“This is Channel 7 News in New York, giving all of you viewers a very important announcement. This is MANDATORY to be listening to, so stop whatever you are doing… The Government has just passed a law stating that all families must have at least one child in their possession. But, because of the major hospital, nurse, and doctor shortages, families are advised not to be having lots of *new* children. As a result of this, all families who already have more than one child are required to give one of their children up to the Government to be redistributed to families nationwide. Families who fail to do this will be subjected to a lifetime in imprisonment. Families can either choose which child to give up, or the Government will choose a random child in the family. Government Officials will be coming around to every single household this week starting tomorrow… So talk to your children, and make your decisions today. This is Channel 7 News in New York, bringing you the most important Government News of today!”
My mother got up from the couch, her face pale and her cheeks tear-stained. The year was 2100, and the Government was in control of every aspect of our lives. Mandatory viewings of changed laws such as this one were common, almost daily… and usually, they were not too “life-changing”. But this one? A law requiring all families to give up one of their children? It was insane to think about. Why in the world would every single family in America need to have a child?
“They… they can’t just take my children away from me!” My mother sobbed, falling onto her knees. My two sisters’ faces were blank, and so was mine. I loved my family so much… and I didn’t want to go live with two complete strangers! Who knows what kind of people they would be? My dad stared at my mother, unsure what to do. His eyes looked pained… like someone close to him had just died.
“Honey…” my dad started to say to my mom, but he trailed off before he could say
anything else. There was nothing else to say. Our family just couldn’t break the law… one of us children had to be given up. My mother continued to sob in a ball on the floor. My dad looked at my sisters, Chloe and Cassie, and I, his face in obvious pain.
“Well girls… I suspect you don’t want the Government to choose which one of you leaves us… So, we should discuss it as a family…” my dad stated, his voice barely audible. My heart dropped. If I were my parents, I would let the Government decide… I could never let my child know that they were not wanted… Or at least, wanted less than the other children in the family. My mom slowly looked up from the floor with a look of horror on her face…
“Brian, we CANNOT choose between Chloe, Cecilia, and Cassie!”
“Well Erin, what ELSE are we going to do?! I would feel worse if I didn’t know which of
my daughters they were taking away!” my dad yelled. My mom just stared at him, her voice making noises in her throat, like she didn’t know what to say. My dad pinched the bridge of his nose in between his fingers.
“Erin… girls… I’m sorry. But… we really do need to discuss it. The Government could come any day now…” he apologized quietly. The whole house was silent. Nobody knew what to say.
“Well… I have a reason why I shouldn’t leave…” my older sister, Chloe, chimed in.
“Chloe…” my mom started to say, but my dad interrupted her.
“Let her talk” he told her. My sister cleared her throat, looking at the ground nervously.
“Well you see… I’m a senior this year. And I’m so close to graduating, and I’ve already
been accepted into multiple colleges… I don’t want to have to go to a completely different family and have to change all of my plans… what if they can’t afford my college tuition? Or it’s too far away from them? Or they don’t want me to go to college at all? Plus, I’d have to go to a completely new school for my senior year, which would be terrible…” she trailed off, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I just really, really don’t want to leave you guys” she choked, putting her head in her hands. I rolled my eyes. I have always gotten along with my younger sister, Cassie better than Chloe… But Chloe was the favored one, so I knew in the back of my mind that my parents wouldn’t make her leave. But still, she pulled stunts like this often- where she was super dramatic so she could get whatever she wanted. And it annoyed me to no end.
“That’s a very good point Chloe… Thank you” my dad said, trying to be the reasonable one.
“I would like to say something now” said Cassie. Cassie was in eighth grade, two years younger than I was. But, she didn’t seem like it at all. Her long brown hair and striking blue eyes made her look older, plus she was just one of the smartest people I knew. Her straight A’s and her ability to speak with such eloquence made me envy her even more than the fact that she had a lot of friends. Plus, we just got along really well.
“Yes Cassie?” my father asked.
“Well, I would just like to point out that the argument Chloe is using for staying here could really go either way. Chloe, you said that you want to stay here and have mom and dad pay for you to go to college. But, if you stay here, then you’ll just be gone next year anyway. And isn’t that like losing two daughters instead of just one?” Cassie asked. The whole room went dead silent, and Chloe’s face went white. “I mean… I understand your point about moving in the middle of your senior year though. That would be most unfortunate…” Cassie trailed off. I wanted to start laughing because my younger sister completely tore up my older sister’s argument… but I thought that would be highly inappropriate in this situation. Plus it also really wasn’t a topic to be joked about, no matter how much I didn’t like Chloe. I looked over at Chloe, who was shaking uncontrollably. Nobody knew what to say at that point. Nobody knew what to do. Finally, after what seemed like hours of awkward silence, I decided to speak up.
“Um… Hi. So, I have an idea…” I started to say. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; the silence had finally been broken.
“Yes Cecilia?” my dad asked me.
“Um… So, we could maybe just each write down all of the reasons why we want to stay… and then tonight, you and mom read them. And then you choose which one of us leaves… Or you could always have the Govern-”
“The Government is NOT choosing which one of you leaves us” my dad said through gritted teeth. I quickly apologized under my breath. Why didn’t anyone see that that would be less painful than what we were trying to do now?
“I like that idea…” Cassie stated. Chloe sadly nodded in agreement.
“Well I guess it’s settled then. Girls… how about you each go to your rooms and do that” my dad said, lazily pointing towards the staircase, a look of exhaustion and stress planted on his face. I got up and started walking, my two sisters following behind me. I entered my doorway, and as I was about to shut the door, I heard my mom’s heaving sobs again, and it broke my heart. I couldn’t even imagine what this whole thing must’ve felt like for her.
I quickly shut my door behind me, slowly laying down on my bed and staring at the ceiling fan. I can’t believe this was all happening… the very idea of this was just crazy. Didn’t the Government understand that not all families wanted, or were fit to have children? That having a children should be a choice, and taking part of that choice away from a family is absolutely devastating? Not to mention how the child being taken away would feel! I didn’t want to even think about the possibility of me being taken away… it scared me to death. I wondered how all my friends and their families are doing right now… Hopefully they weren’t arguing as much as we were. Suddenly, I heard a small knock on my door.
“Come in!” I said to the knocker. As the door opened, I could see Cassie, her eyes tear stained. She slowly shut the door behind her, coming over to me and lying down next to me.
“I’m sorry Cecilia… I just didn’t want to be alone in my room… And Chloe is not one to give emotional support…” Cassie sniffled, cuddling next to me.
“Yeah… I get what you mean… She kinda only thinks about herself sometimes” I laughed. Cassie laughed with me.
“It’s so true though… she only ever thinks about herself. That’s why you’re my favorite” Cassie said. I smiled. After laughing for a little while, we both sat there, just holding each other for a while.
“Are you actually going to try to write up a list of all the reasons why you want to stay here? Or did you just want to get away from everyone?” Cassie asked me.
“I’m not going to try… I just needed to get away. I’ve decided that whatever happens happens… I’m sure everything will turn out okay in one way or another,” I exclaimed softly.
“Well… Then I won’t either. I’m sure Chloe is writing a huge, multiple page long list, though,” Cassie laughed softly. I smiled, looking at my ceiling fan again. It was slowly rotating in circles… Over and over and over again it went. It was soothing to watch, in a way. I wished that my life could just stop right here forever, with Cassie next to me and my ceiling fan just slowly rotating until the end of time. I wouldn’t have to worry about being taken away from the Government, or anything else for that matter, ever again. Just me, Cassie, and my ceiling fan. My eyes were fluttering closed while I was thinking about this, when all of a sudden, my thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of my front door being violently kicked down. Cassie and I both sprung up, running to the doorway.
“What is going on?!” I screamed when I saw the scene that was in our living room. Two Government officials were standing there, their guns pointed at my parents.
“One of you has to come with us. NOW!” the officials yelled at my sisters and I.
“But Sir… I thought our parents had another day to decide…” Cassie started to say, but she stopped when one of the officials pointed the gun towards her. Cassie slowly put her hands up to show that she was done talking.
“One of you… Now.” said one of the officials, staring at Cassie, Chloe and I. We all stood there, dumbfounded. None of us wanted to go.
“Come on. Or else…” the second guard started to say.
“Or else what?” Chloe asked them. But they didn’t say anything. Instead, they took out syringes that were filled with this strange, purple fluid. When Cassie saw it, her eyes widened.
“DON-” she started to say, but it was too late. Each official stabbed one into each of
my parents’ left arm. Their pupils suddenly dilated, and their faces turned a very bright shade of white.
“What… What did they put into them? What was in those syringes?” I asked Cassie.
“It’s a truth serum… Now they’ll be forced to tell the exact truth for the rest of their
lives, there’s no serum that can reverse its effects… Although the truth will always come out sounding a little… harsh… ” Cassie said, staring at their parents sadly.
“What do you mean the rest of their lives?!” Chloe shouted. But before Cassie could say
anything, the officials cut her off.
“Now we’re going to ask your parents which one of you they want to give up, and they
will NOT be able to lie!” one of the officials laughed. I turned to Chloe, whose face was bright red.
“So, which one of your daughters do you want to give up, Erin?”
“Cecilia. That’s not a question…” my mom said. My heart sank, my chest hurt, and I felt
like passing out. What did she mean “it’s not a question”? What did I ever do?! I thought I was a pretty good daughter… I didn’t get into any trouble. Why did she want to give me up?
“Cecilia, huh? Well, what about you Brian?” one of the officials asked my dad.
“I agree with Erin, Cecilia has to go.” my dad said. My body started shaking. I was in
physical pain. My parents didn’t want me… My parents didn’t want me? What did I ever do to make them not want me?
“But… What has Cecilia ever done? WHAT HAS SHE EVER DONE?” Cassie started to scream.
“Cassie…” I started to say, but I was cut off when each official grabbed one of my arms. “Ouch! Let go of me! I’m not going to fight! At least be a little gentle…!” I shouted as they started to take me away.
“Cecilia, no!!!!” Cassie screamed, grabbing onto one of my legs and sobbing. Chloe stood back, shocked and unable to say anything.
“Cassie, let go… They have to take me. Just let them take me… please. I don’t want to cause any trouble.” I told her. Cassie stared at me, tears streaming down her face. Then she ran up to me and hugged me.
“Good luck… With wherever life takes you. I will always remember you… I love you.” she said to me. Tears filled my eyes, and I hugged her tightly one last time before allowing the officials to take me away.
I was prepared to go wherever the Government took me. And I may never fully understand why my parents wanted to give me up, but I hoped that the new life that I was about to endure was just as good as the one I was fortunate enough to live before.