Call me

I wrote something for television a long time ago but, although it’s a pretty good concept, it never got past the approval stage – meaning, it got accepted each time but never went further. Anyway, it was all about dilemmas that we sometimes face in our lives, when it’s hard to decide what to do because, in the two options that are available, a very thin line separates the right from wrong. To make the idea more engaging, I thought it may be best to put viewers in the shoes of the characters and have them not just sit in judgement over the characters’ choices but to also have to make that choice themselves. Because it’s always easier to make a value judgement from the outside, and wonder why someone did what they did, than it is to be in the thick of things and know why.

While watching certain situations in films, I’ve often wondered how I’d behave under the same circumstances and whether my own decision would be any different from that of the character/s on screen. During the whole 9/11 attack, I clearly remember wondering how it’d feel like to be on the plane, knowing I was going to die in the next few minutes. Like the people on board at the time did, I remember wondering about who I’d make the last frantic call to.

Funnily, I was asked precisely this question a few days ago. I was asked to imagine myself in a hypothetical situation wherein I know I am going to die in a few minutes. I’m allowed to make just one call to one person. Who is the one person, in this whole wide world, that I’ll want to call and talk to?

To those who’re attached and in relationships, the answer to the question should be relatively easy. A lot of such people are likely to pick their partners. Some of those who have kids could pick a child over their partner. But, I’m not sure how it is for people like myself…should it be simpler? Tougher? I don’t know.

I don’t have an immediate family and, so, fortunately or otherwise, that decision is taken away from me. Among the extended family, I could choose to call one of two-three people but, if I have to be honest to myself, that’d be more because, although I’m fond of them and they of me, it’d be more like an obligation. Among the few friends that I have, again, I could pick one of two or three but it’d still be more to entrust them with a responsibility or two.

So, it shouldn’t have been an easy question for me to answer. But, that’s the strange, and scary, part…the answer came to me instantly. Like I said to someone on FB today, sometimes, it’s a curse to know the answer, especially when it comes to you so bloody quickly.

Usually, answers help you feel free and liberated. This one feels like a curse because, in this case, the answer is the problem! :-)

But, that’s just me. Do you know who you are going to call?