The world has been like this for a long time. I can’t remember when it was different. No one can. I don’t even think I was born when it was. The world has fallen, or it has risen. Either way it’s beautiful now. Everything is so pretty. Though I can’t really say if the world was never this pretty. Cities are made entirely out of glass now. Metal can’t be found anywhere. I wonder where it went. I found some old books the other day that said stuff about school. What a silly idea that was. Why would I want to sit in a room with a bunch of strangers? I learn much better when I’m alone. The books also talked about mothers.
I wonder what a mother is like. We have fathers, but there never around. Ughn! That stupid glass keeps glinting. No, I have to think positive. I can’t believe the world was separate. They all were at war, what is war. What’s its purpose. They all fought. We don’t have weapons now…Although, we do have guns. The old guns sound a lot better than the ones we have now.
Guns then were made of shiny metal and shot bullets of lead or something else, I think it changed later…but they could kill. Weapons are a waste of resources. We have guns now. There much worse than any weapon. They shoot, and no matter where it hits you die. You could get shot in the foot and you would die. No. I can’t think about that.
Gregory said that he had a friend who got shot by one of those stupid Marl boys. I wonder how they got guns. Stupid gangs. I wonder why no one stops them. I guess they don’t want to get shot. Oh, yeah, Gregory knew someone who got shot. He died of course, but while he lay dying Gregory said he was laughing. How painful. It must’ve hurt really badly if he was laughing. Ughn, I wish this stupid sun would just go away.

It’s Tuesday. I love Tuesday. It’s the best day of the week because this is the day when all the moderators take the city kids out to the ruins. I hope it rains. Everything gets so green and gray when it does. The sun just wilts and makes things ugly. I read that it used to be so bright you couldn’t even look at it. It’s a stupid dull orange now. I stare at it in distaste. It’s just so unwarming. Besides we don’t need it anymore. We have our own light source. Were completely ready for when the sun fizzles out.
I hope it’s not a black hole. That would be awful if earth got sucked in. Geez, I can’t believe that Katie is coming this way. She’s so ugly. Her hair is all curly and red, her freckles blot her face like pimples. I’m one of the handsomest kids around. All the girls like my grey eyes. She likes them best though. I wish she didn’t. I can’t be seen looking at a girl who is so ugly. I limped over to the ruins and began my search for the library. I really loved the library. It tells me everything I need to know about the past.
Did you know that kids took tests? That’s just silly. What was the point? What is a job? No one around here needs one. It’s all just fend for yourself. The world is great like that. I’m going to stay here tonight. None of the moderators will care if I don’t come back. Freedom has been achieved. Were all free from everything. Even the sky is black. Did it really use to be blue? That’s ridiculous. Of course it’s always been black.

Katie went missing. We hardly noticed. I think one of the Marl boys hijacked her. They do that. Marl’s are just no good. They feel. I bet they thought she was pretty. There all like that. Riding their bikes howling at the wind, their bright colored hair waving behind them. I don’t really know if I should envy them. They were the last ones to miss the change. They call it escape, but really all they did was miss. Everything is better after the change.

Gregory gave me some food and decided to stay out here with me. We watch the sunrise and wonder what life back then was like. We try to do what they called imagining, but we fail. Imagining…it sounds nice…
I asked Gregory more about his dead friend. “Well…when he got shot there was this red stuff that came out of him. It was awful and brightly colored. I hated it. He was freaking out. Can you believe it? That bullet does strange things to you.” What do they call it again? “The reality bullet.” Funny name. What is funny. Did laughter look like any….fun? “Heck no. It looked bad. He had this big scary look on his face where all his teeth showed. How weird is that?” Weird. What is weird?

Marl boys ran through town last night while we were at the ruins. They only shot one person. And it was true. They had Katie with them. She was laughing. I feel sorry for her. Or that’s what the old books say I should feel. Because I don’t really. No one does.

Katie came back. She had that scary toothy look on her face too. It was horribly ugly. She isn’t free anymore. “Wrong.” She said to me. “I’m freer than I have ever been before.” She was bothering me. You can’t go back to your glass apartment right? “No, don’t see why I’d want to.” Then why are you here? “For you.” My heart thumped in my chest. I wonder vaguely why. She had a gun. I should be running.
My legs are frozen stiff. “You never run when you’re like this, because you can’t feel fear.” The books had mentioned fear. They called it an animalistic instinct. Animal…..I want to see one.
My attention came away from what would have been my panicked musings, and focused back on Katie. “You’re all trapped. Were here to free you from your reins of blind stupidity.” Our reins? You are the stupid ones, were all happier like this. “You don’t even know what happy is.” She was right. Your right. I don’t, who cares. What? Are you going to shoot me? “Yes.” I heard the gun click and then a last whooshing sound.

My head hurt so much. There was red running all down my face. It tasted of iron and smelt of glass. It was blood. Blood tastes like iron. The world was rushing past me. The gray and dull blue of the city was mixing together and turning into something else. It was bright and beautiful. No. It was what might be called ugly by the others. It was really beautiful though. Everything was so fresh and smelt so nice. Why hadn’t anything smelled like this before? I thought about my life. It had been boring. It had been normal. I had never been hurt before. No one ever got hurt. I had lived in ignorance. I realized I only barely knew how to read. I wondered if anyone else knows how to read. I only learned because I taught myself from the ruins. Why did the existence I had so long been content with suddenly become a horrifying waste of time.
My grey eyes were the only pretty thing about me. Everything else was ugly. I was tall, thin, and lanky. My knees buckled. I had a limp because my leg was longer than the other one. My hair was a mousy, matted mess of black. Dirt was practically caked onto my clothes and skin. What had I been doing all this time? Was this the life I had lived for sixteen years? Lying in trash heaps while trying to scavenge for food? Isn’t the world more than this? I began to laugh. I was going to die and for the first time in my entire existence I began to laugh. I laughed so hard my lungs hurt. It was just so…ironic. The one day I learn to really live is the day I’m going to die. I can’t believe I’ve never thought anything was funny before. That just made me laugh harder. The blood was staining the ground around me turning it a bright red. It was so beautiful. Nothing this beautiful had ever come form me before. It made me proud.
I felt proud. How wonderful emotions feel, and that moment I felt so many different ones too. I was happy, sad, angry, scared, amused, and lonely. That was the worst thing about feeling emotion. I was lonely. I had lived without anyone in my life. No one had liked me, or loved me. I had only ever done the same.
The blood was beginning to stop flowing and my vision was going black. No…no…no…..I want to see more. There is so much I haven’t seen. I don’t want to see black anymore. Where is the light? The sun? How I’ve never missed the sun like I have today. “You’ll see it again. I promise. You’re not going to die.” I couldn’t see Katie anymore, and that was the last I could hear of her, but I knew what she said was true. It was also false. I was no longer the ignorant child I had been. He had died, and in his place I had descended from the heavens to inhabit his body before his soul fled.

When I woke up, the light of the orange sun shone. Something under me felt soft. I turned over and opened my eyes a little more. Katie was lying right next to me. I noticed so much about her. Her cheeks were tinted red and her freckles only complemented her pale skin tone. Her flaming red hair was curly and neat. It had always been so, but now it was beautiful to me. I wonder if she knows how pretty she is. “Katie.” I said nervously. “Katie?” She opened her eyes. I nearly gasped at the piercing green of them. “Your awake.” She mused.
“Yes. Where are we?”
“The same place as before.”
‘No were not. Why is it all green? It was never this green and clean before.”
“That’s because you were blind. It’s always been this way. You just couldn’t see it.” I listened to her, her voice drifted through my ear like a gentle breeze. “Blind…Is everyone like this?”
“Yes.”
“Is it better to be like this?”
“No. Reality is a lot harder to deal with than where you were.” I let this sink in.
“Will I be happy then?”
“Maybe.”
“What about the others? Did they ever really exist?”
“They all do. But they’ll just see you as another Marl now. No one will recognize you. You’ve got such lovely hair. It’s so straight and shiny.”
“It’s ugly. You’re the one who is beautiful.” She giggled.
“Can I go save Gregory?”
“Maybe.” Maybe? Why just maybe? She saved me didn’t she? She was my prince. My cheeks flushed a I realized that I was just like all the other damsels in distress that I had read about. The ones who waited forever to be rescued by handsome heroes. Only, she was a beautiful hero who had come sooner than expected. To save me. My hero. My heart beat for her. I wonder what it meant. “C’mon. I want you to meet our leader.” The leader of the Marl’s. That made me scared. “Don’t be scared. He’s coming this way anyway.” I jumped up and looked around. We were on a hill and from  this hill I could see what might be the ruins, except what had been the ruins was now a stone castle of marble and sandstone. It was beautiful. Katie could take me there I bet. I noticed someone coming towards me. They were familiar, but also not. It was a Marl. He stepped closer to me. I backed away a little. He smiled. In a movement I couldn’t yet comprehend he was on me. His arms wrapped around my back and I was able to feel his chest. He was warm. This feeling made me happy. It was called a hug. A…hug? How nice. He smelled nice too.
When he let me go I could see Katie again. She was smiling. I felt my face change. It felt weird, but I knew it was a good thing. The man patted me on the back and said “Welcome to the end of the world my friend. I am Moses of the Marl’s. You are welcomed with open arms. Are you ready to show the world how to really live?”
I looked up at him. He was handsome. I looked back at the beautiful Katie. More than anything. I was more than ready to live again. I was ready to help others live, and it didn’t matter if I alone wasn’t strong enough to, because I knew these people genuinely loved me. I wonder if that was how the world had been before.