DOR ID#3987 Lining Guidance and Regulation

Para 3-8

In a dawn of new age and peace each Man and Woman will be placed together in perfect harmony. The Lining tool will be given to the respective party on the day of their sixteenth birthday. The party will draw a longitude line starting at the wrist to the elbow on the inside of the left arm. The Line will surface red in color. The parties' soulmate (if age appropriate) will also receive a red line in the same location. The party that receives a line without use of a tool is required by law to report to their Districts' Soulmate Director Office. (DSDO) *Failure to report is punishable by law.

"Wow you're so lucky!"

"UGH! I wish it was my birthday."

"So when are you going to do it?"

I roll my eyes at the voices of my sister's friends coming through the wall. The DSDO just delivered Anya's line tool. "If this is what I have to look forward to in 5 years, count me out" I think as I get up and walk over to open my bedroom door. I'd be lying to myself if I said I didn't want to watch it happen though, but as I turned the doorknob I was met with the sound of my sister and friends leaving her room. They were giggling and laughing about how Anya's soulmate could be thirty and balding while they thumped down the stairs, "Probably for another piece of cake". I open my door slowly and sneaked into my sister's room. 

It's not much different from mine, the same sage green paint but my sister's walls were covered in posters, pictures, and motivation quotes. I had a single poster of my favorite musician: Frank Sinatra. There wasn't much information on the Before historically but music and other humanities artifacts were recovered and shared after evaluation. My sister's usually made bed was ruffled from her friends sitting and lounging on it, her blonde oak bookshelf was adorned with more pictures of friends and cheerleading trophies whereas mine have some books, old snow globes given as presents and a few third place chess trophies. It was among this inspection that I saw the box, it was black, thin and it reminded me of the box my favorite pink pen came in that my uncle Lewis got me for my birthday the year before. The inside was a black and shiny silk that glistened in the light when I pulled it off the shelf. I almost missed it though, it was slim and black and tucked inside so neatly it couldn't have been longer than six inches and one-fourth inch thick but it had some weight behind it. The line tool had a clear top that reminded me of those electronic cigarettes that glow blue at the tip. This is the tool to your future was inscribed on the slide, I ran my finger over the words and thought about how so much weight is put on this one tiny thing.

That's when I felt it vibrate and the tip started to glow red. "I should put it back" I thought but I was too curious, I knew where to start and where to end, "Besides I'm only eleven it's not like anything will happen anyways". I placed the glowing red tip up to my wrist and could feel warmth radiating from it, once I touched it to my skin I had to hold back my startled yelp as I pulled the tool away. It burned and then instantly cooled like when you spill hot liquid on yourself. "You could stop now, walk away and no one will know" I stared at the red circle starting to form on my wrist, "I've already come this far and I'm not a quitter". I steadied myself for the pain that I knew was coming as I pushed the tip into my skin and was greeted with that same hot liquid burn. Running it up my arm as fast as I could, I tried to hold back the scream that was building up. Just as I was about to let out all of the pain that was consuming my arm I reached my elbow and dropped the tool. Running back to my room I shut my door and slumped against it. Sliding down till I was sitting on the floor I looked at the mark through the tears that were releasing my pain. It was red and ugly, but the burning sensation that had been engulfing my arm moments earlier now felt like a cool breeze after spring rain. Wiping the tears back I noticed that the red mark was now turning a light gray color and then dissolved into my skin. It looked like it had never happened in the first place, "That's not supposed to happen," I thought, in all the reading I've ever done about Lining and how the Tool works never once did it cover it dissolving. I get up and walk over to my book shelf and grab the copy of Department of Reform, the guidelines and history of laws that we live by. I flip to chapter 15 The Regulations and History of Lining.

Lines and Their Meanings

The following are the three examples of Lines that a Party may experience through their lifetime.

Red- There is a soulmate that needs to be identified.

Pink- Soulmate has be paired.

Gray- Soulmates have been separated due to abandonment or death.

Death, as in my soulmate died? Then why did it just dissolve? This doesn't make sense, I know I'm five years too young but the DOR doesn't cover age being a limiting factor just that Lining starts at sixteen. I start to feel my chest tighten as I flip back to the context page and scroll looking for any clue. There has to be an answer, there is always an answer. I have to fight my lungs to remember to breathe as I keep flipping through the DOR, I have no idea what I'm even looking for and notice that the corner of my vision is blurring and turning black.

I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe.

*Thanks for taking the time to read :) Next post will be wednesday.