Unexpected Meetings

There are only kids in this world.

I never knew my mother. In fact, none of us had ever known our mothers. We exist as a grand mass of parentless independents, unlike those useless adult beings who once ruled the world into chaos. They give birth, and then all responsibility is gone and given to someone else, who will then give it to another, until the child is capable of taking care of himself or herself. Never did I fully deduce the meaning of this system or question it. It was how it had always been, simple and halcyon, without confusion or trouble. Still, everything feels inanimate and strange as if nothing is how it should be.

“Foolishness!!” A loud guffaw drew me from my thoughts. “Go against the king! Are you mad?!” I turned to see a teen standing in the middle of the townsquare.

“Shut up!!” the teen hissed in terror, retreating slightly as he glanced around frantically.

“Oh, but you are almost of age, aren’t you?” the other boy said, looking disdainfully at the teen, “I guess you don’t have much time anyways.”

Two children in uniform seemed approach from the stands of the market, and the teen, upon seeing them, bolted for the forest. He was pursued and dragged back, kicking and screaming for mercy. A cold voice resounded in the air as if broadcasted to the minds of all the people. “Treason is unnecessary.”

Sighing, I leaned up against an apple stand. That was the fifth person today. When would people ever learn? In the corner of my eye, I saw the children leading the man to durance. He probably wouldn’t be killed. I mean, it was only a misdemeanor. My heart throbbed in disagreement. Nothing could be tolerated. Quietly, I sauntered off into the forest to think.

It was dark out, so I started a small campfire. Cool winds brushed up against my face and seemed to correlate the leaves into small piles around me.  My excrescence of hair flew into my face several times before I angrily tied it back into the misshapen mop it usually was. That’s what I get for trying to be pretty, I thought. Everything was so catholic from where I was resting. There was a roe quietly grazing on the green spring grass, a patch of beautiful red flowers, and a far-off cottage, which was my home, in the distance. Laying in silence, I wished I could stay in the field forever.

There was a rustle in the dark brush. I sat up abruptly, alarmed. Cautiously, I rushed to find a good hiding place to await whatever began to emerge from the forest. Just in case, I firmly gripped the dagger in my pocket.

A man, not a child, ruggish and filthy, crawling on his hands and knees, slowly dragged himself out into the clearing. I almost felt my heart stop. A man? The word resounded in my mind, repeating itself over and over again. A man… His face turned towards my hidden form, and his fiery eyes glowed with hatred but also fear, like a feral beast that had lived in captivity and was just released into the wild. Turning toward the glowing ember and red of the fire, so much like his eyes, he sniffed at it curiously, before trying to touch it with his hand. He ended up howling in pain at being burnt. Out of instinct and a bit of stupidity on my part, I accidentally said “Don’t touch it.” He heard me. At that instant I felt it was all over. Hesitantly, I stepped out from the tree with my hands raised; it hadn’t been five seconds, and the foreign creature was upon me, examining me carefully. His hand reached out to touch my face. Scared to death and well-versed in fighting, I slapped his hand away and slammed my fist into the man’s gut, and he fell backwards, out cold. I stared at him for a couple seconds, before attempting to walk away from his lifeless form, but in the end, I hoisted him up on my back. His chest felt warm. It felt nice. No, no, you DO NOT wanna help him. I told myself sternly. I had enough problems with the government as it was. The man shifted slightly in my hold, and his head now rested on my shoulder.

Curious, I glanced behind to examine the roguish features of the fugitive that now seemed more appealing than frightening. This oddly protective urge came over me, and I faltered in my step. I turned away from the direction of the glowing Grand Kingdom, and soon, I was laying the adult on the floor of my small hut. Panic was coursing through my veins, and all I could think of was the screaming of the man who’d been taken away earlier today. “What the hell am I doing?” I asked aloud.

Two years passed and I find myself laying in that same field, I had been on that very day I’d found him. My hair is short and crudely cut, and I’m slightly taller. A rustle in the woods and I lazily lift my head. I see the handsome man emerge , age twenty-two, calling me to dinner from the house, and I answer back without hesitation.

In this world, adults are illegal. This man that I had saved and sheltered would inevitably lead to my death.  

Author's Note

Please don't ignore grammar problems, and offer any suggestions for improvement. I am still working on the details of the world now but feel free to question it.

Reviews

[Tony Jordan]

This reminded me of HG Well's 'Time Machine' - the land of the Morlocks where no one lived past a certain age - a utopia which was (under the surface) really a Hellish place.
I enjoyed this AJT.