Soul Mates

Alex

Soul mates

By J Butterworth

It's my birthday today the big 18, I'm not really excited about it. Birthdays are not celebrated anymore. The only thing people care about is their soul mate, they blissfully await their match day counting down in excitement. It just means I'm 365 days closer to meeting my soul mate.

In normal circumstances, I'm sure people would be thrilled, but this is all done by a small implant tattoo I have on my wrist which I've had since birth. It slowly counts down until zero and that's the day you meet, it's all stupid. I don't want to be matched with someone, what if I hate them? All my friends can't wait, they dream of the day, whereas I dread the day. I've always been a bit of a rebel deep down.

How can a little chip in your arm know better than your heart?

As I sit leaning against the window the train jolts smashing my forehead too and fro. Travelling high above the city, the light catches my eyes and I close them tightly dreaming about leaving the stench of this city, the masses of people and buildings everywhere and think about my childhood holidays on the green rolling hills and streams flowing free and wild. I open them briefly to see who is passing by. A peacekeeper walks by checking people's identity scanning their chip. I smile at her and imagine doing her job one day. Helping people and keeping this city safe.

London is now divided into 5 divisions which make up the city with large walls all around. A sky highway runs over the top, so travel is much quicker. I hadn't left London for years, not many people left anymore.

There is not much left outside of the big cities just wastelands, so most of the population live in the cities.

All of a sudden a loud voice is shouting at me and I wake from my daydream.

"Alex, what you doing on the 44, I thought you were at the shop today?"

My head shoots up and Ollie is standing in front of me, my best friend and neighbour who I have grown up with since I was very young. We have been inseparable since childhood, now something has changed but I just don't know what?

"Hi Ollie, am I not allowed to catch the train anymore without being interrogated?"

"No don't be silly, it's just been ages since we last caught up? We are used to seeing each other every day at school, I miss our chats," Ollie shoved me over and sat almost on my knee.

As Ollie's eyes looked straight through me and read my entire soul, I shrugged my shoulders and told a lie. I didn't want to explain to him where I had been. If he knew he would be angry and upset. I knew we needed to have this conversation at some point but for now, I just don't need the hassle.

"No Ollie I've been really busy helping mum out at the shop and attending interviews and anyway we are grownups now officially,"

"Grownups, well you certainly don't act like one. So have you chosen your training yet, you're the last one to decide Alex" After you had finished school you were forced by the Officials to choose a job in different sectors then your apprenticeship started.

"I don't think this is really the place to be having this conversation, I will text you later and we can talk,"

"Okay, Alex this is my stop anyway, I'm helping dad at the shipyard, you have been acting really weird the last few days, you can tell me why later, see ya,"

"Have fun,"

As Ollie jumped off the train, I felt the dread of knowing we would be having an argument tonight. He was right I had been a rubbish friend to him since we had left school. My stop was next I jumped off and had to climb down stairs and a lift to get back to street level.