Asher - The Heart-Shaped Locket

It is the year 2053, and Asher is asleep in his pod tube. His recurring dream takes him to a utopia of just 32 years prior when his mother was just a 13-year-old girl. As a child, Asher loved listening to his mother telling of the time she and her siblings spent with their grandmother, who they called “Nanny”. His mother recalled just how much they all enjoyed spending time at her house which sat across from verdant rolling hills pastures, where she and her siblings roamed free to catch fireflies in the summer evenings, and where the sweet smell of honeysuckle permeated the air. Such sweet memories for his mother and her siblings. Oh, how Asher longs to experience such utopia.

Asher is awakened by the sound of the National Guard stomping in unison during its hourly patrol of the city. As Asher sits up, the heart-shaped locket around his neck clinks against his desk. He quickly grabs the cherished locket and tucks it under his t-shirt. Although Asher knows it is unusual for a man to wear such a locket around his neck, it is the only safe place to keep it. Asher cherishes the locket, for inside is a photo of his grandparents with his mother and her siblings sitting outside in the utopia in which they lived. They are all but a memory now after succumbing to the second plague that hit the world back in 2030, three years before Asher was born. Asher’s mother lived until Asher was the age of 13 in 2046. That second plague not only took human life but scoured the earth’s vegetation and it became unsafe to be outside without full body protection and breathing apparatuses, according to the news. The earth is covered in soot-like substance that clings to everything and when one steps on the ground, the soot poofs into the air.

What mesmerizes Asher most about the locket is that in the photo of his grandparents, mother and her siblings, they are all smiling happily. Why does that mesmerize Asher? You see, when Asher was born during the plague, all newborn children had to undergo a procedure to permanently cover their noses and mouths with skin that had a built-in breathing apparatus, so Asher has never seen a human smile, except his mother’s. His mother told him a story of a time when she and her grandmother were in a shopping check-out line, and there was a newborn baby and its mother, who were wearing masks then to comply with the first plague outbreak, and Asher’s grandmother told his mother, how sad it is to think that newborn children may not realize that other humans, besides their mother or immediate family, actually have a nose, mouth and smiles. His grandmother realized this after she realized the baby did not know she was smiling at him because of the mask she was wearing. His grandmother could not even fathom what was to come, especially for her great grandchild.

It’s just another usual day for Asher as he waits for the green slime to slide down into the vial for breakfast. Asher knows it is a combination of supposedly vitamins, minerals, protein and something green. He leans his head back to rest with his eyes momentarily closed and envisions fresh vegetables, fruit and meat, just like his mother used to describe. His mouth waters, but then sours as he hears the liquid slop slide into the vial. He slowly opens his eyes and catches a glimmer of light coming up over the hills of the valley …

What is that?

Asher sits up abruptly and rubs his eyes to make sure he is seeing what he is seeing, but then the light vanishes.

Asher grabs his mic and shouts out, did anyone else see that light over the hills of the valley? Hello, hello … no answer, only static.

Just as suddenly, a loud banging against Asher’s pod tube disturbed Asher’s excitement. It was the butt end of an assault rifle, warning Asher to stop with his inquiry as to the glimmer of light. Was that the sky or some artificial light? Asher pondered. Had the polluted low-lingering clouds cleared momentarily to allow real light from the sun to shine, or was it just Asher’s daydreaming of the utopian days of his mother’s childhood?

Asher had to find out if anyone else saw the light. He decided he would ask the others during the evening walk around outside the pod tubes if they too had seen the light. Surely if the air is clearing on the earth, the government would let the people know of such miracle. Asher lifted his skin mask and slurped down the contents of the vial.

Finally, it’s time for the late afternoon walk around, and Asher can hear the seals of the pods cracking open. Asher noticed troops descending from the top of the valley and wondered what they had been doing up there. He instantly searched for his friends Mark and Amy to inquire about the glimmer of light. There they are! Both nodded in unison, agreeing they had seen the light.

Get back in line, the guard shouted.

Let’s make a plan, Asher whispered to his friends, who agreed, before having to disperse.

Asher came up with the plan to insert something, anything into the sliding door of their pod tubes before they were sealed for the night. If his planned work, he and his friends would meet outside of his pod. Once back inside his pod, Asher grabbed the first thing he saw, which was a small piece of torn fabric from one of his jackets. He slipped it in between the pod tube’s sliding door just as it was closing. The door looked sealed but when Asher touched the handle, it slid open! And there was no alert that it was open.

20 minutes later, after the guards finished up their rounds for the hour, he saw Mark and Amy outside. His plan worked for them as well! Asher stepped out and greeted his friends and motioned for them to go behind the pod tubes to be out of sight.

Let’s head to the top of the valley where the troops were seen earlier, Asher whispered. We must make it back before our morning vials of breakfast are dispensed.

Asher and his friends stayed low to the ground as they made their way up through the dark valley and mounds of soot on the ground. It had taken them several hours to make it to the valley’s edge, over rough terrain and boulders, but finally they arrived to be greeted by a fence of barbwire. Just beyond the fence, they saw some sort of equipment. It appears the troops had been repairing something, but what? Asher and his friends found an opening in the fence and then climbed onto a huge boulder to better see their surroundings, but it is always too dark to see any distance. Asher stood up from his hunched position on top of the boulder and then was knocked back down by his own head hitting something above him. Asher is the tallest of his friends, at six foot three inches. His friends, perplexed at what happened to Asher, reached their arms up to feel what is above. Much to their surprise, they felt a shield of sorts.

What is that? Both Mark and Amy questioned in unison.

Asher slowly stood up, rubbing his head, and reaching to feel what his friends felt. Asher felt a crack and spot where the shield appears to have been shattered from the outside by something. Had they walked into an old pod tube? What type of covering is above them? They all wondered. Is this where pods that were no longer in use discarded?

Asher began banging his fist on the cracked spot, harder and harder, attempting to break through. Mark and Amy joined in pounding their fists against the shattered spot. They heard a crackling sound and suddenly brilliant light flooded through, blinding Asher and his friends. They fell in agony for their eyes were not used to light of any kind. They heard young voices coming from where the light is shining.

Look! There are people down there! The outside voices exclaimed.

How did you become trapped down there? The voices questioned.

Trapped? Asher and his friends were still anguishing in pain but wondered who these people are asking strange questions of them.

Here, give us your hands and we’ll get you out of there! The young voices insisted.

Asher and his friends stretched out their arms and were pulled up out of the container into brilliant sunlight. Asher squinted to see and was left speechless at the sight that lay before him. He thought he was dreaming again about his mother’s childhood utopia. For what lay before him were seemingly endless rolling green pastures, fruit trees, blue skies and smiling faces. It was a group of teenagers who pulled them from their container.

How long were you down there? inquired the teenagers.

Huh, our entire lives! What do you mean? Where are we? This is my mother’s utopia of her childhood! Asher, Mark and Amy had so many questions.

Utopia? You’re right here in Alabama, replied the teenagers. We’re spending the summer at our parent’s farm.

Where are the guard troops? Asher nervously asked while looking around.

Troops? What troops? There are no troops. The teenagers were obviously confused.

The news stated the earth had been scoured by the plague and it is inhabitable, Asher informed.

Plague? You mean the plague of 2030? Yes, but only part of the earth was destroyed and millions upon millions of people died. Our parents told us that only certain public officials and their families survived, and so we are left to carry on with repopulating the world. We were told to never go into the forbidden areas that were polluted, but we were never told there were any survivors other than us! There is no world travel to other countries, but other countries have untouched areas, so they thrive as well. The teenagers were baffled at the sight of Asher and his friends.

No, no, no …this can’t be, for the government has kept us in pod tubes our entire lives with no sign of daylight or fresh food to eat! There is an entire world of people down there and they are controlled by troops with assault rifles. We’ve seen the daily news which tells us this is the state of the entire world, Asher cried out in anguish.

That’s not the truth, for here we are right here breathing fresh air and eating fresh food? We must let our parents know about the people below! The teenagers turned to run home.

No, wait, Asher cried. Let’s break more of this dome so all can see the daylight is real!

We must inform the news outlets of this travesty of human suffering! It is intentional, but by whom? Surely, our government would not allow such to happen in our free country. The teenagers were filled with horror and disbelief, and then were convicted to get the truth out to the world! And they did.

Let’s show the whole world! They began filming Asher and his friends, and then when the troops knew of their escape to the outside world, they put away their assault rifles, and all the people below escaped into the brilliant daylight. Now all people were free to live in the fresh air and sunlight, and free to enjoy fresh food and roam wherever they chose.

Asher added a photo to the other side of the heart-shaped locket. He sat on top of a rolling green hill and smiled widely in the photo, for now the skin mask was no more.

The End.