"Hello. My name is Benjamin Dillon. I am eighteen years old. I know I'm not off to a great start here, but bear with me. This gets much better.
I was born two years after a disease known as the Green Flu claimed the lives of nearly every citizen of the United States of America. With a population in the thousands, all hope seemed lost for the once strong country. Bombs were dropped, infected shot, and countless acres of land were left abandoned. Many remain empty to this day.
I didn't come here to give you all a history lesson you've heard before. I came here to do the only thing I do with any skill…tell you all a story.
My early years of life were the best I've lived so far. My mother taught me everything I could ever hope to learn about life, love, beauty, and most importantly, imagination. I grew up never seeing with my own eyes the creatures from my picture books. The first animal I ever saw was a deer. At age four, she walked me through our orchard to look at the blooming flowers. My father was close by, just as he has been my entire life. The deer was large and magnificent with antlers like a prestigious crown. It stared into my eyes for a full minute before disappearing slowly into the brush. As I grew, I discovered more hidden creatures. Every frog, fly, snake, and bird was a miracle in itself.
Throughout my childhood, I had one friend whom I am proud to stay is still my friend to this day. He never judged me for my flaws, always a source of comfort and most of the time, a nagging voice that made me better. Every day of high school was a challenge, but I don't speak academically. I was the target of nearly every bully on campus for one reason or another. I am proud to say that I was David's shield. I took every blow that was sent his way, even though more often than not, they were directed at me anyway. I'd like to say that this made me stronger and that I was a skilled fighter. I was not then, and I certainly am not now.
Even though I was hated by many, I never let it bother me. At least, not too bad. The life I knew was small, but I was well on my way to college by age fifteen. Everyone who didn't know me thought I was very smart. Everyone who does know me knows that I'm no smarter than the average kid. I have what doctors call Eidetic Memory. Simply put…I can remember every sight, every smell, and every sound from my life with near perfect precision.
I never thought this curse would be useful until October 17th, 2029. That was the day my mother left for a drive and never came home.
Two years later, on October 27th, 2031, I made a discovery. She had not been murdered or kidnapped. She had not driven her car off a mountain ridge or run away with a lover. My mother had been secretly obsessing for seventeen years. She trusted nobody with her plans, and with good reason. It was a long-shot, a wild goose chase, and the bravest thing I'd ever heard of. My mother had been soft and gentle my entire life. Everything I learned about her in two hours was enough to shake me from my gray existence. She was alive and I had to find her."