Short Stories

A World Without Fiction

I knew she was addicted from the moment she showed me. She loved it more than life itself. Which I suppose that's why it's outlawed. Fiction I mean. Drugs used to be outlawed, then some president came along and said that every work of fiction was poisoning the country. But the internet was still accessible through certain means and if you're smart enough, you can bypass most firewalls put up by the government. And that's how she found them. Books and television shows and anime. She became lost in her own little world where she was a hero. Where she was brave. And I couldn't help her. I'm supposed to be her big brother and I couldn't do a thing. I just sat there and watched her fade away, like an idiot. But she just looked so happy. I loved the smile she'd get when she discovered something new. Or when she started writing her own fiction as a pastime. I knew it made her feel nice inside. But that sort of thing is toxic. It destroys you like a slow acting disease. One. Tragic. Death. At. A. Time. The heartbreak and distraught brought her to my room crying some nights. But yet she still pressed on. She never stopped. I should have stopped her the first time. I should have stopped. Maybe then, she'd still be here.

"The next day's entry- last entry"

I found the note she left a while ago. Well I finally decided to read it. I can't possibly be more disgusted with myself. I blamed myself for not stopping her. But it wasn't the Fiction that pushed her over the edge. No. It was real life. It's because they stopped her. It was the withdrawal. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't handle a world without them. The. Ones. Who. Cared. The. Most. When. No. One. Else. Did. I was in every story. We were always saving each other from something and we worked together to hunt down the bad things. Maybe now, we. Can. Finally. Fight. Together. Sister. I love you. I'm sorry.....