As the sun sinks lower in the sky, a golden glow envelops the park and reflects off the river, casting everything in amber.
“It’s surreal, isn’t it?” Max asks, half expecting an answer.
Alex sits on a simple wooden bench, running his fingers over the carvings etched into its surface. His eyes gaze over a pair of initials in a jagged heart.
Max turns toward Alex with a snap-like movement. "Are you even listening?"
Alex blinks twice. For a moment, he forgot Max was there. "Yes, surreal.” A grin spreads across his face. “But isn’t it all? I mean, do you ever think about how none of this is real?"
Max furrows his brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, there's no proof," Alex presses on. "Everything I perceive—sights, sounds, feelings—they're all just my brain processing electrical signals in total darkness. You, me, this conversation, even this park, even the sun—it’s all just a construct of my mind. There's no evidence that any of it truly exists."
Max sighs and shakes his head dismissively. "You've been watching too many sci-fi films."
“No, hear me out,” Alex persists, his grin softening. "I've been pondering this for some time now. I have no proof that you’re real. You could be a figment of my imagination. A character in my own personal movie. A mere hologram." He pauses at his realization. "You only exist because I’m perceiving you."
Max laughs nervously. He’s now the other side of Alex. “You sound like you’ve lost it. I’m sitting right here, man. Talking to you. Of course I’m real.”
“Alright, but if I close my eyes and cover my ears, are you still there?”
“Of course.”
“Are you? How do I know that? When I’m not directly observing you, you’re nothing but a thought, so how do I know you’re anything but a thought right now?”
Max’s cheeks are flushed. “Because I’m right fucking in front of you.”
Alex slowly runs a hand over his stubble.
Max pokes him on the arm. “You feel that?” He pokes him again. “That’s me… Because I’m real.”
“Yes, I felt that. I’m experiencing a feeling, but that doesn’t mean you’re real. It just means my brain is interpreting signals sent by my skin.”
“Sent by me, asshole.”
“According to my perception, sure. Without my perception, there would be no you, and there would be no touch.”
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