Writers Jam

Born in Summer 2021, there's this one PC that I never use. Dust settles between the ridges of a worn-out keyboard with ghost 'A's and 'E's. A mouse with buttons as loose as the wires. The second-hand TV screen reborn as a monitor displays a perpetual black mirror.

To use it, you've to:

1. Turn on the main power supply
2. Use the tiny, clicky, on/off power switch hanging out of a hole in the CPU (Using the power button that's already in the CPU is for LOSERS)
3. Locate the TV remote
4. Check if the remote has batteries
   i) If not, use the AC batteries for now
   ii) If yes, pray to God that the batteries work
5. Use the remote to turn on the TV-cum-makeshift monitor
6. Connect the computer to the Wi-fi router using an ugly-ass grey wire that spans the hall to reach the bedroom (You CAN NOT hide it)
7. Pray again that you don't require a camera for anything because it is, as I said before, a fucking TV screen that my Dad bought for 2000 rupees off of Flipkart

Oh, also, you can't change the brightness. Imagine the brightness, color contrast, and sharpness settings meant for a TV that you watch from a safe distance. Now imagine that less than an arm's length away. Bye-bye late night working. Hello burning irises after 5 minutes.

I remember setting this up in the middle of the pandemic, feeling like the biggest, most competant nerd on the planet. I held up a flashlight over my Dad's shoulders, watching his fingers move with a practiced, prescient knowledge. I took over with a magnifying glass to connect the tiny, tiny wires in the motherboard when his eyesight failed him.

"What does THIS do?"(It helps with the speed…. if I remember correctly)
"Do we actually need this?" (Must be, I've always done it this way)
"How does this work anyway?" (I don't know ma, I can't explain the science behind it)
"Was it always this tough for you too?" (It's been a long time since the last time and I've lost touch. Sorry I can't help you more)

I turn it on every six months, never for more than 30 minutes. I look at Dad's face on the login screen, type in his birthday for the password. I open his email id from his browser, lest the corporate overlords throw a dead man's belongings in the irretrievable trash. I listen to old recordings of us singing, backup old photos, clear up his old files. I dust out the cobwebs in the C drive, and light a candle for him in the middle of the Windows 10 start menu. My eyes sting. It's too bright, too colorful, too much I don't know how to fix. I follow the 7 steps in reverse. I shut it down.