Everyone is born with a mark. It can be anywhere on your skin, but normally it’s in a spot easily visible to the world. That mark is unique to you and one other person. With your branding, you are subjected to travel the country and search for your soulmate.

They got rid of public schooling systems a long time ago. Now, you learn by ‘experiencing the world’, as they phrase it, and doing little online education. Everyone is happy with their partner, sometimes not because they actually love them, but because they feel it is their destiny, and fate is always right. Some people don’t even make relationships, and no one bothers to date, because they only want to find their soulmate. That’s what the government decided the purpose in life is, so I guess that’s how it is.

Sometimes, if you’ve searched the world and have yet to find your matching mark, the government can help you out. They have records of everyone’s mark, and can give you a shove in the right direction.

But not everybody wants their life figured out for them before they are even given a name.

I close my eyes in the bright sunlight, feeling the warmth settle on my body. The air conditioner is always cranked up high during the summer. It’s eight o’clock, early for a lazy morning, and the neighborhood is quiet. The dew on the grass has spilled onto the driveway, and the black SUV glints in the light. I inhale deeply. Soon I’ll turn sixteen, the legal age to start my required search journey. It’s . . . so soon. I’m curious, for sure, but the fact that our government forces us to be with one person for our entire lives really gets me. When you reach a certain age and either still haven’t found your soulmate or aren’t looking, the officials do it for you, with or without your consent.

“K!” I whirl around, the quiet air shattered. Logan runs across the driveway, clad in pajamas and barefoot. He’s holding M&M’s in his sweaty little hands, and he presses five into my open palm. “Shhh,” he says. “Mom’s awake.” I muss his blonde hair and laugh.  Once in a while, Logan will muster up his courage, wake up early, and steal a handful of candy from on top of the fridge. Then, he’ll get paranoid, and every creak sends him running. Most days, I’ll be out there to meet him, as I like to get up before all noise starts, come outside, and just sit with my own thoughts for a bit. Logan grins, the smile lighting up his whole face. It feels like he’s growing up too fast. I wish he’d stay six forever. He pulls me down, and we sit on the pavement, hidden from view by the car. We eat the melted M&M’s, and for a while, I can forget about the looming aspect of the mandatory search.

Later, I meet up with Ash in the woods behind our town. Most of the time, we have to hang out in secret, because hanging out in public with someone other than your soulmate is frowned upon. When you’re in elementary school, kids have classmates they’re friendly with, but no one really plays together out of school. It’s almost an unspoken rule from the government.

When I get to the treehouse, Ash is already there, loaded with the good snacks her mom buys. The only junk food we have in our house are those M&M’s, and those are practically padlocked under my Dad’s watch.

“Kiara!” She says as I climb the ladder. “How are you? I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“Hey, Ash,” I say, crawling into the little shelter. It’s an old treehouse we found out here, years and years old. We think it belonged to the family that lived in the abandoned house about a mile from our little haven. No one’s out here, which makes it ideal. There are cameras everywhere. Eyes are always watching to see who’s not interacting with someone of the same mark. I guess you could try and disappear off the charts if you wanted to, but they’ll know. They’ll find you. And the punishment is much worse than death.

I scoot away from the ladder so I’m sitting across from her. It’s forbidden to purposefully touch someone other than your family and soulmate, and even though we’re out in the woods, old habits die hard.

“So, K, are you excited to start your search journey? You’re sixteen so soon!” I roll my eyes. For the most part, Ash and I have similar opinions. We both agree the government forcing us to marry someone they chose out of hat is deranged, but Ash is such a romantic, she really wants to find her soulmate, although she doesn’t agree with the governmental method.

“Ash, you know I’m a little curious. But it’s demented the way it is. We shouldn’t be forced. Not like this.” Her dark eyes turn serious.

“I know, K. And honestly, I know how much you want to rebel and protest, but I really don’t know what we can do.” I sigh. Ash is great, but sometimes she just isn’t fully into it. But, I guess I don’t have any better ideas. It’s such a huge thing, and it’s not as if the government is going to change it so easily after so many years.

A few centuries ago, scientists started toying with the idea of genetically mutating humans to be born with a mark. The government wasn’t happy with how ‘messy’ things were- people unmarried, people cheating on one another, and almost everyone was protesting the public schooling system. As for the way education was going, yeah, it was a disaster. The government shouldn’t be able to choose who you spend your life with, but somehow, they do.  

“KIARA!” Logan yells when the door bangs shut behind me, and I hear him thundering down the hall.

“Hey, buddy!” I say. “Where’s Mom and Dad?”

“Grocery store. They left when they saw you.”

“Okay. What do you want to do while they’re gone?” He says he wants to catch up on his shows, so I sit with him on the couch and laugh at the right parts and gasp when I’m supposed to, but really I’m worrying about the search the journey and how I’m going to have to marry someone I don’t even know.

Later, I’m pacing back and forth across my room, taking measured breaths. What will I do? How can I actually put myself out there and tell everyone how wrong this is? This is our society. Shouldn’t we get to make some choices? Ultimately, what I’m afraid of, is that you only get one chance, and I’m scared I’m going to mess it up. What if the person with my mark doesn’t like me? I believe that without our controlling government, I could take my time and choose who I really want to spend my life with. I don’t want Logan to have to do this when he’s sixteen. Nor should anyone else. I promise myself, that, one way or another, I’ll decide for myself what I want to do. They won’t keep doing it for us.