Mind Made Dystopia:

Everything changed after The Event. The world as I knew it was no longer. All the things I believed to be true about the world we live in now laid at the wayside and I had to continue trudging through life with these new inconsistent and convoluted rules. The Event affected those of low economic status the most. Being low economic status meant you were destined for a low quality of life, poor education, if any at all, and hard back-breaking labor. The privileges they received for the long hours of grueling work were less than those of basic human necessity. Upper class individuals have privileges of leisure time and social relationships, and are required to perform less work of an easier nature. I belong to the lower economic class, but my experience before The Event was different than most. I was raised by a single mother plagued by mental illness from a culmination of generational trauma. My mother had a tenuous grasp on reality and consequently I was raised to believe that the delusions my mother created were the reality everyone lived in. I work hard, performing physically demanding tasks for long hours, only to live in a shack style home that is, by the skin of one’s teeth, livable, providing nothing more than mediocre shelter and a place to eat. I don’t get much free time outside of strenuous labor and sleeping, but what time I do have I like to spend reading. With limited access to books, I incessantly reread the tattered pages of the ones I do have, cherishing when I am able to get my hands on new ones. I yearn to escape my reality into a fantasy world, where I learn the power of triumph, overcoming challenges and adversity.

One day on my way home something caught my eye; a shiny, silver, heart-shaped locket was hanging around the neck of a beautiful woman. I have to talk to her! She’s lower economic status too, spends long hours serving hand and foot for the upper class and wanted out. Our conversation flowed effortlessly and I knew quickly that her company added value to my life. We imagined a different life for us, one filled with happiness and freedom to do all the things we enjoy. Together we began crafting a plan to escape from this place and the repressive rules forced upon us. We mapped out our getaway, this would be our salvation from oppression. Craving freedom and opportunity to create our own rules to live by in pursuit of our dreams, we wanted to bring those we cared about with us, but they were immobilized, fearing the consequences of challenging the rules controlling the world they knew. Staying in a place that they were familiar with, even in misery, felt safer than pushing into the unknown. Regardless of the insecurities and warnings from those around us we were sure we had to embrace the unfamiliar, challenging the control we lived under. We knew it is worth risking everything, to escape the world that tells us who to be and what we are capable of, to find reclamation and create our own destiny. That heart-shaped locket was the beginning of my salvation.

Gathering the necessities for escape and subsequent travel, we collect enough extra food and water to last us a week if we ration carefully. I scrounge up a map, compass, hunting knife, first aid kit, and backpacks to carry it all in. There is talk of treacherous storms rolling through the area, but that was not going to stop us we just needed to get rain jackets to keep us dry. It was no easy task, but we managed to get the rain gear we needed. With the supplies gathered, the plan was simple, we head west until we find our utopia. We will leave at night fall, traveling well beyond allowed boundaries, without hesitation.

When night came, the storm came with it, but we are prepared. This is it; the plan is falling into place and we knew there was no going back. We equip our rain gear and grab our bags. Turning to look at one another, I notice the heart-shaped locket again and it gives me strength, we kiss, grab each other’s hands and begin to run west. The storm worsens as we are running and our pace is forced to slow to a walk because the ground is saturated and slippery. The storm continues to intensify. We must seek shelter, and quickly! A dense collection of trees offer cover, and a sense of relief washes over us as we are able to rest, waiting out the storm.

The morning came, hoping for a glimpse of sun peeking through the gloomy, impenetrable storm clouds, staccato raindrops splashed on the tree tops. Our trek is long and taxing; we will not stop; we want to reach our utopia! A few hours passed as we walked in the rain before it let up, our rain jackets had helped, but we were still in desperate need to dry off, warm up, and eat. We search for dry wood and kindling to start a fire. Stripping down and hanging the wet clothes, we warm ourselves by the small, flickering flames, and prepare a meal. With dry clothes, warm skin, and full bellies, we set off again, recharged and ready to face the perilous conditions ahead. We have been walking for days, burnt out, on the brink of exhaustion, and beginning to question if we were on the right path. Something in the distance caught my attention. Smoke! It can’t be too far, maybe a couple miles away, we must know if it’s the utopia we seek! Our pace begins to quicken as our spirits lift and we are inspired to push on to locate the source of the smoke. We discovered the billowing smoke arose from a large, crackling blaze inside some type of village, a whole community of happy, untroubled people who welcomed us in. We are provided with a place to stay as long as we contribute to the community. Settling into a shack, not much better than the one we left behind, I glance at the heart-shaped locket, then look up, my gaze locked onto the woman’s eyes and I realized she is my salvation and we have always been free. Here, in the capacity of my own mind, lies an abundance of opportunity to create the life I dream of.