A parallel universe

“Mama? Mama? Did you reserve the ballroom for my quinceañera?” I asked, waiting for breakfast.

“Si, Daniella,” my mother replied while preparing the meal. “I also bought the white gown and the cute little heels for you. I'll pick them up as soon as we finish eating. And I forgot to mention that you'll also be wearing your abuela’s tiara! Isn't that exciting?” continued my mother.

“Really? That's so nice. Thank you, mama.” I replied.

“Did you ask Rio to be your date for your quinces?"

“Yes, mama, of course, I did."

That day, at school, I couldn't focus on anything. I was constantly daydreaming about the upcoming party. My excited friends couldn't stop talking about their outfits and hairdos, but mostly about the dot. The dot determined whether you lived or died. It was mandatory.

Throughout lunch, I sat with Rio, one of my best friends. As I was eating my tuna sandwich, he asked me if I felt ready for the big evening. "Totally!" I answered confidently. "It'll be the right color, I'm sure. How about you? Looking forward to our dance?" We continued talking for the rest of the lunch, mainly about how much fun everyone was going to have.

The quinceañera's party finally arrived. I was in the changing room with my mom. "MAMA! MAMA! I can't find my dress," I yelled stressfully.

"Honey, relax. It's in the wardrobe right there," responded my mom humbly as she pointed towards the location of the dress.

"Thank you so much, I wouldn't know what to do without you, mama," I said with a sigh of relief.

I entered the ballroom with my stunning white gown with dainty details at the waist and the new stilettos that mom had purchased for me recently. I carried a tiny Louis Vuitton purse. My grandma's tiara was shining on my freshly made hairdo and seemed to complete the ensemble. I greeted my relatives and received a multitude of compliments. Sometimes, I would hear guests whisper about the dot, but I tried not to think about it. They would only be able to see the result at midnight. In the meantime, Rio and I danced to many songs. The clock struck twelve. A spot of color was slowly appearing on my right hand. There was whispering everywhere in the room. My heart was beating quicker. Rio was by my side, holding my other hand, waiting for the reveal.

Tears started streaming down my cheeks. I ran out of the room. Everyone was murmuring and instantly knew that it was the end of the party. In the changing room, I couldn't stop sobbing. "They must have made a mistake. This can't be real!", I kept repeating. Rio shed a few tears, not knowing what to say to me. My mother was also crying.

Back at home, I locked myself in my room and cried while browsing through social media. All of a sudden, an app downloaded by itself. It had the logo of the government. I had never seen it, but I knew what it was. It had one feature: to determine the number of days left in a person's life. I dropped my phone in shock and started crying again. My mom rushed into the room and asked, " Que pasa, Amor". I could only bring myself to mumble a couple of words: three weeks.

A week had passed by and I was starting to become sick. Rio's birthday also passed and luckily a green dot appeared for him. He would visit me every day, trying his best to cheer me up, to make me forget about the dot and the decreasing number on the app. I was rarely happy. I barely ever smiled. My symptoms kept getting worse. Rio couldn't bear seeing me like this. He decided to go to the headquarters, where they controlled all the dots. He begged, but the administrators couldn't do anything. They said there was only one government-approved solution. He didn't have any other choice.

The countdown on the app was getting closer and closer to zero when Rio arrived at my house.

" Daniella, I need to talk to you", he said, seriously. "Let's say there was a way for you not to die...".

" What do you mean?", I said, confused.

" I know we're supposed to accept the dot, but I can't bear to see you like this. You deserve to live and-"

" What are you trying to say, Rio?", I asked impatiently.

"Open your phone, right now", he replied.

I took out my phone and went straight to the app. There were only a couple of minutes remaining. Rio took out his phone as well.

" Do you trust me, Daniella?", said my best friend, looking me in the eyes.

"What? Yes, of course, but what do you-"

Rio pressed a"yes" button on his phone and hugged me. My phone vibrated. I looked at the screen, expecting to see the last seconds disappear. Instead, I had received a notification.

"Rio has given you his life."