0000d 03h 14m 55s
I sit in my bathroom as Sidney tugs at my hair.
She decided on a waterfall braid with gentle curls.
She pulls my hair back.
I don’t flinch at the pain.
I store it away in a dark chest in the back of my mind.
There will be no pain today.
Because today is my Meeting day.
Mom wants to see me before we leave for school.
I don’t want to leave.
But I know I have to go.
The invisible rope has been gently pulling at me all morning.
I’ve been ignoring it.
When my timer gets closer to 0000d 00h 00m 00s I won’t be able to ignore the invisible rope.
She paints red lipstick on my lips and black eyeliner across my eyelids.
She says I don’t need mascara, that my lashes are long and thick enough.
Sidney tightly laces the dress, securing it to my soulless body.
She makes me practice walking in my red shoes I bought five days before.
I feel ridiculous when she places a sparkly tiara on top of my head.
Mom cries when I come down the stairs with my whole ensemble.
She wants to take pictures before we leave.
I don’t want to remember this day but Sidney insists.
I have to be a good girl today.
I have to pretend to be excited.
But I don’t know if I can.
I don’t know if I will ever be able to.
Not without my AJ…
YOU ARE READING
Living on Blue Time
Short StoryFrom the time we are born there is always a clock. Wherever we go there is always a way to keep track of time. When we are born, the bright blue digital timer embedded in our right wrists is beautifully blank until we are ten years old. From that da...
