Diary #63

08.28.2217 Diary Entry #63

The world stood still.

We sat in our room.

Blacked-out curtains.

You whisper, “I’m scared”. I respond, “Me too, my love.” The sound of the troops marching outside grew louder and louder as they paraded through the streets. Nothing had been the same since the lockdown. 80% of the country had fled or been disposed of, including everyone else I cared for. Just two months ago, life was normal. Now each day we simply live life trying to remain undetected. Our rations last a bit longer now ever since my brother got caught. Anyone who has spoken out in the last 60 days has not been seen since. I have not had contact with the outside world, but with you, I am at peace. We go out one at a time to reduce the risk of getting caught. Should I ever get caught, you will have my golden butterfly necklace to remember me. Should you ever get caught, I will have your necklace with the heart-shaped pendant that we found our first evening scavenging at the center of the city. There was an eery beauty to seeing the city in darkness. We walked into the convenience store and grabbed as much as we could- batteries, water bottles, granola bars. You stood behind the cashier’s counter and pretended to ring up our items. You were my calm during the storm. You still are. The world around us is crumbling down. I am not sure how much time we have left. All of our neighbors have been caught or have fled. Maybe we should have. The last time we used the CB radio we heard that the global population had been reduced by 65%. Why are we still here? The Alliance has been attacking dissenters and pretty much anybody they felt like harassing. Yesterday evening right in front of our boarded-up windows, you got stopped by an Alliance Patrol. I ran out through the back gate and hit him with a bat. Before he could call for backup, we were back inside. In this apocalypse, I cannot afford to lose you. At dawn today, the Resisters attacked a group of patrols outside of the park two blocks away. Within about an hour, the strong scent of fire permeated our walls. We thought, had the Resisters succeeded, or was the fire a sign that they had failed miserably. We sit in silence. I look down at the heart locket while you are out at sundown filling up our water bottles at the creek. “I love you”, I whisper as I see your shadow scurry across the back blinds. It normally takes you 45 minutes from the time you leave to the time you walk through back through the gate in the yard. It took you an hour and a half tonight. Time was suspended. I did not know what to do. If you got captured, I would turn myself in too. Right as I stand up to leave, the door creaks open… it’s you. You tell me you think you got spotted… Your hands are filled with gallon bottles of water. I help you set them down. We hug. We light the three candles in our room again. We reminiscence about the past. I bring out our favorite card game. We play for a few hours. I look at my watch… it’s 2 am. We blow out two of the candles and keep one lit. We say goodnight. Then we share a kiss like we usually do. I close my eyes. Then we hear a knock on the door… With the little light in the room, I look at you, then look at the locket.

The world stood still.