“Everything was perfect, life was beautiful, everything was happy, but apparently that wasn’t enough, apparently perfect wasn’t enough!” I felt like a sprinkler, my stomach twisting, and water spraying out of my eyes. The world had changed, over the years. New technology, products, and mindsets, it always seems to be those three things. I sat down on the floor of my little metal hut as I inhaled the sadness I had just let out. It was a time when things were starting to take a turn. Someone should’ve noticed, I should’ve done something. Although I was just a kid, still technically one. During this time, someone had finally lived to two hundred. Two hundred years old, it was a milestone for human health. People were aroused, and so was the market. Everyone wanted to be like this man, and live as longer then humanly possible. After years the technology finally came to stores. It promised to keep you living longer, and looking younger as you did so.

I wiped my face as I slumped down my shoulders.

It became a big thing, but people who couldn’t buy these products were outraged. This seperated the lowerclass into this town. My mother, my clueless mother, followed along the pack, she also used plenty of the products. She however, decided it was smart to do the experimental injections, they were supposed to do more then double the life span they’ve already achieved. They were going to grant her 1,000 years, 1,000 years of being young. She accepted, not knowing the consequences. The injections seemed to do nothing, so they upped the dosage. Over and over, ten times to be precise, then they stopped. My mother, soon after gave birth to me, everyone was happy. Although everyone noticed that I was growing abnormally slow, even for that day and age, although people just took it as blessing, it was prestigious in that time. On my 10th birthday, screams, screams from mom’s bathroom. Dad and I rushed to her side, she was looking in the mirror, something despicable on her face. Something the world hated, something that was despised by everyone. Wrinkles, signs of aging, she was spouting frantically something about aging being a “thing of the past” and “this used to mean a sign of death, I’m supposed to live another hundred years” only if she knew how bad I had it. She rushed all of us to the age doctor. We showed up, her in a panic, we quickly got a room. After arguing with my mother the doctor began his routine inspection before leaving the room. When he came back mother nagged him for answers. He held a face of heavy guilt, as if he’d stolen something from her.

“What does it say?” She questioned impatiently. I remembered he stumbled on his words as he avoided her gaze.

“Why don’t we give your son and husband here a check h-huh? W-we’re still processing the information in the meantime we’ll give the two boys a check?” Mother clearly not pleased looked away and grumbled a response, the doctor went on anyway. He checked us and left. He came back with baffling news. She had only ten years left to live. Her face went pale, it looked as if she’d already died. The doctor then said my dad but his life expectancy fleaed my mind after hearing him stutter out mine. I asked him

“What about mine” honestly curious, because I’ve never had mine evaluated

“ Around t-t-ten thousand.”

“What!?” My mother blared. Her breathing sped up, quite the contrast to me as I looked lifeless staring at my hands. Later they figured out that the injections did work, just not in her favor. Not too soon after the news, she kicked me out. I guess she didn’t want the reminder of what I did to her staring her in the face everyday. I didn’t know where to go, all I new was that I wanted to get out of there. After the years I wound up with the minutes, which is what they called the faster aging lowerclass, it’s really a name to make fun of them with. The compare the lowerclasses lifetimes, to a single minute of theirs. The minutes brought me in, although it wasn’t the warmest welcome, they brought me in as their own.

I looked up from the floor from the knocking coming from outside.

“Who is it?” I said wiping my face attempting to put my broken self back together. The knocking continued, I grumbled and went to the makeshift door and opened it a gape. Seeing a young boy.

“What do you want” I hissed like a sour old man, his eyes sparkled as if seeing a diamond for the first time.

“Are you truly the one who had seen all?”

“ I don’t know what you’re talking about” I whisperd loudly trying not to attract attention from anyone else.

“Someone told me it was you? The one who lives for ten thousand years!” He said excitedly although holding it back hearing my hostility from behind the door. “They told me you would be here so I-“ my eyes widened. Before he could say another word I planted my hand firmly on the door while my other hand went flying toward the knife in my pocket.

“Who-who told you that? Who sent you?! What do you want?!” I said in a frantic loud whisper.

“ I-I-I” the kid stammered. My hand reached out from behind the door to grab his collar, pulling him towards me.

“Who. Are. You?”

“I-I-I’m just a kid, I-I’m a minute I’m just a minute I mean no harm” he stammered shaking like a leaf.

“How old are you” I demanded.

“ T-ten” I looked him up and down, looking at his tattered clothes and messy hair. I let him down slowly but keeping a firm grip, and a steady eye on him.

“Leave, if you are who you say you are. Leave.” He looked disappointedly at me.

“B-but”

“No” I said firmly before moving the peice of metal to close him out. Before the kid continued his previous banging.

“I don’t have anywhere else to go” I groaned before debating whether to let him in.

“Fine!” I slid the door open, causing the kid stumble forward.

“Just don’t get your hopes up” I said still in the doorway. “Just know all the rummors are true” I led him to the makeshift table on the floor. “You said you’re ten?”

“Y-yeah” the boy mumbled, despite a bit frightened still enthusiasied.

“Everyone calls me ten, just call me ten.” I said before sitting down on the floor, just looking at him, trying to use my eyes to ask him to sit. I wiped my face, I knew after just crying I couldn’t have looked pretty. I was just hoping he wasn’t hanging around out there long enough to hear. I was too wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn’t notice the kid sit down until he was already on the floor.

“How old are you, because you look my age.”

“I’m only 32” I stared at the floor. “Let me guess you thought I’d already be a few thousand already right, come for wisdom or something.” He nodded. That’s what I thought.

(Btw I know it ends abruptly I might add more later, I just kinda wanted to just do this and have fun so it may not be the best but I know./I decided to write this up to the 12 a clock deadline)