A Tint of Roses

“Life is hard, but it doesn’t have to be! At Falsitas Industries our science teams are hard at work constantly improving our patented Rose Locket system to ensure your day-to-day life is as blissful and joyous as can be. Remember; don’t feel down, look down! Let our Roses sweep you away to a better life” The advertisement rang out from every screen that could hold power, as it did every hour of every day. Never allowing us to forget how dependent we all are on Falsitas and their Lockets.

:Applying Tint: But that’s fine! After all they were the ones who kept to world together after The Breaking. With over 70% of the world a ruinous wasteland we have them to thank for our wonderous city!

I can’t even remember why I keep writing in this journal or why I agreed to have it screwed right into my brain, bad enough these corporate jack offs control every bit of money, do they really my brain too?

:Applying Tint: Oh well! I’m sure the brilliant minds at Falsitas know way more than me anyways! Now then on my way to work I was going to jot down all the nifty things I learned about these wonderous Lockets, it all started when-

“Hey watch it jackass!”

I’m taken aback by the aggression thrown at me by the stranger, the hell is his problem?

“Me watch it? You’re the one who ran right into me!” It feels good to scream, to let out my frustration, why don’t I do this more often? The angry stranger looks like he’s gonna shout some more

“Pay attention to your surrounding and not your fucking Locket and we-OH!”

Wow, just the mention of the world he immediately looks straight into his own Locket around his neck “Hey sorry friend, such a lovely day I got lost in my own Inner you know how it goes!” He now laughing one of the heartiest chuckles I’ve ever heard. “Yeah, sure man no problem” We walk our separate ways finally. Lovely day? How Lovley can being out in the rain be? I mean-

:Applying Tint: the rain IS lovely though and all the flowers will be nice and watered, and the fact that it’s always raining means they’ll just be that much more alive! Those Falsitas weather machine sure are delightful just like these precious little lockets. Now then back to writing.

I don’t recall why I started looking but I wanted to know more about the nature of the Rose Locket, the tiny, heart shaped device every citizen of Hostias Terram, the only city left in the world, is required to wear. No one knows how they work except for our supreme overlords over at Falsitas. All we know is they make everything better, if you’re ever feeling down or negative just gaze into and suddenly the world is okay again. It’s creepy but affective.

:Applying Tint: It’s made my life so, so much better! After the horrible series of wars that broke out 100 years ago the world was ravished, it took humanity a long time before we could stand on our own again. The idea of the Locket has existed since about 50 years ago when Roses somehow started to grow back. Travellers would wear the buds on necklaces so

that no matter how barren and awful the road before them was, they always had something to remind them of the good things.

Which is all fine and dandy except those time were so horrid most accounts of this practice ended with people becoming obsessed, no enraptured by their roses to the point they would ignore everything else in the most extreme way possible.

:Applying Tint: Not that there’s anything wrong with that! It’s okay to feel happy even when times are bad! Why it’s been raining every day for the past 30 years since Falsitas took ov-

:Applying Tint: brought us into their care, and that’s never gotten me down!

A loud crash to my left, I turn and see some hobo rifling through the garbage. It’s a sad but all too common sight these days. Falsitas claims to care for all citizens but the moment you lose your Locket you become less than an insect on a windshield to them

:Applying Tint: But that’s why they leave trash to pile up everywhere, so the wretched souls like him still have plenty to eat! Even the outcasts of society are cared for under Falsitas’ watchful gaze.

Yeah, never ending rain and a mountain of garbage, that’s our beautiful city of Hostias Terram. Buffet for the homeless aside, in my 20 years of living I’ve never heard a real reason why there’s no such thing as some sort of disposal system, seems unhealthy to just leave it all lying around like this.

It’s almost as if the Powers That Be can't be bothered with something so trivial, maybe they plan on moving away from this city, sometimes I truly hope that they will.

It’s been 5 minutes since leaving my living space, I’m early for my job’s transportation, maybe it’s time I finally record what I saw...but I’m not sure it should be known that I kno-

:Applying Tint: But of course I should! This is something our caretakers should be aware of, a lowly citizen like me doesn’t need to worry over things like this. It was two months ago, one of the many weather machines seemed to have malfunctioned.

I guess even our supreme overlords aren't infallible, it wasn’t for long but just long enough for the clouds to part. While I may have never seen the sky without the constant torrent of rainfall, something tells me the giant, gaping hole shouldn’t be there.

I’ve questioned others about this, surely someone must have also looked up at the sky. Looked up to see the...the wrongness that’s just above our heads. How could they not notice something so dark that for even the few seconds I laid eyes on it I felt the deepest dread all the way into my bones?

Most say they didn’t see nor do they ever bother to look up anyways, why would they? All the good in world can be found around their neck after all.

:Applying Tint: as is mine! It’s..no no there isnt anything good about that mass of-

:Applying Tint: just the sky? No it’s not the sky it’s...it’s evil writhing over our city! I look up. Even with the torrent of rain, I can still feel it.

Feel the darkness seeping down, it coils around me it feels

:Applying Tint: Perfectly fine? Yeah no big deal. No no it feels horrible! “Stop! St-stop get off me” I scream into the roaring rain, through the clouds at the terror in the heavens, the true Ruler of our realm

:Applying Tint: No Falsitas keeps us safe watches over- “NO! Falsitas do nothing! It’s you!” I shove my finger to the sky, brutal accusation in my voice, spittle flying form my mouth. I scream because I must!

“It’s all you! You force us down! Make us complacent! I won’t, I can’t look down anymore. My eyes have seen what lies above, you’ve claimed any soul I’ve left the minute I saw you!”

:Applying Tin- “No! No fucking tint! You can’t paint a pretty dream over the physical essence of a Nightmare! I must tell them all, we must run! We...we

:Breach of Tint Detected. Applying Maximum Dosage: We? Wee? I’m not sure why I’m saying wee, though it’s no surprise. Everyday under Falsitas is a joyous one! But why am I outside? Oh well nothing I should concern myself with. Afterall, I have my precious little Rose.