The Chosen

This distorted life through the looking glass, was worlds apart. Souls were lost to the cause.
Just like the feverish moon, their angry hearts bled out, with blood on their hands.

I watched from above as the women lined up, all dressed in white, amongst the shiny towering buildings. There she was. Her sunshine hair blowing in the wind. If only I was allowed near her. If only I was of the right age to take a woman.

In the new world, every man was assigned one. The men could choose, the women lined up ready to be chosen.

If you disobeyed, you fell to the ground like a domino piece. A pool of blood cradled you, and cut you off from the rest of the world.

There she stood, holding her breath, hoping for the light. Her rose cheeks reminded me of cotton candy, her skin soft and eyes blazing. A stare I could never forget, and fine lines that told a million stories.

I don't know her name yet, but i'll call her Summer.
A shining ray of hope in this dark, wintery world.

The men lined up like soldiers all dressed in black, and moved in sequence, ready to take their pick.
I crossed my fingers, hoping her fate wasn't set.

The men moved around each row of women, scanning, and breathing on them their desperate hot breath. Some even fought for the same one. A fight to the death. When the alarms rang, each man stood next to their chosen one.

I've watched her from the beginning, before all of this. She liked to drink green tea in the coffee shop I worked at. Her face, always in a book. She spoke softly, her beautiful face radiated across the room.

I looked harder through the looking glass, and there she stood, hand in hand with a fuzzy, grey haired man. No, no! This can't be happening. I can't let her go. Not yet. I only had 6 more months until my coming of age.

Maybe I could find a way.

Boys were always separated from girls. From birth. As I ran through the swarm of young men, and boys in the Alpha building, my heart was slowly sinking and breaking at the thought of losing her forever. Sweat ran down my face as I fled into the elevators, I had to reach her.

At the bottom, I swung open the glass doors and ran out into the open. Sifting through the sea of black and white, pushing and shoving, I searched for her. I stopped suddenly. There she was. I turned to her, and snatched her hand from his. I kissed it gently, and pulled her with all the force I had, and ran. We ran and ran until we couldn't breathe anymore and hid in an abandoned building.

"Hi, I'm Sam" I said. She smiled wide. "I know" she winked. Whatever happened, in that one moment, we were free. And that was enough for me.