The New World

The moment I was born, I was given a bracelet.

A simple silver chain; one easily found in a jewellery shop. But the difference was my bracelet had a unique charm. My charm. It was like no other, simple yet perfect in my eyes. But everyone thinks that about their charm. Others probably think of mine to be strange or ugly- just as think about theirs. It’s not my fault or anybody else’s to feel this way though. Once you feel as if you have seen perfection, nothing else compares. You can’t physically look at another’s charm without feeling as though it’s missing something, even if it is spectacularly shiny and beautiful in comparison to your own. It’s all about ego really- a charm reflects a person’s personality.

It’s difficult to understand. Only two people in the world can understand one person’s charm to the fullest extent. One of them is the person actually wears the charm. But that doesn’t mean others can’t understand part of the message- the more you know a person, the more you understand. Say, when it comes to a stranger, you are unable to identify the ins and outs of their personality. You have to get to know someone to see further into the message of the charm- when it’s a stranger the best you can get is how that person if feeling at the time.

When I was younger I devised a list and put it on my wall to remind myself how close I need to get to a person to know important things about them. I suppose it sounds insensitive, as my Mother told me, but I find it difficult to trust people, constantly wondering if they’ll betray me- some of my acquaintances tell me that the get the feeling from my charm that I’m a ‘mysterious person’ and often they back off once they get that I’m not very friendly. Mother tore the list down when she first saw it. She said she didn’t like the thought of me making false friends- it was the opposite really, once I could read their charm well enough to get that they were good people I would properly befriend them. Otherwise, well, any ‘friendship’ we had is over.

Stranger- Emotions: Angry, Happy, Sad etc. (If in contact for long enough, possible to see if the person is hungry/thirsty and cold/hot.)

Acquaintance- Few doses of information about personality; Outgoing, excitable, dull, aggressive… 

Friend- Simple: Favourite colour, birthday, Likes/Dislikes

Family Friend/Lifelong friend/Best friend- Lots of information: Taste in music/books/films, clothes they like, relationships within family (Good/bad).

Family- Almost everything, including all of above and hidden secrets if close.

The bracelets are truly incredible. Thanks to them, crime has gone down by around 86%, and they were the solution to The Fall. Whenever you see someone whose charm shows them to be extremely angry, or if you can tell that a friend has done something bad, you just report them to ghosts. Considering no one who gets taken by the ghosts return, nobody is stupid enough to commit a crime. Before she died, my Grandmother told me stories- tales she heard from her Mother- about the times before the charms and The Ghosts; during the time of The Fall. The human race has almost gone extinct due to the heightened crime, murder and corrupted authority. Things have changed since then though, and we have advanced.

That’s what people say anyway- personally, I think we’ve just reverted back to our old ways, before the fall.  Technology hasn’t advanced- I myself haven’t seen any robots wondering around. World hunger hasn’t been cured and accidents which cause death still happen. I know the latter at least is true otherwise there wouldn’t be any purgers around. There are still homeless people milling around on occasion, but since 2195, the decree of ‘Roaming street vagrants are to be removed from society for the good of our nation’ was put into place, you don’t see them around anymore. Not that I’m old enough to remember a time before that. As far as I can tell from history books, the only advanced part of the New World is the lack of crime- a person pickpocketing another would probably be in the media for weeks. Some would call the New World bliss. Others would call it dull.

Nevertheless, the bracelets are a cause for good. Exceptionally good in fact, even for those who don’t spend their lives searching for crime- but search for their soul mates. They can drive a person insane of course, having to live in the knowledge that there somewhere out there is your other half, your destiny. Without them, it’s impossible to lead a full life. Slightly depressing thought to think when you know that sometimes you’re unable to find your love before it’s too late. Your soul mate is the only other person who can truly read your charm other than yourself- even if you’ve only known them for five minutes. I have always been cynical about there being someone in the world who could love me and I could love back, but occasionally I do feel the slightest warmth from my charm.

That’s how you find them. Of course, some find other ways to speed up the process by using methods like the web or research- including my Grandmother. Mother waited apparently, always telling me that she wanted to meet her soul mate- my Father- naturally. Perhaps if Grandmother did the same she’d still be alive.

The charms get warmer the closer you are to your soul mate, and colder if you are further apart. The first moment you catch eyes with them, your charm gets so hot it burns you, so you know who they are. I was worried about the pain once, but Mother told me that the love you feel so instantly banishes all hurt. Again, I am cynical. If your soul mate dies, the charm is permanently cold and you lose all of your will to live. Mother’s is so cold that she takes it off it the house. If it’s off in public, The Ghosts take you away as they think you are hiding something.  Most people wouldn’t dare anyway; they’d be too afraid that they’d miss meeting the love of their life.

My cousin was once sitting at dinner in my house and looked out the window. Her burn looked very painful, but at least she had her soul mate to take care of her. I couldn’t understand how she could look at this stranger with such love considering he was 20 years older than her, but I know nothing of love. Nobody does until they meet their soul mate considering no one falls in love or even dates anyone until they meet ‘The One’. It seriously limits the amount of experience a person has in a relationship.

The bracelets are symbols they say. ‘Symbols of Peace, Democracy, Love and the establishment of the New World; The charms are our way forward, No Man, Woman or Child shall live in a world full of hate and crime. The charms make sure no one must live without love in their lives, ultimately clearing all rage from their hearts. To Live. To Love. To Survive.’

But it’s never that easy.

When I was born, I was given a bracelet.

A bracelet with a charm, which creates the cause it’s trying to fight.

Welcome to the New World.