Cause of Death: Murder

1

2016

I've always thought that ignorance is bliss. That it's better to go through life not knowing than to face the things that could hurt you, head on, because they can't hurt you if you don't know they exist, right? I thought this way until I was given a chance to see the things that could hurt me before they did. I was given an opportunity to not only see, but change my future, to make it a place that I wanted to live in.

A few years ago, there was an advancement in technology... This advancement allowed people to see into their own futures. You could see what college you go to, at what age you get married, how many kids you have... you can see how old you will be when you die. When someone turns twelve, they have the opportunity to see their future. Twelve. Twelve-year-olds aren't trusted enough to use an oven let alone make such a big decision. But, that's the age when the computer can best look into your future. I don't really understand how the computer knows what it does but I've been told by several adults that it's better to not ask questions. I'm not gonna lie, I'm scared to find these things out. The only reason I said yes to this was because all of my friends were going to do it, but now that I'm here, in the doctor's office, I'm realizing how little I actually want to learn about my future.

"Do you want me to go over things again, boy?" The doctor said in a gruffly, looking down his long nose and through a pair of thin framed glasses that magnified the deep laugh lines on the corners of his eyes. I blinked out of my mind babble.

I looked down at my lap and twiddled my thumbs, "Yes please," I spoke quietly so that he couldn't hear my voice waver in fear.

"There's really no need to be nervous, it's a simple process," I had to stop myself from snorting when he said there was "no need to be nervous", anything could come up from this test, "I'm going to take a swab of saliva from the inside of your cheek, then, a strand of your hair, then I'll take a small blood sample. After that, I'll take the DNA to the specialists who will then send the future card to your house in 10-14 business days. From there, you can look at the card at any time by slipping it into the slot on your computer at home. Is that all making sense to you, boy?" I didn't like how he kept calling me "boy", it made me feel like I had done something wrong. But still, I kept my mouth shut and nodded.

Then the doctor pulled out a large cotton swab and told me to open wide. His bushy gray mustache twitched as a smile grew on his face which didn't help comfort me at all. Then, he plucked a strand of hair out of my head without warning me; I jolted and let out an embarrassingly high squeal. Next came the needle, he put a rubber strap around my arm and counted down from three when he put the needle in. Blood made me queasy so I opted to look at my mom who was sitting in a chair on the side of the plain black and white room. She gave me a warm, reassuring smile but my nerves kept me from returning it. Then, it was all done. The doctor said once again how long it would take for the card to arrive, then he told my mom where to go to pay for the whole thing. My nerves still hadn't calmed down.

*13 days later*

It's been here for two days now. I've been staring at it for two days. It was the size of a normal credit card but it was sleek and black with only my name written on it in square silver lettering: Xavier Bellisario. My eyes were glued to it as it sat on the desk untouched.

"Just put it in the computer, what's taking you so long?" My older brother, Marcus who was four years older than me, asked. I think he was slightly annoyed because he wanted to use the computer that I was so inconveniently sitting in front of.

"Maybe I don't want to put it in the computer," I said simply, crossing my arms and leaning back in the desk chair. It was true though, I really didn't want to do anything but stare at it. Behind me, I heard Marcus sigh.