My Life in Technicolour

by Russell Ruffino

The image in the mirror changed as I leaned in towards it..

I was looking down at a field, small children were racing across uneven turf, cheered on by parents. From above they all looked the same but I knew I was the one out in front, I always won, except this time. I looked away knowing what was about to happen. The crack of my tibia was louder than the cheers of the spectators.

As I watched I saw the defining moments of my life. I flushed seeing myself kiss my first girl, badly. I smiled as I won my first fight.

I don’t know how long I stood there, peering into the mirror, hardly blinking. My contact lenses began to dry out and scratch my eyes, but that might have been my imagination.

I got disinterested when the events became more recent, I remembered all this stuff quite well, I was almost bored. Then I saw myself stumbling through a club and making my way into a cubicle. I watched myself peer into a small silver square.

I thought about looking away at that point, as it skipped to the next event.

Comments

Average Reader Rating: 4.0 stars out of 5

  1. My Life in Technicolour

    Saint Chuck's Buddy Icon Saint Chuck

    Posted 2 months ago

    Interesting turn of events, will he now be able to see his future as well? I like how you portrayed his childhood memories; very well done.

  2. My Life in Technicolour

    THX 0477's Buddy Icon THX 0477

    Posted 2 months ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Very trippy, with a slight sense of foreboding for me at the end there. I mean, when else do you see your whole life flash before your eyes? Did you mean to use a lot of run-on sentences? That first paragraph in particular. I could sort of see doing that to get across the speed of it all, but just wondering.

  3. My Life in Technicolour

    Ana Cristina's Buddy Icon Ana Cristina

    Posted 2 months ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    I like this a lot, though I have the same question as THX , about the run-on sentences being accidental or not. If you _did_intend them, try putting ellipses in between them or something to help even out the pacing. Otherwise, it feels a bit stunted.

  4. My Life in Technicolour

    Russell Ruffino's Buddy Icon Russell Ruffino

    Posted 2 months ago

    I did kind of intend it, but I have got rid of most of them and it’s probably better without them. It was an attempt to get the flashing of the images across but it didn’t really work.

  5. My Life in Technicolour

    Russell Ruffino's Buddy Icon Russell Ruffino

    Posted 2 months ago

    Is it just me who gets the first line of the 2nd paragraph looking really weird and running of the page? I hope so, otherwise no one will be able to read it. If it isn’t just me does anyone have any idea why that might be happening? It’s in a different font and everything!

  6. My Life in Technicolour

    Ana Cristina's Buddy Icon Ana Cristina

    Posted 2 months ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    I see it, too. Did you write this in a Microsoft Word document and then copy and paste it? I’ve done that and this has happened before. Try going into edit mode and retyping it to see if it helps.

  7. My Life in Technicolour

    John Perkins' Buddy Icon John Perkins

    Posted 2 months ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    I also see it. Had to copy/paste to read the whole thing. Very trippy trip here. Interested to see where this goes as I had the same thoughts as THX about this foreshadowing his death.
    Also, I think your second word should be “image” instead of “imagine.”

  8. My Life in Technicolour

    thebetweenspace's Buddy Icon thebetweenspace

    Posted 2 months ago

    Great concept and yeah I see that strange text as well. Maybe if you retype it it might go away…

  9. My Life in Technicolour

    Ana Cristina's Buddy Icon Ana Cristina

    Posted 2 months ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    Listening to Coldplay on the internet today, I came across their song, “Life in Technicolor.” Did it influence the title to this perchance? ;-)

  10. My Life in Technicolour

    Russell Ruffino's Buddy Icon Russell Ruffino

    Posted 2 months ago

    No it didn’t! I don’t like Coldplay, although I think Chris Martin’s probably quite a nice and funny bloke. I saw a play few years ago called My Life in Theatre (starring Patrick Stewart and Joshua Jackson) and that was the influence.

Want to comment on this ficlet? You need to sign in!