I glanced around, subconsciously rubbing my wrist. I quickly caught myself, then began fussing with the orange sundress I chose to wear on this hot summer day. The soft, gauzy sleeves were airy enough to keep me cool, but thick enough to hide the lack of tally marks on my left hand. They appeared on everyone. When you fall in love-real love, not just some crush-then a red tally mark would appear on your skin. It had been happening for centuries, ever since the population of the earth swelled due to divorce rates. People back then just didn't know how to tell someone they truly loved them. So instead they would back out, marry their next best choice, and soon enough, divorce. Then, They would find someone new, have more children, and repeat. Overpopulation was spreading like wildfire. Originally, the plan was to limit the amount of children allowed, but large families quickly rebelled, and the government had to find a new solution.
That's when it struck them. People just weren't falling in love right. Love had been one of the most powerful things known to man, and as it dwindled, drastic actions were required. A law was passed. all children, once they reached age fifteen, would receive an injection. The fluid would track your heartbeat, the chemicals in your brain, and your hormones. It could tell when you fell in love, and it would brand a mark on your skin. Eventually, due to evolution and whatnot, the injection wasn't needed. Our bodies naturally created the chemical needed, and it would create the tally marks. They always arrived on the left wrist, the one closest to your heart.
But slowly, people began reporting other things. A woman who had a red tally mark for years suddenly having it turn black. A man whose love had died in a car accident began panicking when his tally mark turned into a scar. Doctors started intense research, and finally, they discovered that the chemical had developed. It could tell when your love had been requited, and it could tell when the one you loved died. Abbi G. Scott, a scientist and doctor who was studying the matter, described it like this:
"Love is very powerful. It is something that can pull or push two people like a magnet. Why else do you think we have been dwelling in family groups? Love keeps us bound together, until we find someone new to capture our heart. Imagine this: we all have invisible bubbles around each of us. When you get a red tally mark, it stretches and tries to form around the one you love as well. Unfortunately, the bubbles cannot join, because they do not love you back. The chemical can sense that, and knows to keep the tally mark only red. But if the other person falls in love with you also, the bubbles push together, and become one.
"The chemical senses the change, and tells you that your love has been requited. A similar thing happens when the tally becomes a scar. The bubble breaks off completely, and pops. If the other person simply stopped loving you, then their half of the bubble would drift away, and your black tally mark would return to red. but since the entire bubble is popped, there is an absence of any love, and the tally becomes a scar."
Abbi's words echoed in my mind, but I was interrupted when I ran right into someone. I stumbled back in surprise, and glanced up at the tall, slender form of a woman. She had spilled coffee all over the front of her stylish faded pink blouse and black skirt. Her emerald eyes stared daggers at me, and I was startled by her intimidating height. She wore her soft brown hair in a bun, and looked ready to go somewhere with a couple of friends. She was a whole foot taller than me, and I wasn't even that short. That's when I noticed it.
"You sure have been busy," I blurted, glancing at the grand total of fifty red tally marks on her left arm. Horrified, I clamped a hand over my mouth. "I'm sorry! I always just blurt out stuff without thinking!" I apologized. The woman's anger intensified. She probably saw me as some rude, naive, stupid seventeen year old girl. She grabbed my arm and pushed the sleeve up.
"And you sure haven't!" she shrieked, smirking at me under layers of perfectly applied makeup. I quickly pulled my sleeve down, but it was no use. People had already crowded around the coffee shop to see what had happened, and they had all seen my completely bare arm. It was the bane of my existence.
My parents had named me Talia in hopes that it would inspire me to gain some tally marks. Then I would have lots of options to choose from before I settled down with a good person that I loved. I had done the exact opposite. I thought that love was not something you planned for ahead of time, you let it slowly work through your heart, until you eventually succumbed to it. I wanted to find the right person in my own time, and not have a ton of 'options.' This girl that I had just rammed into had fifty options. She was the perfect daughter my parents would've wanted.
I despised her for that.
I jumbled around in my purse until my fists closed around a five dollar bill. I tossed her the money and shouted
"Sorry about the coffee!" as I sprinted away from the scene, tears stinging my eyes.