Sunglasses

A story about a dystopian world where people are not allowed to be individuals. What would you do if you lived in a world were you couldn't be yourself?

Sunglasses

Once upon a time in the distant dystopian future, everyone wore sunglasses.

Be it summer or winter, everyone wore a pair of sunglasses.

Behind every car window there was a person wearing a pair of shades.

On T.V, people wore sunglasses.

In the movies everyone wore sunglasses.

At school the teachers and students all wore sunglasses.

At work the workers and managers all wore a pair of sunglasses.

On your first date you wore sunglasses

Sunglasses were important. Sunglasses were cool.

You had many different pairs of sunglasses, and so did I.

Everyone did.

One day you saw a confident, pretty girl with no sunglasses.

You ignored her

You bought your favourite pair of glasses, with your initials painted on them in silver.

People walked everywhere with no real direction.

Planes soar through the air.

When you looked in the mirror through your sunglasses, you saw perfection

The people wearing sunglasses gathered at the airports.

There were shops for sunglasses everywhere.

The famous people, politicians, and models wore sunglasses 

When you went out to eat there would be a rag to clean your shades on the table.

When you got home, there would be a specially made rack for all your glasses.

A year passed and it was the start of a new century. 

On the day of the new year everyone was wearing sunglasses.

And they were wearing sunglasses when they went to the clubs, or had a beer with their friends

You locked eyes with a confident, pretty young woman wearing a beautiful pair of sunglasses

The two of you danced with your sunglasses until dawn

When you got married, you and your bride wore sunglasses

People wore sunglasses all through the day, even when asleep

The doctors all prescribed sunglasses

You couldn’t look at yourself in the mirror without your sunglasses anymore

You hated how you looked without sunglasses

People without sunglasses were shunned

All the world over people wore sunglasses

Sunglasses were made mandatory; it was illegal not to wear them

After all, who would want to see what was behind those glasses

Your wife didn’t like the sunglasses, she said

She didn’t like the way it felt to wear sunglasses

She said it wasn’t really her

She just wanted to be herself around you

You saw her without sunglasses, and couldn’t even recognize her

It was like you didn’t even know this woman anymore

You begged her to put the sunglasses back on, and be the wife you loved again

She told you

“This is who I really am”

She was ugly

You couldn’t stand it

You told her to put her sunglasses back on immediately

The two of you fought, and it brought her to tears

She left you in the middle of the night

The only thing that she didn’t bring with her was her sunglasses

You took your sunglasses off and cried

You sobbed as you smashed every last pair of sunglasses you owned to bits

Even the ones with your initials painted on them in silver

You looked in the mirror and saw a murky picture of a person that seemed familiar

But you hadn’t see each other for a long time

Was this really you?

You went into work the next day without sunglasses, just to see what would happen

You were a completely different person

They wondered why you didn’t wear sunglasses. It upset them

You didn’t like that

Why couldn’t they just accept you for who you were?

Why couldn’t you be you?

You were fired from your job for not fitting in with your colleagues

As you drove home to an empty house, people stared

You went inside, and flipped on the tele

Everyone on T.V was wearing sunglasses

You found yourself wishing you had kept a pair of sunglasses for yourself

The police knocked on your door with a pair of sunglasses in their hands

You asked them what the problem was

They pinned you to the ground and handcuffed you, saying

“You are arrested for charges of individuality and being sincere

You are not of sound mind, and will be taken to asylum”

On the car ride to the asylum they forced a pair of black aviators onto your face

You felt strangely happy to be wearing them again, although it felt fake

You were forced into a padded cell, with nothing but your clothes, and your shades

A doctor came to check on you every day, and asked you questions

Eventually you were realeased with a prescription sunglasses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Surgery was done, and the sunglasses were embedded into your flesh

You kept living for several more dark, cold, years. 

Where you hated not being you anymore

The world looked like plastic through the sunglasses

So shiny and perfect that it made you want to vomit

You made your way to the top of your apartment building

Where you ripped off those wretched f*****g sunglasses off you face with all your strength

You heard sirens

The police had arrived

You say them enter the apartment

It was now or never

And you jumped

Wishing that one day people would realize that they didn’t have to wear sunglasses.

This was all because you just wanted to be you. That’s all you had ever wanted.

Many years later an old woman and her son sat silent, by a grave

They wore no sunglasses

Author's Note

This is about people being afraid to show their true selves to others, and instead hide behind a fake persona. While being able to be yourself is what makes us unique, in the world behind this story it is considered a crime. Be proud of who you are, and your individuality.


The story is actually one of my first. I would have posted it two and a half years ago, but a glitch on this website wouldn't let me do that. I am still proud of my work, so I figured I'd share it. It's from a time when I was as much into story writing as poetry. These days, my focus has shifted to mainly poems.

Reviews

[.]

Oh! God, even through I wear sunglasses very rarely, I am going to stay away from sunglasses after reading this! Haha. This is really good... "Sunglasses"...Good theme!

[R.J Calzonetti (SinisterPotatoe)]

Thanks MC! This is one of my oldest stories. And one of the first I ever shared. I'm so happy you enjoyed it. :)