Space is beautiful and endless, it just goes on and on and on...
Life is also beautiful.
Its cruel.
It ends.
Today my life will end. My beautiful short life of only eighteen years. Space will go on, it will not notice my absence. For I am nothing in its great vastness. Nothing, but a child compared to its years. An infant still learning to crawl compared to thats not true, maybe someone will notice my absence. Someone also small, someone who cannot survive without me. Someone who deserves better than confinement just for existing.
My name is River, I am eighteen years old today. My whole life has been spent on the Arc, I am expected to attend parties and care about fashion and finding a suitable match, I did once until I found Sawyer. Now due to my own parents I will die and when Sawyer turns eighteen the same fate will fall upon him.
As I said life is cruel.
I should have been more careful, I knew his life depended upon me. Sawyer was seven when I found him, he was hiding in an old storage room that I found one night by mistake. A small child huddled in the corner clinging to a ratty piece of cloth I could only assume was a blanket once, he flinched when he saw me notice him. His face looked hollow, his hair was matted and dirty beyond recognition of color and I was wearing my best dress. I felt unclean in the heels my mother had lent me with my empty wine glass still clutched in my hand as my back rested against the door.
That's when my world shattered, when I saw for the first time the in justice of the Arc that my parents had kept me from. The world the council allowed to exist. My parents allowed existing. From that moment on I was his protector, I fed him, brought him clothes, sneak him water to wash with and books which he could learn from. He was mine and I was his, until the guard came. Now I sit in a locked room waiting for them to come for me, to send me to my death for breaking the law.
An eternity has passed before the doors open and my parents walk in with the Chancellor. They stare at me for a moment and then close the door and sit. "Do you know why you are here River?" My mother has tears in her eyes. My father stares at the floor refusing to look at me - we both know his life is in my hands. "I helped an unregistered child abandoned by his parents, I broke the law. I'm here to die." I smiled finally catching my fathers eye. "I did the right thing when no one else would" Jaha nods and then crosses his arms over his knees and leans forward.
"River I have known you your whole life, thats why I am here. The law is the law and I cannot change it for you." I nod trying not to cry. "But I can..." My fathers eyes shift away from me and I see the tears of relief in his eyes. "Change the form of your punishment. The Arc as you know can only support so many for so long. I'm sure you have over heard conversations not meant for you to hear, today a ship will be launched to Earth. 100 prisoners will go to Earth to determine if it is safe for the rest of us. If you want you can be one of those on the ship to Earth."
I couldn't believe my ears as I looked from face to face and then out of the window of my cell. I wanted to throw the offer back in his face, take my punishment of death like a martyr for the innocent. A stand out victim to make people question our laws. I wanted my parents to feel the pain of having their child ripped from their arms and cast out into death so they would know how others felt, while they sat on the council never feeling the pain they inflicted.
"Earth..." My voice sounded scratchy even to my own ears as emotion choked me.
Sawyer...
Sawyer is young. He is a prisoner. A prisoner sent to earth. "Yes, I will go to Earth." that was how I ended up in a drop ship strapped to a chair hurtling into the ground and thats how I blacked out.
Life is cruel.
Life ends, but not today.