You’re on your way home from a long day at work. Just as your feet hit the pavement, the phone rings. It’s your wife, wanting to know if you’re on your way home. You tell her you’ll be there in a minute, then rush to the pharmacy to get the prescription filled. You arrive at the pharmacy just in time to see the clock strike 4:00 pm. You’re flustered, not only because it’s closing time, but also because you had no idea that the medication you were prescribed would be so hard to find. Your mind turns to thoughts of whether or not you ought to try and find another pharmacy that stays open later.
Welcome to the jungle. Yoo-hoo, over here!
It’s a familiar scenario. You arrive home from work, excited to see your loved one, only to discover they’re not around. You look for them, but they’re nowhere to be found. You begin to worry, and so you call them, but they never pick up. You ask Facebook friends for help, but you’re not getting any traction. Finally, you give up, retreat to your couch, and begin to scroll through your social media feeds, trying to find some rays of sunshine among all the negativity. You decide to take a walk, get some coffee, and hopefully, they’ll show up when you return.
Hours turn to minutes, and still no Lucy. You’re starting to wonder if it’s some sort of practical joke, but you pull yourself together. It’s now 5:00 pm, and you’re seriously considering calling the police when your phone rings. Once you answer, your heart skips a beat when you hear the voice of a loved one. You both laugh, and the anxiety fades away. You make plans to meet up later in the week, and you head to bed, exhausted from a long day.
Viagra Pill Man
It’s the middle of the night, and you’re lying in bed, trying to get some sleep. You’re having flashbacks of the day, wondering if you made the right decision, wondering if this is all a mirage. You’re starting to doubt everything except for the fact that you’re with your wife. You can always find your way back to her, no matter what. You tell yourself this over and over, as you toss and turn, unable to stop wondering if this is all a big mistake. A mistake that may cost you the woman you love. A mistake that may end your marriage, perhaps even your family, perhaps even your life.
You’re having angina, your heart is pounding, and you fear you might have a heart attack. You get out of bed and head to the kitchen to get something to eat, but as soon as you sit down, you realize you have no energy to put food in your mouth. You try and fail several times before giving up and turning back to bed, where you lie awake, worrying and wondering if your night of passion was just a figment of your imagination. It was a dream, it was a nightmare, it was something else entirely.
Wondering If This Is Real
The phone rings, and you pick it up, half-expecting to hear Lucy’s voice. Instead, you hear a strange, mechanical voice instructing you to take some strange, new medication called Cialis. You have no idea how you got on the phone, or who you’re speaking to, but you feel strangely calm, as if you’ve gotten yourself into a deep, dreamless sleep. You ask the person on the other end of the phone if this is really happening, if this is all a nightmare, and the voice replies, “Yes, but it’s a good nightmare. A nightmare for the other side.” You nod your head, feeling a sense of relief as you realize this is all just a horrible misunderstanding, and that you’re going to wake up in your own bed, with your wife next to you. You tell yourself that you’re going to take this Cialis, and that you’re going to fix everything. Then, as you lay there in bed, you realize this is far from over. You begin to wonder if the nightmare is just beginning.
A Little Help From Your Friends
It’s been a long day, and you’re feeling a little low. You head to the refrigerator to get yourself a drink, but as you open the door, you see something on the floor, something that looks like a piece of paper. You bend down to pick it up, but as you grab it, you discover it’s not paper, it’s metal. You open it up, and inside is some sort of code. It’s gibberish to you, but you realize this is probably the unlock code for your phone. You Google the code, and sure enough, there’s a number you can call to get assistance. You decide to give it a try, and so you punch in the code, and after a few rings, someone answers, “Hello?” You hear a click, and then, “Hello, you’re on the other end of a video call with one of our representatives. How may I help you?” You feel a little better, a little less like a robot, ready to be dismantled and reprogrammed. You tell them who you are, and they connect you with the pharmacist. After a short delay, during which you hear the click of a keyboard, the pharmacist comes back on the line. “I’m sorry, but we are unable to fill that prescription at this time.” You hear the click of a disconnect button, and you tell yourself that it’s just another glitch, that it’s probably nothing more than a computer malfunction. You decide to try again later, after you’ve taken care of some business.
Carrying On
It’s been a long day, and you’ve had some more glitches. First, there were the prescription problems, and now, it seems, your debit card is locked. You think it’s probably just a glitch, but after checking your bank account, you discover there’s a charge from a pharmacy you’ve never heard of. You call them, and a recording instructs you to be patient, while someone helps you over the phone. You tell yourself it’s just a coincidence, and so you go about your business, carrying on as usual. Only, it isn’t usual, is it? It’s strange, having your life changed so dramatically by a piece of malware, a virus that took over your phone, your tablet, and your laptop. Strange, and at times, a little terrifying.
Try Again Tomorrow
The pharmacy stays closed, and you do your best to sleep, but you can’t. You toss and turn, haunted by dreams of a faceless, mechanical voice, a voice that keeps asking, “Is this real?” You keep wondering if this is all a mistake, if someone will come along and tell you everything’s going to be alright, that this is just a bad dream you’ll soon wake up from. Only, it isn’t a dream. It’s real, and it’s more terrifying than anything you could have imagined.
So, what’s your story? Want to share your own Viagra pill man experience in the comments below?