Times of the Immortals

Chapter 3 Aurora

    I open my eyes. The alarm didn't go off, but I was up early out of habit. My father had drawn the blinds when he left, and now the bright white light flooded the room. For a few seconds I remember who I am, what kind of life I live, and most importantly, what I remember.

My Transition Ceremony is happening...

This blinding light makes me feel like I'm suffocating, as if the heavy direct rays have destroyed all the oxygen. I chased away the memories of the dream, sat down in bed and began to think about what awaits me.

I'll soon be twenty-one years old, which means the time will come when I can become Immortal. Of course, it could have been earlier; some people make the Transition at twenty or even nineteen, but never later. The reason for this prohibition is that at the age of twenty-one the human body is at the peak of its development, we reach the golden mean of our maturation, and the Immortality Poison is working. And if you take the poison later...

Personally, I've never heard from anyone I know exactly what will happen, but I'm one hundred percent sure it won't end well.

The Transition Ceremony existed when my father and mother were young, but their families could not afford to pay for immortality. That's why my parents spent their whole lives trying to get Dio and me to make the Transition, and if not for the terrible tragedy (the details of which I still don't know), very soon the cherished dream of my ancestors would surely have come true.

And now... everything is split in two, and their dream will not be fully realized. Mama. Dio. Papa. The only people really close to me are either gone or will be soon... Analyzing this, I understand why I am so insecure about wanting eternal life.

Eternity! Nobody really thinks about this word, but it is much bigger and more terrible than it seems. It's like eating oatmeal from day to day, sitting in an empty room, waiting in vain for a loved one who will never come. Sometimes I am surprised at the conservatism of my views, but I believe that we should not live forever, that it is unnatural... Everything has a beginning and everything has to end. So immortality is a way to a goal that has suddenly become infinite. It's boring when you think about it.

The longer I keep my body in bed and go deeper into reflection, the more conscious the decision to give up the Transition becomes. I may be one of the few people who has the chance to live forever, but I don't need it. Living and living are very, very different things. I wonder... of all the Organizers of the Transition Ceremony, the rulers, the authorities, and those who have gained eternal life, did any of them ever think about what might have awaited them after death if they had remained ordinary people?

Have any of them left room for God, for heaven? Isn't anyone else in this world afraid and needless to ask a higher power for forgiveness? A kind of false life surrounds all these "characters"; dulled feelings, literally poisoned bodies, the same white clothes... Unreal! I want a different destiny for myself, but... more and more it seems that the solid surface under my feet is crumbling and I'm going to fall off very soon.

On the nightstand, a tablet flickers demandingly, which means I have a new message. It can only be one person. I throw the blanket aside and pick up the device. I click on the message and a three-dimensional projection of Athena's face appears in front of me.

- You look beautiful in the morning! Just don't answer me, brush your teeth first! - My friend pretends to wrinkle her nose. I don't even try to answer, the connection is one-way. - I hope you're still in bed, because the news is amazing! Paris and his friends invited us to Neon! Can you believe it?! - The hologram distorts slightly as Athena dances triumphantly, her face exploding into pixels. - Tonight, seven o'clock. And wear the dress I gave you for your twentieth birthday!