A Beautiful Day

I

In the middle of the Community Square, Angel Peters dashes her milk to the ground and lets out a wild scream. She grinds the glass under her sandals and tears clumps from her hair, the nearest Citizens are already backing up, the first beads of sweat already forming on their brows. Some turn and run, although most lower their heads and blot out their eyes.

She sobs frantically “Why won’t you look at me? Can’t you see, the Love is the Hate!”

She grabs someone, I think it's Davie Orr. Her hands curl into the back of his collar and she shakes him, once, twice, three times. Each shake becomes increasingly aggressive and desperate. His head whips back and forth and his eyes roll in fear and revulsion.

It doesn’t take long for the Cherubs to arrive.

They descend a few meters behind her, knocking over a juice bar and upsetting the Citizens crouching underneath the white heart shaped tables. Paper napkins and flower petals mix with a slurry of pomegranate, kiwi, and lime.

A raw elemental cry tears through her throat and she scrabbles at her heart. Her blouse is torn and her fingers fight in vain to pluck the sensor from her breast. What did she think, this stupid woman, that she can remove it? That she could part herself and burrow to find the small device nestled between the ventricles of her heart? Dethread the wires articulating around each vein, tasting every chemical? Music blares from hidden speakers, it’s a Community favorite. Relaxing guitar and mellow lyrics pour out and mingle with Angel’s wordless, bestial wails.

Through my fingers I can see the Cherubs surround her, their buffed metal plating winking in the sunlight. If they had mouths they would condemn her. We know they don’t need to OxytoScan, the Hate is radiating off her body. Her Hateful screams invade our ears, her Hateful hands clutch Davie, still choking and sputtering by her side. She drops him and he bolts past the Cherubs, laughing and singing for them, though tears run down his face. They gently take her, one hand on each limb and carry her up to the Community Center. Her voice echoes as she flies, and we all pretend that her screams are the squawks of seabirds or the laughter of children. We gather our belongings and rush home, more Cherubs will come to inspect the stragglers. We close our doors tight. This is for the best, we tell ourselves. The human race wouldn’t have survived The Hate Age without Love.

II

We got up early today. Hold Love in our hearts as we shower, buy milk, work in the Factory and eat our suppers. A new study came out recently revealing that red meat causes anger. It has been banned from our diets due to Hate Producing Effects, along with tomatoes, peppers, oatmeal and coffee. Dinner consisted of white fish and peas. We lick the bones and drink endless glasses of thick luscious milk; fortified to stimulate serenity and Love. We are docile, full and glowing. Talk turns to the Community Calendar, and The Beautiful Day. The date has been set to Sunday, which will be fittingly bright and sultry.

Thoughts then turn to Angel.

You see, this shows the direct effect of eating too much red meat! I heard she bought coffee from the Hate Market. I always thought she looked secretive and rebellious. Did you know her husband was taken last month? They kept bad company and threw secret dinner parties, where they probably hatched Hateful plans. Cherubs picked him up on his way home from the Factory. I heard they found all sorts of Hateful feelings inside him, and could smell him from a mile away.

We’re careful to speak in Love. Some of us begin to look heated and so the conversation breaks. We turn off the screen and dance all night, filling ourselves with ecstasy and drowning in light, conscious of the roaming figures patrolling outside.

III

The beach is winding and narrow, but as the tide recedes there is more space for Citizens to gather. Even though the coast has been scoured for rubbish and plastic from The Hate Age, remnants of the old world remain. The Cherubs left the decaying city so reef building corals could repopulate the recovering ocean. Complex aquatic networks now crawl over the tops of ancient buildings, and some daring children dive deep to touch the weathered concrete. We reflect on the past, the people polluted, ruined and lost in pain. Those filled with light created the Cherubs, blasted their souls into the inanimate metal and flesh. We are their loving children. There may be other Hateful people beyond this cove, but through benevolence and might we are protected.

Today is The Beautiful Day, and all eyes are on The Locket, whose burnished bronze exterior flashes in the sun. Our toes curl in the warm pebbly sand and we watch as it circles above our heads, hoisted by the Cherubs. They lay it to rest on a pedestal and it opens, a heart split in two. The Locket is massive, porous and intricately carved. The passing breeze runs through it and transforms into hallow whisperings and melodies.

They lead Angel through the stinging grasses to the shore. She is left to stand among us. The Cherubs alight and gather around the Locket, sightlessly watching the crowd. She is swaying and disoriented, the wet remnants of milk trail down her jaw and soak into the front of her dress. We pass her down the beach, each Citizen hugging her, petting her hair, licking the very tips of her shaking fingers. She struggles against us, but we hold her tight and push her forwards. She tries to crawl between our legs but we pick her back up. We are singing now, laughing quietly. Each person tries to look her in the eyes, tries to make her understand, to show her the Love. I don’t think she can speak anymore. Those who are closest to her, friends and family wait at the end. They lift her and she begins to thrash, kicking us in the nose and cheek, her nails drawing blood. We smile and press her forth into the Locket.

At last she finds her voice which tears, distorted through the Locket. "You don’t understand! How can you know Love without the stark contrast of pain and anger?"

Even now she holds on to the Hate. The Cherubs mob the Locket and lift it into the sky, it swings as she beats against its smooth interior. They crush their bodies to the heart and grow unbearably hot, we can feel their warmth far down below. As the Locket glows her Hateful cries are filtered through the pores to create an overwhelming song, and our voices rise in a cacophony of Love.