The Institution

You'll get sent away . Didn't matter if you had a disease, a sickness. Maybe the flu or even a cold. You'll get sent away anyway. It was now my turn. The Iron ceremony was coming up at the stroke of Midnight. The branders from the company were coming. Coming in different shapes and sizes.

I never thought about what getting sick would mean. I've seen people getting sent away for the simplest of things and I just watched. Watched and knew in my mind that I wouldn't be one of those people. Things have really turned on me now.

Its not a peaceful process, going to the institution. Once people are alert of your disease, sickness anything they alert the institution. And when they come they drag you out of your house if your a fighter, its an unpleasant thing to watch. Inside the institution isn't a piece of cake either, people have shared terrible stories of their experiences. And once they make way to your ears, you'll want them to get out of your mind, forever.

You'll try everything to stay healthy, herbs, spices anything you could get your hands on that could help. But some people aren't so lucky. herbs could be poisonous, spices go bad.

home remedies were my families speciality. Especially my dad he was the one with the fancy medicines.

My father knocked on the door and poked his head in my room. "You'll get better" he said while sitting on my bed, his hand in mine.

I laughed bitterly. "They found out. How did they find out who betrayed me? Only our family knows and Mara knows as well."

"I don't know Veronica. I have no idea how they found out that you're color blind." He sighed.

"Someone must have tipped them off!" I bet it was-" father cut me off.

"Hey,Hey,hey! Let's not get upset. Let's enjoy this day while we have it" he said.

I sighed after him. "Can you go get mother and Darren?" Father nodded and left the room.

I'll be stuck in the institution as long as my life lasts. Having a condition like being color blind means

Father Mother and Darren entered the room. Mother sat down next to me. "well get you out I promise you this. We will get you out" she repeated

Darren patted my shoulder in agreement. "We'll communicate, can you write up there?"

I nodded "so I've heard. But the people from the company look over your letters there's about zero privacy in there."

"Can you at least visit?"

"Yes but only for a brief time. And you have to meet in a public place with people from the company on your back. Like I said no privacy."

"We'll devise a plan somehow" father stated.

Darren kissed me one my forehead and I headed out of my room to go and meet Mara. It wasn't a far walk. It was for enough to where my feet started to ache but I've walked longer distances.

Mara house wasn't big nor small. It wasn't a loft or a mansion, it was just a house, Mara's house. I knocked on the front door and Dan answered the door. There was a long pause of silence and then we were hugging and then I was crying.

Once we pulled away he said to me "Are you ready?" And all I could do was shake my head.

The next thing I knew he kissed me. And I couldn't even register what was happening, he waited and waited until I kissed him back. "You're ready" he stated. Being interrupted Mara came and Daniels hold on the sides of my face loosened.

We didn't have to say anything we just hugged and Mara invited me inside for a drink. I hung my coat on the coat rack and walked down the stairs where Mara stood at the bar. It was my last day might as well make the most of it right?

Daniel put on the radio and Mara poured something clear into a small glass. At first I took small sips of the liquid but Mara told me I was supposed to swallow the whole thing at once. It was strong, too strong for my taste so I told Mara to hold the drinks for a while.

Mara ran upstairs and said she was coming right back so I started to walk around the basement. I had hardly been down here usually Mara's father was busy smoking a cigar and fooling around with his buddies so I hardly had the chance to really explore the place.

There were old photographs lying around, baseballs and a couple trophies, old ones.

"Did you win these?" I asked Daniel while examining the case.

He came over and stood behind me. "Not all of them. See that big one right there?" he pointed to the biggest trophy in the case. "That one's mine. The rest are my dad's."

"That's-" I was about to say but the buzzing in my back pocket Interrupted me.

"Hello." I answered into the phone. Father wanted me home and the Branders were coming in a couple of hours. The institution was coming. Time was scarce so I spent the next fifteen minutes saying goodbye to Mara and Daniel.

And just when I was about to walk through the door Daniels lips met mine and we stayed like that until I kissed back. And then we pulled away and I had to say goodbye to the both of them.

The walk back was interesting and I saw the institution cars going in the direction of my house so I started to walk faster and faster until I started to run. Once I reached my house there were people in hazmat suits talking to my father at the door.

Walking up the front two porch steps, the hazmat suit guys took my by the arms once took me by the left and the other by the right. I kicked and screamed but their hold on me was too strong. Dragging me to their van.

They stuffed me inside with a bunch of other people. It was almost claustrophobic. People were coughing, sweating bullets and groaning in pain.

The ride to the institution took about an hour. Looking out the mirror, there stood a giant building, an old one at that. It was almost like nineteenth century prehistoric. The driver drove up the entry way then the van came to a halt.

The hazmat men slid open the door and "guided" (more like threw) them out of the van. I was last to leave. This one man helped me down the stairs and then the other pushed me around until I reached the door. And then We were in.

We were all in. Taking in the fumes of the institution were strange. It smelled like hand sanitizer and latex. The people in the company were in hazmat suits just like the Branders.

They let you stand there and take in your surroundings right before they push you down the hallway into a dark room.

I was first this time to be branded. A hot piece of burning steel touched my skin and it was like fire danced on my body. Pain was an understatement and my cries of pain didn't even seem to bother the people from the company,in fact they seemed to enjoy it.

Once they were done I was covered in perspiration and had little to almost no dignity left.

No dignity left

Next they led me to my room all the way on then way on the sixth floor. They want the illest of people on the bottom floors so they cant get to them faster. But me there's nothing wrong with me I just cant see color.

Surprisingly, the bedroom they put me in was almost modern it had a bed, television, a desk, a simple wooden chair and dressers.

"Stay here." Said one woman in a hazmat suit the sound was almost muffled due to the large screen in front of her face. So I did as she said.

I waited, paced, thought,wondered until someone actually did enter my room. One hazmat guy walked in and walked around. Didn't say anything just looked oicked up things and walked. There was silence for a while and then he said "Nice room you got here. Better than the trash they give the others."

Since he sounded younger in his voice I paid more attention to our conversation. "Pardon me" he says lifting the mask off the hazmat suit. "Where are my manners. I'm Luca."

Then my world came crashing down.

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