---
My name is Somnial which means Sleep or Dream. It is such a weird name but in this place where I live, those kind of names are common since our names are description of our personality. Like my mother, her name is Grace and my father is Stoic. And I'm their good looking son, Somnial.
I'm really not fond of this place. Since this place only gave me nothing but Memories of Sadness. This gloomy place called Melancholic.
Early as 6:00 in the morning, I'm already up in my bed. Why? Well, I just felt like it. Even though I know that today will be the same as yesterday. It's funny that, I'm still expecting that one day, there will be someone to break this curse of sadness in this place. Dreaming that life will show up differently. That was back then when I was a kid but now that I've turned 18, I think it's impossible.
Looking around, I can see people wearing the same plain black and white clothes. Well, I do wear black and white clothes but this monotonous sight everyday makes me sick. Wherever I look or whatever I see, they all look dead.
There are times I've asked myself "Are this people alive or just breathing?" and sometimes wished I've never been born.
....Eeeeeeiiink!!!-I heard a loud screech coming from the road near our cobblestone house.
I run quickly just to find people crowding, a crashed car and a corpse.
"It's a blackout again?"
"Yes, blackout"
"He's not checking his meter, huh?"
I heard those murmurs. I took a glimpse of the man's corpse. He's already around the age of 40 I guess? Well he's still lucky that he have reached that age before blackout. He should have died earlier than that.
***
You think I'm such an evil person for saying he should have died earlier? Well, You don't know how it feels to feel dead while still breathing.
" What is Blackout ?", A little girl in white ask her Mum.
Here, we have this watch invented by some psycho geek that determines how many hours do we still have to live.
What is the real purpose of this thing? I don't really know. Anyway, once you've worn this, it's like any second you could just die in instant.
Scary but, all I can do is to check my watch every day to make sure I still have time to live. Then, after some few years my meter will just count down and when the time hits ZERO, that's where Blackout occurs...
People said that, this is the punishment of God, that's why people suddenly die for no reason. No sickness, no sign of murder and stuff. It's just one day like them, my heart will stop beating. So in this place, dying is no big deal.
As far as I've researched the oldest man known was 50 year old. Well I'm not hoping to reach that age. I'm not planning to live in this wicked place that long.
***
I sound hopeless all the time yet look, I haven't committed suicide. The reason for that is my beloved friend, Hope. Hope is the reason why somehow my life gets a bit interesting since the time I met her in our secret place. She has the same age as mine and I find her really beautiful. She has this golden brown hair, bright sparkling grey eyes, in her light blue dress and really sweet smile. Every day, all I have to do is look for her. Just a glimpse of her would make my day complete.
