Rhys was holding in his hand a D.V.D which mysteriously was put in his mail-box. Hours went by and curiosity was prying and gnawing at him. Fearful of what he might see when watching the video, hours went by until he finally decided to watch it.

He lived alone and had no wife, child or friends in life. At 24 years of age Rhys’ occupation was writing. His obsession for writing caused him to become alienated and developed a false sense of exalting himself above his fellow man.

He played the video but there was no sound or visuals. The video continued showing a black screen and just as he was about to turn it off, an image was seen. He attentively was looking at the image of a child, it was him at 9 months.

“What the hell? Impossible!” Rhys said to himself when photos began playing one after the other. The photos were ascending in accordance with his chronological age.

Seeing himself go through primary school, Rhys was staring non-stop at the television. He found this video fascinating and mystifying at the same time. The video was now depicting the time when he won an award in writing. Having obtained many other awards, he became swollen with vanity and a high opinion of his work. He was unable to tolerate criticism and judgment of his work that the result was him alienating himself altogether. Believing society to be idiots and nothing but livestock for not appreciating his work, he simply disregarded society all together.

The video was still playing. His entire life was shown up to the moment where he had put the video into the D.V.D player. However, the video did not end. Instead it was now showing his future. Rhys saw himself becoming vainer where he now spoke no more to any person, let alone his own family. The video now showed him becoming a hoarder and more of a recluse in his life. Still he was not married and he was growing older.

As he watched, not once did he smile, only a scowl was his constant expression. Rhys was feeling complete regret and hatred of himself. There were opportunities for him to have change in his life but pride did not make him yield to change. The more the video was playing the more his heart was saddened and full of regret. He was now seeing himself old and grey, he felt affliction and misery he never thought could exist.

The video was continued until all of a sudden his older version died. Rhys was speechless while staring at the blank screen again. This phenomenon was an occurrence no-one could even think possible. He wondered whether it was divine intervention. A second chance? Regardless, one thing he was sure of was that his future needed to be different.

***

Tell us what you think: What would you change about yourself or life if you could?