Page 54 - Contrast2015

Steph Perez

I. Mortal Kombat

Arcade Machine

Genesis.

In the beginning, my 21-year-old father could beat all of the
other Mortal Kombat gamers despite the little human bundle
he held in his other arm. And there’s me, a picture of newborn
innocence, watching the wails and grunts of pixelated
fighters, each tearing the other apart. A macabre lullaby.
Blood and fatality. As my father tells the story, I never cried. I
cheered him on with goos and gahs.

I picture him. A young man thrust into adulthood. An
unplanned pregnancy. Responsibility. His life forever
changed with the birth of his child. How many of his youthful
pastimes would be sidelined by fatherhood?

What goes through someone’s mind, knowing how different
his life was getting ready to be?

He holds his one-year-old daughter against his side as he
stands at the arcade machine. His right hand compensating
with lightning speed. Fingers flashing back and forth between
the joystick and the buttons. He beats anyone who dares
challenge him. Anyone who sees me, the kid, as a weakness.

The kid watches the screen, content.

| 52