ESCAPING FREEDOM

PART ONE

Right when I thought that I was done speaking to my mother she calls me back downstairs. I roll my eyes at the thought of speaking to her again. She does not get it. She met my father when she was six and never fell out of love with him since that day. Sometimes they make me want to gag. They claim that the love they have for one another is everlasting and that there is nothing that could break it, and I believe it. My father often talks about when they were younger and how they helped each other beat insufferable hunger and homelessness after the war that was brought onto our country by force. This war was like no other, it tore apart our country and separated us from one another due to the lack of existing resources. My mother and father often discuss how they scavenged for food often and also how they were unable to find a stable source of income for several years due to everything being destroyed in the mess of war.

Before I was born my parents were able to create the society we all live in now. Each year there is a ceremony, we all call this the rebirth. During rebirth one is essentially given a whole new life, they are given a lover, a job, and eventually everything else to be successful within society. After the war was over there was nothing left. People had to rebuild everything and create jobs for people that were struggling, and for the people, whose work place was destroyed. Everyone has a place within society and we are all able to work together in order to maintain this society and keep it successful due to the work of my parents. It's all they ever talk about, how before I was born they were able to create this society and change the way in which people work in order to maintain a successful community. All I want is to one day be as happy as them and to be in a relationship where I put someone ahead of myself in order to maintain their happiness. I have never been in love, however I have heard stories of people in love with their match, and how they learned to love the life they are given my matchers. Matchers pair each person with a partner, job, wage, house, etc. in order to help them achieve the most amount of happiness they can. I look at my mother and father and I want what they have, I want to be successful, I want to have a family and I want to be in love, and in a few days I will be able to know for sure who and what will help me accomplish this. In three days time I will be able to see my life and the life that is made for me because the ceremony will take place. Isabel told me that she is scared, however I am not scared I am excited. Isabel has been my best friend for several years and she knows me best. She also knows my family and she knows my parents would have never created this system if they knew it did not work or if it was not accurate. I trust them. They have been matching people the past two decades, and from what I've seen it's been a pretty high success rate.

I heard my mom once more say my name.

"Lavender!" She yelled even louder than before

"Oh my gosh can you get any more obnoxious it takes me a second to get down the stairs" I screamed with anger

"We want to talk to you about Friday" , my mom said hinting at the ceremony that was to occur on that day

"What about it?" I challenged

"Your mom and I just want to make sure that you are prepared and ready for the change" my dad said finally chiming in.

"Precisely" my mother added on

"You think after eighteen years of listening to you two that I have not been prepared" I questioned

"We know you are prepared, however this is going to be a big change and we just wanted to see how you are doing with this." Dad answered

"You guys are crazy of course I'm ready!" I yelled as I stared to stand up in order to make my exit.

"Lavender stop" my mom said in a matter-of-fact tone

"You have three days left to boss me around" I said snapping back

"I have a lifetime to boss you around" my mom said sharply

"Whatever" I said as I turned around once more to head back up the stairs.

"Goodnight" my dad yelled sarcastically as I disappeared up the stairs

I didn't answer him back, I refused. Instead, I began to walk up the stairs and headed back to my room where I knew there would be peace and solitude. Three more days  I repeated to myself. three more days of listening to my mother bark orders at me and my father observing and never once stepping in. 

Three more days being stuck in this house with a list of rules that seemed to grow as time went on. As much as I loved my mother I also hated her. She was nothing like me. She was a leader, a mother, and a wife. Three things I never want to be. I've never told anyone that, but it was true. It did not matter if I told anyone though because it was still going to happen. I was going to be forced to have kids with someone they force me to marry and procreate with. Sometimes I think I was adopted. My parents are nothing like me. My mother is harsh and strict with her parenting whereas my father is quiet and easy to convince of things. My mother also has blonde hair and blue eyes, My father has blonde hair and green eyes. I myself have black hair and piercing brown eyes, almost black. How is that possible? How am I so different? I pondered on this thought as I fell asleep.