Artificial Love

Chapter 2

      I've had two years to mentally prepare yet during that time I chose to act as if nothing were to happen but it was starting to get real now. Letters were received in the mail weekly now. The most recent one read,

"No response to venue choice has been given. Location of marriage will take place at Givens Venue. We look forward to watching this beautiful wedding take place."

     I hadn't sent one back ever, most of them contained a few options on selections that would take place at this "wedding" such as food, venue, and honeymoon place. I knew what would happen though, I read about it a dozen times growing up in class. About this government deal that ultimately ruined lives and how it happened. The government tried to make the "wedding" look like this marriage was an act of free will, like at least one of the people getting married didn't absolutely dread it. The person I would marry would be a social reject. Someone with something really wrong with them. The whole system was fucked really. Those with money and awful, maybe even unlovable children could pay for a guarantee that their child would have a set marriage. Now those who desperately needed the money had the choice of offering up their children to be married. Just so the parents could receive some money. Unfortunately that's the category I fall into. I would refuse to live that life though and knew I needed to escape from a life like that, and that is why my bags are already packed in my car and this would be my last stop before I hit the road for miles and miles. I throw my unfinished hot chocolate in the trash and make my way to the car.

     2:00 am the clock read. I have been driving for almost 8 hours now. I knew I needed ro rest but with there only being two months till the "wedding" it was hard to bring myself to stop knowing every moment counted but I had no choice unless I wanted to fall asleep behind the wheel. I drive a couple more miles 'till I read "24/7 Nights and Days Inn". It looked like it was decades old and wouldn't even be on a map but that worked perfectly for me. I wasn't sure what happened to those who tried to escape the marriage, only rumors. Some say they'll track you down and kill you, some say they'll just track you down and force you back to get married with unknown consequences. If I get found I can only hope they choose to kill me though. I'd rather be dead than in that forced marriage with a man who is probably crazy if his own parents thought he couldn't find love on his own. I pull into the dimly lit parking lot and pull out the cash I had been able to save as a waitress which was a couple thousand. It wouldn't last me forever but hopefully enough time for the government to give up on finding me and I could re-start as a new person in a new life.