What Could Be


I wanted so desperately to be able to experience the feeling of living an independent and free life. I wouldn’t mind being unusual or different from the others. The others all looked identical and monotonous. I wouldn’t care if my appearances eventually changed to that of an old person’s. After all, that’s how life was intended to be.












With that, I trudged on through the unfamiliar woods, not planning on turning back; at least for the time being. I recalled the moment I ran away so clearly, instance for instance, for it had happened only the day before. Heaps of flashbacks haunted me as I walked.









I remembered awakening to the bright, glistening sun that morning, knowing it was the day I had to get the transformation done to me. I would be turning fourteen the day after and I had put the transformation off long enough. The doctors had told me that the transformation was “vital” and “mandatory” at the age of thirteen. The government stood behind them on this, for they didn’t want any residents being different or free-spirited with a mind of their own. They felt that getting the transformation would perhaps make to world more civilized if everyone was the same and “normal”.









My fifteen year old sister Elizabeth, whom I shared a house with, was always disappointed in me for not wanting the transformation done to me. She had gotten the transformation willingly the day after she turned thirteen!




I stood in line outside that day with Elizabeth by my side as my legal guardian and many other nervous looking thirteen year old boys and girls with their ID bracelets fastened on their wrists. Just looking at the so called “hospital” made me sick to my stomach. The building was completely composed of metal from the outside in and had only steel doors. The whole establishment was surrounded by fencing covered with trespassing and vandalism warning signs. Even worse, it was located a few miles off of the beach and almost completely surrounded by shark infested waters.










A hospital? No. It was more like a prison. For some sort of security precaution, everyone was required to wait in a line outside rather than inside a waiting room. The girls and boys didn’t seem to mind though. Like me, if everyone was cramped in that small of a building, they would all probably end up fainting.
A girl who had just gotten the transformation strutted out of the metal building. I remember so precisely how she looked. It wasn’t that hard though, she looked fake like all the rest of the “normal” ones. Like a Barbie Doll. She chose transformation number twenty-two just as Elizabeth had. She had long, thick blonde hair. Her figure was filled out and slim. Her lips were full and her complexion was perfect, She, all together was absolutely flawless. That’s when I ran.






***
My thoughts of the flashbacks were shot back to the present-day reality when I heard a helicopter in the distance. I picked up my pace to a steady run. I had known that sooner or later they would come after me. Elizabeth wasn’t the type to keep quiet, especially since I was running from something she thought was a blessing. The helicopter came nearer, forcing me to put a lot of my energy into the run.












It has been about several hours, and I was still traveling deep through the various wood lands, pushing and shoving my way through the interfering trees. The men chasing me weren’t going to give up without a fight. My stomach sounded like a whale, my throat was parched, and my lips were dry as sand. Especially considering that I hadn’t eaten breakfast in the morning prior to the scheduled transformation, I wasn’t in good condition at all. I had no knowledge of what plants were hazardous to my health and I was not even going to give second thoughts of eating an innocent animal.












I continued to ponder about the transformation as I pushed myself to endure. It’s not that I disliked the people that became faultless; I just felt that they didn’t take the time to use half their brain and comprehend what the transformation was doing to them. I heard powerful barks a little ways behind me. They were releasing the dogs to scope me out. Faster and faster I ran with hardly any breath at all. I came upon an extensive lake of some sort. I spun my head around this way and that, trying to spot an escape route. Unfortunately, the body of water was so widespread that no kind of path was visible. I was going to have to swim.




I have never swum for long distances before. In cases when I occasionally did swim, I was usually just splashing around in shallow ranges of the ocean. Suddenly hearing the sounds of the helicopter and dogs grow louder; I panicked and went into frenzy. I kicked off my worn out moccasins and waded into the lake. Pretty soon the water was up to my waist, and not long after that, it was up to my neck. I was hesitant to go any deeper, but I knew I had no choice. I kicked my legs and wind milled my arms as I splashed in the water, slowly progressing forward inch by inch.

Nightfall began to blanket the red and orange sky of sunset. The helicopter would soon be casting down beams of light, making it much easier to spot me splashing about the water of the lake. I knew that the men with dogs probably already had out their flashlights to guide them.






I lifted my face out of the water and noticed that I was approaching the faint outline of the shore on the other side. I came closer and closer to it and pretty soon I was walking on land, exhausted. I began to break into a dreaded run once again, until I heard a sound that I was positive wasn’t a good one. It was the sound of a pop and a undeniable crack coming from my ankle beneath me. I was left with only one useful leg to manage even a wobble deeper into the woods.




I wasn’t moving very fast at all with my one leg and my lack of productive energy. I felt myself failing and found myself wondering if it were a good choice to forfeit the fight. I decided against it.








Once I figured the searchers were far enough away not to spot me, I sat on a tree stump, my hands on my knees and heaving heavily. It felt as if it weren’t real. As if the whole journey weren’t real. Yet, I knew a dream wouldn’t seem so vivid. My eyes wouldn’t focus. I was so dehydrated and I was starving. Figuring that perhaps I could satisfy myself at least for the time being, I picked a green leaf off of a nearby tree and sucked the moister from it before swallowing the leaf whole. I felt that the leaf wouldn’t bring me any harm, for it resembled just an ordinary leaf. I was wrong.

I sat there on that stump, my hands resting on my knees, for what I assume was ten minutes. When I stood up in hopes that I could continue my journey, my knees felt wobbly, my head was spinning, and suddenly, everything went black.

***
I awoke to a startling sound. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed during my unconsciousness, but I awoke lying by the stump where I had been before. I sat up and held my throbbing head. That’s when I realized what the sound was that I awoke to. It was the last thing I had ever wanted to hear. The helicopter’s loud blades whirred just above me, all lights beaming directly upon my face. I could swear that my face turned white as if I had seen a ghost then. The men with dogs came up behind me only seconds later. There was no where to run if I even had the energy left in me to run. I lie back down on the cold, dark ground and shut my eyes tight as they lowered the helicopter rope.
***
I raced out of the transformation building, wildly grinning and twirling. “Oh, Elizabeth” I cried, “look at me Elizabeth! I’m beautiful!”





She nodded her head in approval. “You sure are.” She held out a pocket mirror for me.











I was ever so pleased with my appearances. My thin and straggly dull brown hair was now long, silky, and luminous. It cascaded perfectly down my back. Instead of being stick thin as I was before, I now had a filled out and desirable figure. My skin and complexion was now a glowing tan rather than a bizarre pale. Also, my favorite part, my hazel eyes sparkled! Number forty- one suits me just right. I could now see in a better way how effective the transformation really was. I became normal.