I opened my eyes and I was in the room again laying on the bed. I tried to catch my breath like I was running for miles non-stop. When I did, Boris, looking at the panel above my head said, “You have unusual heart beats.”
He then looked at me and kept staring. It seems that he had something to say, but I only wanted water. He grabbed the cup of water and approached me. He held the cup near my lips and tilted it slowly. I sipped slowly and stopped after a few seconds. He lowered the cup and placed it back on the table. He then said, “It was just a dream. No one will hurt you.”
I panicked, and I looked at him with a scared expression on my face. He then said, “Why did you scream like that?” I said, “I screamed to wake up.” He said, “You were screaming non-stop for over ten minutes. It was a low scream and your face looked like it was in pain. I tried to wake you up, but you kept saying, ‘I am not her. I am not Sara.’”
I felt my heart stopping and my throat was slowly collapsing. I was talking in my sleep? He knows now. He knows about her. He said, “You also screamed Sam’s name.” My eyes felt heavy and watery. I started crying and streaks of tears covered my face. He said, “For a level five authority position defending the most intelligent people in our world, you are quite sensitive like a child.” A child I thought. Did I say anything else while I was dreaming and I saw myself as a child? He then said, “It was just a dream. Sam will never come back.”
His tone was different, and I didn’t understand why he was concerned with Sam. Why did it seem to bother him?
After a minute of thinking, I finally said, “In my dream, Sam thought I was someone else.” He unexpectedly said, “You always were to him.” I shifted my head and looked at him. Tears slowly stopped and I said, “What?” He looked at the panel above me, and looked back staring at me. He had a low voice that was almost like a whisper and said, “You were never meant to be with him. Your aptitude scores were none-confirmative and they thought that John’s nephew is best suited for you and your level of authority in the Intelligence compound. They said it was for the greater good of this world.”
I didn’t know how to respond. Why was Boris telling me this? How did he know? About me of all people?
In our world, at 20 years of age, we are required to take an aptitude test that examined our social behaviour, intellect, and reaction to various scenarios of danger. It was a grueling exams that spanned the duration of three days, with barely any hours of proper sleep. We were in a closed room sitting on a chair with wires on our bodies, and we wore thick goggles that had a screen in them where we reacted to what we saw. It was required by all of us since we reached a milestone in the level of maturity in our years of classroom and field training.
After the test was finished, the next day in the morning, at 08:00 am, each of us waited in a long wide room. We were called in alphabetically by first name, and we had to stay in that room until everyone was finished. There were twelve of us. There were five females and seven males. After Lee, a heavy built average sized man, a lady holding a screen tablet called out my name. I stood up and walked towards the door. No one was looking at me because they kept staring at the ground while I was walking. I approached the lady and she gestured for me to go in. I complied and walked in. The room was small and square shaped, with three men sitting on chairs with a long desk in front of them. They each had a screen and looked at me. The lady sat down in the last seat next to an old gray haired man and said, “Sit.”
I sat on the empty chair and kept my gaze on her. The old man next to her started speaking slowly and breathlessly, “Our world is small, but slowly growing because as humans, we need to survive and purify this earth that is damaged by our ancestors. We can’t keep fighting each other for power. It will destroy us.” He wiped his forehead with his hand and looked down at his screen. He kept looking down and continued speaking, “Our world needs three types of people that excel in the three fields of social behaviour, intellect, and defence. Everyone possesses all three at a certain level but excels highly in one and it shows in their results. Some of their results are close, or highly excel in two or three. We ask them to choose what they want.” He stopped for a few seconds.
I kept looking at him and wondered when he will tell me my results. He looked at me and said, “Lina, we require you to hold your new position as defence of the Intelligence compound.” I thought to myself, “What about the infantry in the Red compound? They are there to defend us all.” I shrugged, and I wanted to speak, but he continued. “From the health test results you were required to take last week, a marriage companion was chosen. Sam Myr, 21, of the Intelligence compound is best suited for you. If you object, and you have someone else in mind, we require that you forget that relation.”
I stared at him and I was lost for words.
He kept talking, “It may seem that we are forcing this upon you. We only suggest suitors for everyone based on their results to have a successful marriage. We don’t want a corrupt society with mental instability that has spawned behind closed doors. We are also delighted that our young minds choose their companion that they love dearly. Their children will be happier as a result, and they will grow up in a happy and successful household. However, in your case, it is required that you immediately go to the Intelligence compound under General John Myr’s orders and not wait for your peers outside. He will be your direct supervisor from now on.”
He paused for a moment and looked down at his screen. He then looked up and said, “You may leave now.”
My curiosity was evident, and I didn’t comprehend what just happened. I looked at him and said, “What were my test results?” He squinted his eyes and stared at me. He didn’t seem like he wanted to say anything anymore, but suddenly he said, “They were unusual. You may leave now.”
Why did I remember that now? I was so lost and I looked at Boris and he was staring at me. He said, “I can’t believe you don’t look like you know. Of all people, you should have known.”
I wanted to leave or hide, but I couldn’t. I wanted to change this conversation, but my eyes looked at him, and then at his necklace. A bird was hanging from it at its end and it kept moving back and forth. He said, “Look at me!” I quickly said, “Why did you not marry anyone till now? Did you not like their recommendation?”
He straightened his posture and stared at me for a long time. I wanted to break this awkward silence and I said, “Well?” He finally said, “I was in love with someone. But it was not meant to be.”