Marcel Vasquez

The Proposal

Record 134

I fear I won’t get much sleep tonight for the excitement flowing through me. Although he hasn’t expressly said it, I believe that tomorrow Kaiel will ask me to marry him! 

Why, you’re probably wondering, would I think that of all things this is what he’d ask? Given, of course, that marriage is but a concept of the deep past and days before the fog; that those of us left exist for the sole purpose of finding a solution, of perpetuating the human race at any and all costs and this should be our only focus at every moment. Shouldn’t I, like every other Resister know this?

Of course I know it! Don’t be ridiculous, listeners. But you didn’t see his face, nor the gravity of words that sparkled in his eyes begging to be freed—and, had it not been bed-hour, I believe he would have told me then and there in the Wildwood that we should break away from current tradition to do as our ancestral counterparts did, solidifying our love and lives together… Surely the Carries would make an exception; for even they would see the beauty and benefit of such a union. Because, what could be more joyous or a better display and testament to our longevity in the face of extinction, than a wedding?

But I digress; I must try and sleep now. Tomorrow, as it so often did for humankind, holds the light of all possibility and I must be ready for it.

Safe night to you all, Sophya signing off.

Morning came softly, but Sophya sprang from bed as if a siren had gone off, like a child in the stories she’d heard of Christmas mornings past, rushing to see what presents the world would bring. She went through her morning routine with urgency and zeal, barely able to eat and constantly watching the TimeSet even while in lessons, willing the hours to jump forward, needing midday to arrive so she could once again gaze into Kaiel’s eyes.

This was a defining moment in her life, she knew, yet she didn’t want to rush, believing that even the anticipation was part of it. Sophya needed to experience every little bit, to savor and record, to have it all sewn deep inside of her where nothing could remove its presence; so that not even the Carriers could take this love from her.

Alas, the time had arrived. And she rushed through the bio-halls, clutching her books to her chest and smiling at those she passed, yet never slowing down. Not until she reached the Cubed Garden and saw her beloved standing in wait.

Kaiel was slightly turned away from the entrance, looking through the thick protective glass to the grayness of the ever-present fog obscuring the sky and any visible life. She watched him watch the world for several moments, all feelings of being hurried or anxious gone from her mind. Soon he sensed her standing there and faced her with a saddened smile.

“There you are,” He stated as if he’d been searching his whole life for her. Which, in many ways, he had.

“I’m here. What’s wrong?”

With half a sigh he replied, “You look wonderful. Wanna sit?”

They joined together on one of the loungers facing east. She rested her head on his shoulder then asked something that had just occurred to her, “Why do all these seats face out when there’s never anything to see?”

“Because one day the sun will shine again and some lucky soul will be seated here to witness it.”

“You really believe that?”

He glanced down to meet Sophya’s upturned eyes. “I believe you’ll see the sun and much more one day. And these glass rooms serve as a point of hope for the members of our Commune to remind us that there is still a world out there even if we can’t quite see it yet.”

“Don’t you mean we’ll see the sun? As my Watcher you’d be assigned to go where I do. As my friend and my heart—” She smiled bright and sweet— “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She expected him to return the sentiment and join in her planning of their future, as he so often had. But this time Kaiel did neither and instead said, “There’s so much I wish I could tell you Sophya, so much more time I’d like us to have, to help you understand. But you have to go now.”

“Have you taken your meds today, love? You’re not making sense again. You know what the Carriers warn about missing daily supplements. If—”

He silenced her questioning with a kiss. “Just listen, please. Everything you know, everything you see around you was designed simply to keep you in. You’re the point of this all, but if you stay the Carriers will dismantle you.”

Sophya searched his eyes for any sign of humor, deception, or recanting, and found none. It seemed Kaiel believed every word coming from his mouth. She put her hand on his cheek, pleading with her touch, expressions and words for some sanity to return to the man she so loved. “Please Kaiel, you’re scaring me. Maybe you’re under too much pressure, and I’m sorry for any stress I’ve caused. Maybe I should go.”

She made to get up but he held her there. “You haven’t stressed me out. None of this is your fault. But you do have to go and get as far from here as you can. Your life depends on it.”

He released her then, and she stood up with tears brimming her eyes. “How do you expect me to believe any of this?”

“I can prove it to you.” Kaiel got to his feet and produced a handgun from under his robes.

Now, Sophya knew full well what such a weapon was and was capable of, but she had never in her life seen one in person. So the shock and fear that gripped her being was truly visceral, made worse by the fact that Kaiel was aiming it at her while tears ran down his face. His hand and her entire body trembled with debilitating tension.

“Kaiel, wh-why are you doing this?”

“You’re so much more than them, Sophya. More than any and all of us. It’s why they’re so afraid. Why for five cycles now their experiment with you has gone on. I’m not your first Watcher, but I’ll be your last. I won’t let the Carriers hurt you.”

Her hands were up in front of her, palms open and facing him. “Kaiel, my love, listen to me please. If you pull that trigger, it’ll be you who’s hurting me.”

“Not as badly as it will hurt me. But I’d die a thousand times if it meant you’d go free.”

“Then let’s go. I don’t care where to, it only matters that you’ll be there. Now please—” She stepped toward him—“Put that gun down and hold me.”

Kaiel drew back the hammer, locking it into place. Sophya stopped moving. “You need to see beyond their lies so you can be safe.”

She considered yelling for help, but that could be dangerous. Yet, she was much too afraid to try and make sense of what he had said, so she would try to distract him instead. “I have on your favorite necklace, see? It’s the one you got for my birthday, remember? You said—”

“It reminded me of my last image of home. Like your eyes do… The only thing real in this place, Sophya, is our love. Please remember that.” 

In an instant that encompassed the whole life she had known, Sophya lunged forward. Not to fight Kaiel, but to embrace him. To take away whatever pain that had captivated him with such malevolence, so he could be his bright and lovely self again.

And she nearly reached him. Nearly.

Fire ripped through her left breast then blasted through her scapula, pulling her away from the source of her joys. A force that was accompanied by a devastating noise that ricocheted throughout her chest and skull as blood, hope and all sense of goodness erupted from her wound.

But she didn’t fall, merely slid a few feet back as nausea rose and the room shook into focus. Beyond the buzz in her ears and bile creeping up her throat, Sophya heard sparks and tasted the distinct sensation of electricity in the air. Then grimaced as she felt as her bone, muscle and skin—newly opened, still sizzling—begin to tighten, mend and seal itself back up. Which was just as painful as being shot.

Kaiel stood in disbelief at what he had done and what he was witnessing. Sophya’s wound was closing before his eyes, as she became what he’d always known she could be.

The power with which the bullet struck her filled every inch of Sophya’s body, doubling, tripling, growing exponentially till she let it out just as Kaiel dropped the now-useless handgun.

Her anger and pain blasted through the room, throwing him backward and shattering the heavy glass around them. Its shards flew out into the murky landscape, triggering the blaring emergency siren that pierced the evening as cold and dangerous air flooded their garden. And to Sophya it all felt like a memory handed down as opposed to actually lived. 

 Then, she was inundated by her senses as time appeared to slow down, every second of which urged her onward. Out of the only home she had ever known. Or was it? Her thoughts were flowing too fast for her to sort them out. All that struck her clearly was the fact she had to move. Now.

Something long buried in her depths was provoking her forward and she had to heed its call. Without another thought she ran for the blown-out windows and out into the world beyond them, slowing only slightly to look at Kaiel, crumpled into a painful heap of contorted bones and debris. He seemed to smile before passing out. 

The realization came half a second too late: she was outdoors for the first time in her life without any protective gear and had exposed Kaiel to the fog. Hell, she was exposing herself. But it seemed not to matter, because as she hit the soft high-grass and continued running, Sophya found that she was breathing just fine. Although the fog was thick and oppressive, she remained unaffected. 

Even her sight was good; as if the further she got from the Commune, the better she could see. And hear. Though she was a considerable distance from anyone inside, she heard—or at least sensed—the readying of gear and weapons above the siren; the team now assembling to retrieve her. 

Perhaps this distraction was what kept her from noticing the cliff’s edge that she was barreling towards. Yet, somehow, she managed to skid to a stop before tumbling into the abyss.

 Sophya was covered in the mist spraying up from the falls, immersed in the sounds and sensations of raging water from far below, and took a moment to enjoy it. Once again she was struck with an unbidden and ancient memory of a childhood in which she stood by a waterfall, gazing up at its sparkling wonder.

She heard the rushing footsteps, then and now, hurrying to take her away. She couldn’t let that happen.

Thus, Sophya reared back and lunged off the cliff just seconds before the armed team reached the edge. She soared downward through the mist and fog, hurtling haplessly toward an end unknown, to a future or past, life or death, which was entirely hers to discover.