“Well, what would you like to do or learn?” Tina asked, not knowing where to begin. There were so many things Bette would be interested in but Tina wanted Bette to be the one to point them out.

Bette looked around the living room and stuck her finger at the TV set, “What is this box with black glass? I looked at it several times but it does nothing.”

“This is a TV…television…where you can watch movies, listen to the local and world news or watch hundreds of other programs. It is for entertainment mostly,” Tina answered and turned the TV on, “I’m not going to explain how it works…it’s too difficult even for some people living in this century. Just for you to know that everything you see on the screen is on film so people, animals and things that you’ll see are not actual people, animals and things but their images.”

Bette looked with astonishment at the bright TV screen and was surprised that she actually understood right away what it was for. She became quickly engrossed in the historical documentary about the events of World War II and watched with fascination different advertisements and commercials in between. Tina showed her how to work the remote control and went to the kitchen to make them lunch, knowing that Bette’s going to be busy with the TV for a long time.

‘What a wonderful box,’ Bette thought, clicking the control buttons amazed at the speed that the programs were changing. She was laughing at some cartoons like a child, listened with attention as a woman with a bright yellow umbrella talked about changes in weather, and she even swayed a little along with some music clips she found on the MTV channel. Tina was making lunch and smiling constantly as she listened to different reactions coming from Bette.

Suddenly Tina heard Bette saying “Oh, no” and she could swear that Bette was crying. Tina ran into the room and saw Bette watching ‘Days of our lives’ episode and crying while watching a funeral scene.

“Bette, are you okay? Why are you crying?” Tina asked softly, sitting next to Bette and slowly stroking her back.