Writer's Recipe vol. 3 (2018)

DYSTOPIA

By: Nur Iman Fariza bt Shamsul

"Son, I want you to always bear in mind that the world is not a fairy tale. Not all your wishes will come true."

I looked up to the sky. Grey as always. In fact, I couldn't remember when was the last time I saw the magnificent mixture of blue and orange that always filled my young mind with wonder while lying down on the green grass. But that was back then. Now, there was only the foreboding clouds rolling over the hills, bringing darkness from above. But it was not just dark up there; it was equally dark down here as well. Since the new government took over 14 years ago, they separated the rich and the impoverished among us with a concrete wall so high that nobody would be stupid enough to climb up.

Unfortunately for me was, I was in the poor side of the wall. I worked as a metal collector, which was a common job for the residents on this side. We were paid with food - terrible food to be exact. Sometimes, we were paid with new gloves that we used for our job. I was still somewhat better off than most; I had my own home. That was if you could call that filthy shack a home at least.

My mum was ill - she suffered a kind of disease that made her unable to do anything except to lie on the one grubby mattress we had in our house. I wasn't an ignorant son but the truth was, I really didn't know what the disease was. In this poor side, there weren't any clinics or hospitals. Even if there were though, I didn't have any a single penny in my ripped pocket to afford any medicine. The one saving grace was mum was still alive. Every day, she would struggle and use all of her strength to say the most beautiful words; "I love you." Those words never failed to make my mouth curl into a pleasant smile. Another soul that lit my dark life was James. He was in the same boat as me and we went through our miserable life together. Mum and James - both of them were the reason for me to keep living my life and smiling even though the world seemed to turn its back on us.

The morning came and I day was filled with my usual routine. After I heard the three magic words from my mom, I dashed to work and met James. We were chatting as usual and out of the blue, he asked me, "Did you know about the other side of the wall?" I shrugged so he continued. "Rumours say that there are lots of advanced technology and facilities that we have never seen before. Seriously dude, I heard the people talking about something called Samsung. What in the world is Samsung anyway?" I shrugged a second time. He added, "They also have everything - tall skyscrapers, moving vehicles, proper hospitals...," he trailed of. My eyes shone brightly and I looked at him intently. Did he just say hospital?

"Where did you hear all of this?" I asked curiously.

"Rumours under the bridge," he replied.

"Do you think we can go there? To the other side of the wall," I asked seriously. James shook his head vigorously.

"Are you out of your mind? If we so much as step close to the wall, the guards will chop off our heads and feed them to their dogs!" I let out a sigh of disappointment. Somehow I felt a little bit of woe and anger mixed up perfectly.

"Hey you two little rats! Get back to work!" the boss suddenly barked at us so James and I began to collect the metals frantically.

I went back home that day with some tulips which I found by the roadside in my hand. I wanted to give it to my mom. "Mom! I'm home!" I shouted exhaustedly. I went to her mattress but she wasn't there. That's weird. I searched for her everywhere but she was nowhere to be found. There was a faint sound coming from the kitchen. I went there to investigate. To my horror, I saw traces of blood on the floor. Panic started to engulf me. I saw my mom's bloodied figure under the sink.

"God! What happened?" I exclaimed. I held her hand and shook her body. "Mom! Mom!" I shouted. Her lips moved weakly. She murmured something. "Thomas! Thomas!" she said my name over and over. Then, she coughed hard. There was still blood coming out from her mouth. "Hold on mom! I'll get help!" I ran out from the house to the bridge. Sweat was pouring down my body by the time I found James.

"We need to climb up the wall! We need hospitals! Doctors! Medicine!" I shouted at him like a madman.

"Slow down Thomas," he said as he looked me in the eye. "Okay, I will help you." I smiled back and nodded.

"Thanks James. I knew I can count on you. Now let's go. We haven't got a moment to lose."

We walked hurriedly to the wall. James pulled my arm and brought me to the secret passageway he had recently discovered. But then, we saw some security guards and our smile faded. I tried to walk quietly to a darker area. We were lucky as there were no security guards there. But still, we needed to be extremely careful because the wall was surrounded by electric and barbed wires. I took my first step to climb the wall. I climbed a nearby trees and clung to the wall.

When I was trying to put my feet on the surface of the wall, I took a wrong step and nearly fell down. James could only look anxiously from below but I tried to remain calm. I jumped from the tree branch and gripped the only thing I could use a handhold - the barbed wire. "Aargh!" I shouted in pain. Mom's face appeared in my mind, helping me to ignore the pain. I climbed slowly to the top of the wall. The barbed wire was ripping my flesh. "No! I can't give up! Mom needs me!" I convinced myself even though the pain was excruciating.

By the time I reached the top, both my arms were dyed red. I hoisted my body to the other side of the wall. I had no energy left that I fell down from the top. It felt like I was flying. If it was not for the canopy of trees that broke my fall, I would have fallen to my death. Still, I hit the ground hard and I could hear something crack. I had no idea how many bones I must have broken. I could only lie helplessly as my whole body was badly covered with bruises and cuts.

I was on the verge of giving up when my mom's face flashed in front of me. I had to do this. For mom. For her to smile again! I forced my body to move and get up. Against all odds, I managed to get on my feet. Yes! I made it! I was on the other side of the wall! I could go to the hospital and mom will be fine!

The city was not in my sight yet, so I decided to head for a hill nearby to get a bird's eye view of the surrounding. I approached it with a mix of nervousness and excitement. I climbed it and closed my eyes. I wanted to be surprised by the majesty of this so-called city. One... Two... Three! I opened my eyes and gasped! There were no skyscrapers! No working vehicles! And no hospitals! The other side of the wall was exactly the same as where I came from! The rumours had turned out to be just that – rumours. I couldn't believe it. I fell on my knee as mom's word echoed in my mind.

"Son, I want you to always bear in mind that the world is not a fairy tale. Not all your wishes will come true."