Alternate (Watty Award 2013)

The Boy Who Lived

NEW YORK, 3032

Jacob Lincoln woke up. He was in the hospital. ‘Jacob! You’ve finally woken up from your consciousness!’ the doctor said. He froze. ‘Where am I? I’m supposed to dead! And my father—where is he?’ he asked. The doctor didn’t say anything. ‘Doctor, please! Where is my father?’ he asked.

‘Jacob—‘

Jacob suddenly knew. His father was dead. He was killed by the bomb. He didn’t survive the attack. ‘NO! HE CAN’T—NO! HE CAN’T DIE!’ he screamed. ‘I’m sorry, Jacob, but he is! He didn’t survive—you, somehow, survive the attack,’ the doctor explained.

Jacob cried. His father, the person that loved him most, had died. He ran. ‘JACOB!’ the Doctor tried to follow him, but they can’t. He was broken.

‘Dad!’ he screamed. He exited the hospital, and looked around him. New York was a mess. Fire and bombs everywhere. It was chaos. Everything was ruined. The trees were on fire.

‘How can this happen?’ he said to himself. ‘I’m sorry, Jacob,’ The Doctor squeezed his hand. ‘I DON’T NEED YOUR SORRY. I want my father back!’ he said. ‘Jacob—‘

ALTERNATE NEW YORK, 3123

General Lincoln closed his album. ‘What were you looking at, General?’ Sam asked. ‘Nothing, Sam. I was just looking at my old photo album,’ he said. The General opened his album. There were a lot of moving pictures, showing General Lincoln with a lot of people. ‘You look nice with dark hair,’ Sam said. ‘Shut it,’ they laughed.

‘Why are you here, Sam? I thought we don’t have anything to do with the other universe because we’re literally live streaming them right now?’ he said. Sam laughed. ‘No, I was just read this news on the paper. And I found this,’ Sam gave General Lincoln the newspaper.

‘’The Boy Who Lived Is Now a Big General’,’ General Lincoln said. ‘So what?’

‘This whole time—I mean, this whole time, you are the boy who lived?’ Sam said. ‘Yes, Sam. I am. And there’s nothing special by being the boy who lived,’

‘FOR YOU! But for me, he is everything,’ General Lincoln looked at him. ‘And why is that?’ he asked him. ‘Since I was a little boy, I lost my family too—just like you. And when I heard about you—the boy who lived after a bomb attack, you—you gave me hope, General. I mean, you were about to die. You lost your father. But you survived... from an enormous bomb attack,’ Sam explained. General Lincoln didn’t answer him, and he left him alone.

NEW YORK, 3123

‘Do you remember when I was so upset because I lost everything, Dr Eve?’ The President said. He was finally stayed at his guardian’s house, Dr Eve Sullivan. She was the doctor that saved him a long time ago. ‘It’s ok, Jacob. I mean, we’re all—all of us have their own break down moments, and that was yours,’ she said. ‘But what if all of that happened again? I can’t do anything about that, then!’

‘Jacob Lincoln that I remembered was so much braver than this,’ she smiled. ‘Well maybe I’ve changed,’ he muttered. ‘Well, what I believe is that, you are going to be the best president ever. You are going to end this,’ she said. ‘Thanks, Dr. Eve,’ they hugged.