Let me begin by saying that I'm pleased you've decided to correspond with me. I came across as overly confident yesterday, didn't I? However, I fretted over your response. I did! Now that you've answered, one weight has been lifted, only to be replaced by another.
You're in. You said "yes." That means I have to be committed to this as well. There's no backing out now, and frankly, that's terrifying. The next few weeks won't be easy for either of us.
So, let's get on with answering your first question. No. This is not a joke. While I can understand why you might think it is, I'm not playing a game with you. I'm not your teacher trying to trap you into doing something illicit. I'm not an informer hoping to raise my social status by revealing to the Leader a major flaw in his Heir's personality. I'm not a desperate citizen trying to coerce you in order to get a relative out of one of your father's re-education camps.
No. I promised you honesty and that's what you'll get. You have no reason to believe me, of course. Who am I? I'm just words on a page at this point.
I won't bother asking you to trust me. Instead, I'm inviting you to explore what you see with your own eyes, what your mind can reveal of its own accord.
Look around you, Theo. Even though you've been taught to accept things blindly, this is something you can no longer afford to do. Besides, it's in your nature to want more than what you've been spoon-fed. I wouldn't be here if it weren't so. Question me, question my intentions, my loyalty to the Leader, but also, question what you've been taught.
People often see each other more clearly than they see themselves. I see you from a perspective you cannot share—from the outside looking in. You are an anonymous anomaly—the unknown son of the most famous person in the Land. You were born into a prison in which you still live. It's comfortable, yes, but that doesn't make the bars any easier to bend. Privilege and comfort are harder locks to break than those made from steel.
Don't shake your head, Theo. You know what this life is that you're leading. Deep within you, you know. You've never left these walls. You aren't free to leave them now. You sit in your lovely prison, day after endless day, serving out a life sentence you've been condemned to since birth.
Ask yourself, Theo— is that a joke?
YOU ARE READING
Every Day in May (grand prize winner) ✔
Fantasia***WINNER of the "BREATHTAKING: A FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL WRITING COMPETITION!" "You are a secret kept from the world, but not from me." So begins the peculiar message found slipped under a bedroom door on the morning of May first. Theo...
