The Heartless Man

"I never thought that for the rest of my life, I would have to chase after something no human should ever need to chase after. My vital element, the heart. It was ripped out of me like I hadn't deserved it... and replacing it was something robotic. A machine, a man-made object; an artifact of hell; something people build as punishment for their sins."

When I was born my parents named me Draco. "Draco the great, the strong." This name derives from the Greek word "Drakon" and is translated as "Dragon." It is also the name of a constellation of stars that appear to resemble the image of a dragon in the night sky.

I had lived in a mansion, bought by my scientist parents. It was an isolated place, located far away from the rest of the world. My home floated on a hill above the entire city of Frankfurt. It was a strange place. Its walls were tall with high ceilings and its windows would be so clear you couldn't possibly notice the glass. It had served well for the daily routines but it was always empty. The tall gray walls never had any paintings on them. The gardens outside the house were plain and sad-looking. The rich mansion looked more like a big prison.

My parents were emotionless, gothical, tall personas. Their faces were blank and they had the stares of soldiers. They were people who never cared, talked, or thought about anything other than science and best education. They were almost obsessed with the idea. Every day, before going to their highly prestigious jobs as scientists, they would make sure to leave me at home with endless mountains of books and papers that I would have to finish all in one day. They wanted me to grow up to be just like them, a rich scientist who has nothing better to do than count their income. To make me like themselves they did everything imaginable. I was like a robot designed to do whatever its creator wishes.

Ever since birth, my life has been a constant cycle of erudition. Surrounding me would just be one big academy. It was an eternal series of math, science, German, history, and English. I would read until my brain hurt. Write until my hand felt like it was going to dissolve into thin air. Shift through the masses of papers until I wanted to collapse. After the hard day of work, my mother and father would return and calmly walk by my completed assignments like they were nothing. They would later take them away and I would never see that work again. They would never congratulate me on doing well in anything or tell anyone much about me. I was nearly non-existent. Never noticed for even the biggest things that I have done. Maybe to my parents I was just another science experiment.

When I was six years old, my younger brother was born. I was electrified when I heard the news. I could not believe that suddenly, my life had the chance of becoming better. When my brother would grow up, I would finally have someone to talk to other than my own self. He would be the only person who is like me. Together we would be able to leave this gothic cathedral of a house and see the world! But unfortunately...all of my dreams were shattered, when on the next day my family had received news that my brother was diagnosed with a heart disease. "Of course!" I thought to myself. Nothing was ever meant to change and nothing good was ever going to happen. I was devastated. I could barely imagine how I was going to continue on with my life. Why did all of this need to happen to me? Maybe the world was just doomed to always stay the same.

I could remember my mother's outrageous weeping that day. It was the most shocking thing that had ever happened. I couldn't believe that my emotionless mother was crying, or even showing any emotion at all. Strangely, I never had the opportunity to once see my brother. I wondered what he looked like and if he looked anything like me at all. He had to! He was my brother after all! But what did it matter, he was going to die and I would never be able to even see him. I would have to face the fate of living in my small empty world, out of which I would never be able to break out of.

I was awakened by a bright white light near me. Everything else was nothing but darkness. Nearly my entire body was engraved in some sort of steel coffin. I had no ability to move. All I could do was stare into the black void. Out of the dark, a pair of hands slowly appeared. Somebody was there. As a result of the strange combination between the light and the surrounding darkness, the hands looked as if they were a vampire's. The hands' shadow had reflected on one of the walls. Where was I? Who was this person?What was about to happen? Is any of this even real? Then I realized that the hands were holding two cutting utensils and before I had time to notice, those same utensils were lacerating near my lungs. I began screaming out of pain. It felt like I was in a state equivalent to sleep paralysis. I couldn't move a single muscle and was forced to undergo the horror. I struggled to breath. Nearly seconds had passed and I watched as my own beating heart was taken out of my chest. It was a moment which I knew I would never forget. A very frightening moment. The hands had disappeared into the darkness and I thought that I was left there to slowly die. But I was wrong, whoever the person was; they had returned. This time, they were holding something else. Its steel shined under the white light. It was beating. It was a heart but it was not a normal one. It took me time to realize that my heart was going to be replaced with a machine. But I also couldn't help but wonder what genius could have created such a thing? I was horrified to the point I could no longer scream. Then a flame appeared in the distance...

My mind woke up after a loud and unrecognizable noise. When I opened my eyes I realized this place was unlike the robotic and gray architecture of my home. It was more real and it seemed like normal people actually lived there. I walked up to a window and was shocked to see tons of buildings, roads, cars and most importantly; people. I opened the window and heard dozens of voices, laughter, yelling, and music. I was in the city for the first time in my life.

The heart inside of me was no longer real. I knew that my real heart was taken and most likely given to my brother. I was now more robotic than my parents could ever make me. But maybe I could start a new life, in which I wouldn't have to be plain and emotionless like my mother and father. I would be the heartless man but my life would actually carry some sort of meaning. But I couldn't let that take a hold of me. I knew my brother was alive somewhere and that I needed to find him. I needed to get my heart back. I needed to prove to myself that I wasn't just a science experiment.