Short Story Collection

Be Careful What You Wish For

This story is not old-fashioned. It doesn't start with a "Once upon a time...", and it isn't about knights and dragons. But, like most famous tales, it has a moral, a lesson for the reader. This lesson is quite straightforward, although the way we humans are makes it hard to follow. Our natural greed can prevent us from applying this in our day-to-day lives. So, without further ado, let's get started.

~ ~ ~

The sun rises over the horizon, blanketing the city in a golden glow. Skyscrapers glitter in the light, flashing like paparazzi's cameras. Somewhere in the forest of buildings, a girl sleeps peacefully. Around her, the world is waking up. Birds chirp, lights flick on, curtains are undrawn.

Alarms start simultaneously going off at 7:00 on the dot. An hour later, doors open, and everyone quietly exits their apartments. No one speaks, no one pauses. Everyone walks mechanically and at the same pace, filing down the stairs and into parking garages.

Keys turn, ignitions start, and tires screech as the citizens enter their cars. Children go to school; adults go to work. There is no talking, no distractions. Everything is one hundred percent synchronized. Everyone walks at the same pace, blinks at the same pace, and breathes at the same pace.

At 4:00, students quietly file out of classrooms and walk onto bright yellow buses. There is no chatter, no noise except the hum of the engines and the screeching of wheels.

The adults leave work at 6:00 and drive home through steady traffic. There is no road rage or accidents. At 7:30, families eat dinner. Children do homework, and parents read through sheaves of paperwork.

At 10:30, all lights go out, and the city becomes quiet again. Everyone sleeps peacefully. It was like this, every day, every week, every month, every year. No one thought much of this, most likely because they were incapable.

~ ~ ~

It was another standard day in the city. Alarms rang at 7:00, and the world woke up to face a new week. In one of the many apartments, a girl lies in bed, unaffected by the ringing alarms. She doesn't feel a compulsion to get up, brush her teeth, and dress for school. She doesn't feel anything, except confusion.

This girl, Emily, doesn't understand why everyone has to do the same thing at the same time. She doesn't understand why she has to play along, even though she's not controlled by MISCELLANEOUS.

Sighing, she quickly jumps out of bed. Each day, she pretends to be cast under the same spell as everyone else. She acts like she is brainwashed, so her family isn't executed.

There have been public executions in the past. Sometimes, although it is a very rare occurrence, a child is born with a wilder brain and a freer soul. So wild and free, that MISCELLANEOUS can't grasp the child's essence, and therefore cannot control them.

Children like these are dangerous; they can help instigate a rebellion. In order to protect the people of the city, the children are executed along with their families.

Most "cursed" children, as they're called, don't live past four years old due to yearly inspections. But Emily, with the help of her family and her quick-wittedness, has managed to survive thirteen years.

Emily is tired, sick of pretending. In fact, she's past tired, way past it, dangerously past it. On this particular day, she decided to do something that would doom her and her family for good.

~ ~ ~

"Students, what do you think of our way of life?" the teacher asked.

Simultaneously, the class spoke, "It is perfection and synchronization. It is the most wondrous way of life there is."