It's my birthday, today. July 19th.
My real birthday and not the one that everyone else in this god-forsaken place has to celebrate for themselves, the 1st of January. I like to celebrate my real one instead of National Birthday Day, even though it's outlawed to do so and I could be sent to Desperato, my Division's sad excuse for a prison. They don't want people to have birthdays celebrated all year round, rather having one day that everone has their birthday celebrated on. For my real birthday, however, my father always used to bake a cake for me, saving up rations for months to have enough sugar, simply because I was his 'favorite'. He told me, "If anyone asks, simply say it's a random treat." Then, my three older siblings and two twin younger sisters would eat the cake and drink hot water with spices that we called 'tea', even though it didn't taste nearly as good. Every year, when I blew out imaginary candles, I wished for my mum. But she'd been dead for years, only a year after the twins were born. A few months after she'd completed her Purpose and had the amount of children assigned to her with my dad. Before she'd died, of course, we had my birthday party with her. But only 4 of them.
Those were the days before the Division leaders completely lost their sences. It was before the prosecutions began and before random citizens were pooled up and taken to Despereto, even if they hadn't done anything. I think it's because of the over population. They take you there and kill you to get rid of the over-crowd in Division 22. But, of course, that's not what they tell you when they take you. Instead they say that they were taking you to Despereto to interogate you. The problem with the spiel was that no one ever came back from 'interogation'. That's what happened to my dad, only a month after my last birthday.
Since then, I've lived with my older brother, along with my twin sisters, whom the Division Leader's deemed as my new guardian until I turn 18. Which was fine with me. I'd only have to live with my brother, who was a little too overprotective for my taste, for about 11 months, barely a year, before my next birthday. Then I'd be free to go and have a life and try to forget that I was robbed of the last 5 years I would have had with my father around, due to the Family System. My mum had been robbed from me, as well, being a Breeder.
A female Breeder, a woman of the age who had shown impecable health, fertility, and high proficiency in childcare during their Testing, always had a Purpose of birthing 5 children, no more no less. And it could take them no longer than 15 years after their 18th birthday to complete that Purpose. It was stupid, in my opinion, to have a set experation date for yourself... morbid, even. Some Breeders try to get it over with quick, having their kids within 5 years, which is about as fast as you can do it, I guess, and dying shortly after, while other Breeders take their time, using all 15 years so that they can live as long as possible. My mum was one of the latter, trying to live life to the fullest during her 15 years. The government took her away right after the twins were born, angry with her for going over her Purpose, which is stupid because she couldn't choose whether she had twins or not. Mum had 6 instead of 5.
That's one of the many flaws of the System.... you can't really completely control how many children the Breeders have, or any of the other women in the city that aren't Breeders, even if the Division Leaders try. Nowadays, only Breeders are allowed to have children, because of the over population, which has been a disaster since non-Breeder women are trying to "fight for their right" to have kids. They used to be allowed 2 kids each.
So, I guess, thinking about this, in Division 22, everyone's family is eventually robbed from them, as are millions of memories they could have had and opportunities. And someday I'll be robbed from my own family, someway or another. That's how our System worked, how it's worked for years and how it will continue to work untl the end of time. There isn't an end to any of it, seeing as most kids are brainwashed in school with the idea that the System is perfect. When they're older, they have nothing left than to believe what they've always been taught and follow the path that has been set for them.
