaping the characters. Why did he rush so much?

  When the clip ended, Green turned to Jonathan, looked at him with appreciation, smiled, and shook his hand. “Impressive,” he said, “truly impressive.” Green’s phone rang, but he silenced it. “Usually, we don’t tell our applicants during their first visit whether they will get the job,” Green said. “But when I look at your project, which you completed in such a short time, I’m quite certain that you’ll be accepted to work at Anim-Art. Your work is thorough and of high quality, with emphasis on the tiniest details. Your characters are really vibrant and nearly jump out of the screen. I’m especially amazed because when I looked at your file, I saw that you have almost no formal education. Anyway, I am going to wholeheartedly recommend that you be hired.