Hellbound

The air is warm today, the breeze being the only break from the sweltering heat. The children scream and run around as I pass the park they play in. Their parents watch from park benches, the noticeable differences between the Darlings and the Platonics distinctive.

The Darlings are soulmates; their brandings matching from birth, the government deciding their genetics would ensure only the best children are born from them and would be the most beneficial to the economy.

The Paltonics are non-soulmates, together out of convenience. By twenty-two most Darlings had found each other and if they hadn’t, their Darling had more then likely passed. Leaving the surviving Darling to move on with someone the government had chosen for them who had also lost their soulmate.

It isn’t abnormal for Platonics to end up despising one another; there have been cases of Platonics being desparate enough to leave their relationship that they’ve faked their death or even gone to prison, their differences and goals not aligning as they would with a Darling.

That’s what I’m seeing right now. Darlings sit on the park bench, their arms around each other as they look as in love as the day they met, their eyes on their children. The Platonics however, stand off to the side. The woman stands with her hands on her hips as she yells for her children while the man walks away to answer a phone call, covering his ear to hear over the top of his wife’s yelling.

I make eye contact with the yelling woman; the scowl she throws me has me scurrying off. The grocery bag knocks into my thigh as I cross the road, my house coming up on the corner.

I can see my mother from here, her blue dress bright against the beige of our house as she weeds the front yard. Her white bucket hat sits atop her head, shading her from the sun.

I slow my step so she doesn’t see me as I watch dad exit the front door. They exchange words before my mum turns her back on him, waving him off with a hand over her shoulder. Dad yells something back at her as he gets in the car and drives down the street.

They think I don’t notice but I do. They’re Platonics, having never found their Darlings. They do their best at keeping the arguing away from me but I’d have to walk around with my head in the sand to not notice the lingering tension when I walk into a room.

Slight panic rises in my chest, I rub at my heart to sooth the burn at the thought I’d end up like them. I’m twenty-two now; most Darlings find each other between eighteen and twenty-two.

My chances of meeting my Darling are diminishing as each day goes by. The government had already set up a Platonic for me, my best friend, West. He had lost his Darling at eighteen tragically; they only had a week together before she was taken away. To this day he still has his moments.

“Poppy!” mum pops her head up as she continues kneeling on the ground, her eyes shining with tears as she puts a brave smile on her face. I ignore the tears, knowing she wouldn’t want me to bring attention to it.

“I got the groceries” I hold up the heavy bag as she hurries over and unlocks the three foot gate that surrounds our house.

I walk through; the distinct sound of the lock clicking into place as mum shuts the gate behind me. I kick my shoes off at the door before mum takes the bag from my hands.

I follow the sound of her feet patting the floor into the kitchen and take a seat on a bar stool, pushing the baby hairs that had escaped from my pony tail out of my face.

“Your father has been called into work, he’ll be back for dinner” mum says as she avoids eye contact and puts the carrots away in the fridge.

“He’s been busy lately” I reply back and watch her facial expressions.

Her face turns stone cold at the mention of him being busy “you know he works hard for us” she says. I nod back, ending the conversation.

Neither of my parents met their Darlings, making the transition into Platonics easier as they didn’t have the existing bond with another. They both found out at twenty-two when they went to the church and looked in the book of lovers.

The book contains everyone and their Darling along with if their Darling is still alive. Mum and dads Darlings had both died before they’d reached their teens, it was then the government paired mum and dad together as Platonics for eternity.

“When did you want to go to the church?” mum questions, breaking the silence within the kitchen. She has always been eager to find out who my Darling is, more eager than me.

I keep pushing it back, convinced my Darling is dead, there’s no other reason as to why I haven’t met him. Even though I knew that, I dreaded seeing his name erased and replaced with West’s in the book.

“I don’t know, mum” I puff out a breath that blows my hair out of my eyes.

“We need to find out, Poppy. You’ll be too old soon” she tells me. I’ve heard it a million times. I only have until the end of my twenty second year before mine and my Darlings names disappear from the book, making room for the younger generations.

“Even if he’s passed, you still have West. Being Platonics isn’t that bad” she says. I say nothing, knowing she’s lying through her teeth. If divorce were legal she would have left years ago.

Mum and dad did the bare minimum of what the government expected of them. They had one child and worked respectable jobs that benefitted the government. Everything benefitted the government.

The yelling from next door starts up again, having only ended in the early hours of this morning. Mr. and Mrs. Tom are another set of Platonics. They’re even worse than mum and dad. They would have no problem physically harming each other if it meant escaping their marriage.

“Right” mum claps her hands together as a loud crash can be from though the wall by the Tom’s “what do you want for dinner?”

*

“Poppy! West’s here!” I hear mum call from the kitchen, the greetings between West and mum can be heard from my room.

“Coming!” I call back. My wet hair sticks to the skin of my back as I walk around in a bra, searching for a shirt after showering. I catch a glimpse of my brand that lies over my heart, the white half-moon symbol visible from across the room. It itches when I think about someone else having the other half, the possibility of them being alive unlikely.

It’s gone from view as I pull a shirt over my head before grabbing my bag and walking out to the kitchen.

“Hey” I smile at West as he leans on the kitchen counter talking to mum while she kneads dough. He stands up when I gain his attention.

“Hey, ready to go?” he asks. A smile shows on his face but his eyes hold the sadness that hadn’t left since the passing of his Darling, Katie.

“Bye mum, be home later” I bid her goodbye with a wave over the shoulder as we head in the direction of the front door.

“Don’t be too late, big day tomorrow!” she calls after us. I ignore her and hope West hadn’t heard her, but I should’ve known better with my luck.

“What’s happening tomorrow?” he questions, hands in the pockets of his jeans as he kicks random objects along the footpath.

I hike my bag up further on my shoulders. “She wants me to check the book before I’m too old” I mumble. A pair of Darlings pass us, their two children riding on bikes in front of them as the they walk hand in hand. My brand heats in jealously, knowing I’ll most likely never have that.

“Why? He’s dead” West bluntly replies, I flinch at the word but do my best to cover it up.

“Well we don’t know that” I argue. It’s silent for a moment as West thinks about my response. His shoes drag along the floor, kicking a stone.

“He’s dead, Poppy. You would’ve found him otherwise” I don’t reply, knowing it’s most likely true, my heart not wanting it to be.

We walk in silence as the kids in the adjacent park play, their squeals ringing in my ears.

“At least I’ve got you” I shove my shoulder into his, a smirk pulling at his lips as he shoves me back.

I’m glad the government made West my Platonic. He’s someone I already know and I’m comfortable with, he’s a good guy. There might actually be a chance for us to have somewhat of a decent relationship, the typical Platonic relationship not applying to us.

There’s only one problem. I have no feelings towards West whatsoever, nothing besides friendship. I can only hope some kind of attraction grows as we grow closer, especially sexually. The government expects for couples, Darlings or not, to reproduce during their late twenties, the prime of a persons reproductive system.

I just don’t know if I can do that.