Short story - Sweet Dreams

They told me not to be afraid. With meaty hands resting on my shoulders they hurried me on, mouthing encouraging words with robotic voices but all they did was restricting my movement. I had nowhere to run to, I a can only move forward. In truth, they were parasites, forcing my body to move abnormally. I had no intention on reaching ‘Paradise’. I only wanted to see my siblings again.

It started when I was six years old. These men in fancy black suits stormed into our house and inquired about my parents in static robotic voices. I told them they were still working at the store. They said they would wait. A woman arrived later on. All the men addressed her as ma’am and did not dare look at her in the eyes. I hated her. She had an aura shrouded around her, seeping out of her through every pore of her body; the one that I sensed when Great Aunt Jenna passed away and dad took me to her funeral. Even when she smiled, even when she called me a cute little girl, I felt as if she had her hands around my neck like the squids on Discovery Channel, smothering me. Strangling me. She even had the same robotic voice the men had. I ran into my room and hid under the bed after that. My parents came home a few hours later. The men stayed on and then I heard the woman conversing with my parents in a very a serious tone, the way bad guys talk on T.V. would. My father nodded at everything she said. When they left, I heard dad saying things like ‘It’s inevitable’ and ‘We knew this day was bound to come’. Mom kept silent. She always does that. I hate that about her.

Three days later, my eldest sister, Emily, went missing. She was twelve. I was hysterical and cried the whole day. I begged my father to go look for her. He told me that she had gone to boarding school and won’t be back for a long, long time. I did not believe a word he said. He blinks a lot when he lies. After that, everywhere I went, everything I did, I kept on thinking of Emily. The dining table always had an empty seat. The funfair was not as interesting without Emily. She never came home, not during my eighth birthday party, not when we moved, not even when Uncle Bill got married.

The T.V. started to show weird commercials. The government was launching a new campaign or something. I did not understand a word the woman was saying. All I know was that it was for the greater good of the people and that we should all accept it. I changed the channel.

I still think of Emily once in awhile and kept hoping that one day she would walk through the front gate, full of confidence and then everything would be normal again. The twins, Ben and Zack are going to be twelve in a few months. All my friends think they are so handsome and so cool. I’d laugh it off and told them that if they knew of their habits at home, they would not be so interested in them.

Two days later, the men in fancy suits and robotic voices came again. I was not afraid, not anymore. Nobody is going to take anything from my life again. I grabbed the sharpest knife in the kitchen and stormed into the living room. I knew that I was ten but that would not stop me from taking action. It will not serve as a barrier to me. Just as I was about to enter the living room something stopped me. A hand. A fragile one. Shivering. I spun around and saw mom just staring at me. I told her to let go, I told her to let me make a stand. She just stood there and never did. Then the tears started to flow and she told me to stand down. I cried too. I knew what was going to happen next. I knew I was going to lose Ben and Zack. I’m going to be alone again. Before the men left, they said they were coming back in two days and told us to ready ourselves. How heartless can we humans be.

Two days later they came as promised. It was one of the darkest days of my life. I just stayed in my room, crouched in one corner, trying to squeeze my way deeper and deeper. I heard Zack shouting and stuff falling. Ben who was more level-headed shouted at him and told him to stay calm. Then I heard a thud, of wood or metal against a head, and Zack’s voice was of the past. Mom screamed and cried, her voice choking against the spasms in her throat. Then there was the sound of vehicles coming to life and leaving the premise of our house. And that was when my tears started to flow. I have lost them. And I could do nothing about it. I will never again see their smile, their laughter. I will never see them fight, never again will I be protected when I get bullied. Never again. I stood up and brushed my clothes, wiped the tears with the corners of my sleeves and punched the mirror of my dressing table. The shards cut into me and I bled. It felt good. The pain felt good. I never cried again after that day. Not when my relatives dies, not when Babe, my Labrador got poisoned. The tears fossilised in me. And it will stay there. I will make sure of that.

There was no more joy in our house. It was as if the angels themselves had run out of tears and left, leaving a void of nothingness in their absence. The empty seats only served as a reminder of what we went through, what we had lost. I never talked to my father after what happened. My conscience cannot accept the fact that this man that I had once referred to as my father could still sit at the dining table, drink his coffee and read the paper while his children are somewhere out there crying for help. For him. For their so-called father. To think that I am part of his flesh and blood made me sick.

Every now and then I would wake up in the middle of the night and find my mother in the living room, crumpled in one corner. Her eyes reflects no light at all, lifeless. Those once lively green eyes… The first time I saw her, I comforted her, tried to get her back on her feet. I thought I had succeeded the first time, I thought by lending her a shoulder to cry on, she would be alright. Of course, I was wrong when a couple of days later, she would be in the same spot, her lifeless eyes directed nowhere. I used to care. Now, I would just close my eyes and return to the welcoming warmth of oblivion.

Today I turned twelve. The men in fancy black suits did not come. I panicked. What if I’m spared? What if I get singled out? I was far from being overjoyed. I did not want to be in this position! I do not want to be the one who lived to tell the tale! I want to be there with the ones that were dragged away from the warmth of their home. I want to be tortured, to be the one who have lost all hope in life like the many others.

The men did come. They were a week late. I wasn’t saddened nor was I thinking of running away. I might’ve even smiled when they drove in. This time, my parents were right there waiting with me. The men walked in, apologised for the delay, took me by the shoulders and we entered the car. Through the rear mirror, I saw my mother nod to my father. As the car moved further away, I saw my father shoot my mother in the head and then turned the gun on him. The car took a left and my house disappeared form view. I kept mum but I confirmed one thing. I did not imagine what he had said when he gave me to the men.

“Take care, Alicia. Take care, girl. I love you. We love you. We’re sorry.”

We arrived at a small building. They took me in and asked me to wait. I thought of the commercial that was always showing on T.V. which I never understood the last time I watched it. It occurred to me how as you get older, you start to understand things more than before. A book for example. You could read the same book a million times in your lifetime but as you age, you view it from a different perspective. It has nothing to do with maturity. It is because as you live out your life, you go through a lot of things that changes you, creates a whole new person within you.

They said they were ready for me. I was ushered into a room where there were a hundred other kids my age. Some were terrified. I could tell that they were the first ones in the family. Most of the others had the same expression as me. We were told of the function of the facility. They were hiding something, their eyes were clouded with the amount of lie they were telling. They told us of PARADISE and how in the long term it will bring benefit to the world. I could care less. I just want to be where Emily, Ben and Zack are. They took us into another room and gave us food. Eat to your hearts content, they said. Secretly, I wonder if they were hiding something.

A few hours later, one by one, we were lead through a long tunnel. They said it was the way to PARADISE. When it was my turn, I heard them whispering. I tried to listen but as soon as they think I was, they cleared their throat and became silent. I was brought into a laboratory, just like the one seen in the movies. They told me to change into this gown which you only see old people wear at the hospital. I heard someone enter through the door. It rendered me speechless. It was the woman that came and took Emily away.

She greeted me in such a cheerful mood but all I can sense is that she brings danger. As if she was the angel of death herself. She tried to touch me but I refused. I felt that if she touched me, I would be poisoned, melt or even be turned into her. Then she spoke;

“Come now child… You do want to see your sister and brothers again don’t you? It’s going to be very hard if you won’t even let me touch you.”

I did not trust her, not one bit. However, the thought of being reunited with my siblings was one that I could not resist. I lowered my defences; the wall that I had formed around me ever since Ben and Zack was taken away came crumbling down. She told me to lie down on the cold metal table. I did as she told me. Without any warning whatsoever, she inserted a needle into my skin. I did not struggle; I did not even say anything. I just closed my eyes and remembered the commercial that kept playing on the T.V.

Today, a campaign was launched by the government in hopes of preserving the brightest people the world has known. These men and women have contributed so much towards the development of our beloved country and according to the spokesman and I quote ‘…by elongating their lifespan, they could bring further development towards our country. It would be a waste to let them be snatched away from us by none other than death…’ Currently, no one knows of the means by which the government has taken for this to be achieved. The answer given to us was a puzzling one. It is said that the term ‘the youth are the future of the nation’ is literally true. It is also said that the population growth could be controlled by this. Could this be a family planning campaign? Nobody knows for sure.

In other matters, it is said that the number of cases has reached an all time high. The reason is yet to be discovered.

The last thing I heard from the woman was ‘Sweet dreams.’. The light faded soon after.