Day 332 - Records

 RECORDS 

Prompt - Records : Go through your file box and pull out old receipts or records...write something inspired by what you find!

The story was there in black and white.  Addiction.  Was there any other word for it?  He'd been trying to figure out where his money went, why he was always broke at the end of the month, despite the pandemic meaning that so much of what he used to do - gigs, football, the pub - and had pulled out his credit card bills for the past year (he wasn't even sure why he got them mailed to him , as he did all his banking online).  They made it clear what had been happening.  He had known, but not wanted to admit it.

Every month, more than once, a word jumped out from the page.  Kickstarter.  Mostly followed by Non-Sterling Transaction Fee.  Interspersed with the odd payment for import taxes.  How many items or projects had he pledged for?  How many of the few items he'd received so far had actually proved useful?  Why did he go through the Newest tab on the app every single day, looking for more people to back.  Clothes.  Bags.  Electronics.  Music.  He couldn't resist.  It was getting to the point where he was struggling to pay the credit card off, and for what?  Was there anything he'd pledged for that he couldn't live without?  Did any of these things, this stuff, 

make his life better?  Didn't the richness come from doing, not having?  

He looked at the projects he was backing.  Two of them had yet to reach the end of their funding cycle.  The clever speakers, which gave a visual as well as aural interpretation of the music, had easily surpassed it's target.  So if he were to cancel his pledge it wouldn't really hurt them.  But they did look so nice, and he could see them on his desk.  While the CD project was struggling.  Cancelling his pledge now would dishearten the musician, one of his favourites, further.  He couldn't do that, could he?

He'd think about them.  He had four days left on the gizmos, seven on the music, so there was plenty of time to decide.  Then he'd give up for good.  delete the app.  Except he needed it to keep track of all those projects he was still waiting to deliver.  So it would still be there, watching him as he watched it.  But he wouldn't pledge for any more.

Except, last night, he'd seen a watch that looked pretty special...