The first page of the diary
September 15, 2056
Dear Diary,
Today is the day that could change my entire life. In a few hours, they’ll announce the results of the final B.E.S.T. lottery. The last chance to leave Earth. I can’t sleep, my thoughts are a jumble. What if Maria and I don’t win? What if only one of us wins?
Yesterday at school, I could barely focus on my lessons. I was telling the children about the great migrations in human history, all the while thinking about how we’re now on the brink of the largest migration in history. The irony isn’t lost on me - I teach history, yet I might become a part of it. Or remain here, on a dying planet.
Maria says we have good chances. She works at the medical center that prepares people for space travel. I’m a teacher. Our professions are needed there, in the new world. But is that enough?
In the evening, we talked at length about what we’d do if we won. Maria dreams of a garden on the space station. I want to create a museum of Earth’s history, so our descendants don’t forget where we came from. We made plans, laughed, but I saw fear in her eyes. The same fear that’s in mine.
And what if we lose? I can’t stop thinking about it. Here on Earth, there’s not much time left. Resources are depleting, the climate is becoming more unpredictable. Will we be able to survive? And more importantly - what for?
I’m trying to cheer myself up. If we don’t win, we’ll keep fighting. We’ll continue teaching children, treating the sick, do everything possible to make Earth’s final days dignified. But deep down, I know it’s just an attempt to console myself.
In two hours, they’ll announce the results. I’m holding our lottery tickets - two small rectangles of paper that will decide our fate. Numbers I know by heart: 27A-5691 and 27A-5692. Right now, they’re just figures, but in a few hours, they could become our ticket to the future or our sentence.
Maria is sleeping beside me. I look at her and think: whatever happens, we’ll manage together. But God, how I want us to win. How I want to give her a chance at a future.
There’s very little time left. I’ll make my next entry knowing the result. I hope it will be full of joy and plans for a new life. And if not... Well, then we’ll have to find meaning in staying behind.
Alexei
