A False Utopia

My whole life I had been taught how to live. How to dress. How to act. How to talk and how to fit in. How to be just like everyone else. And that was just how it was for us.

 Our community believes in absolute equality. That everyone should be treated the same. Call us what you will: a faction, a group, a Utopia, but we were much more than that. We are Uforanderlig.

  Uforanderlig is not just the name of our home. It is the belief that there is an ultimate and universal truth, and that there are objective and unchanging moral standards, as taught by The Great One. No one has ever seen The Great One, aside from our elders. He is said to be the most powerful, most intelligent creature in the land. He lives on top of a mountain outside of Uforanderlig, and the Elders that work with him are the only ones who are allowed to go outside of the gate to meet him.

 Being a Uforanderligean means more than abiding our laws and strict moral codes. It means more than fitting in with the rest of society. It meant that you treated others how you would want to be treated. It meant no emotions were allowed to get in the way of our daily activities.

 Uforanderlig is set in a rural location in Northern Norway, far away from the rest of civilization. The Great One warned that civilization would destroy us, that it would divide us amongst ourselves. We were fenced in. Anyone who crossed the fence would never be allowed back in. The fence wasn’t that tall, it only stood about seven feet tall. It didn’t even have barbed wire. No one ever tried to escape, so what was the point?

 Today I stood at the fence, gazing out over the ocean. It was so close, I could nearly taste it. I could hear the waves crashing against the shore, hearing the sea birds cry out to their friends as well as their enemies. Occasionally one would fly over the fence and land, and the younglings would chase after it in an attempt to catch it. They were chastised for their behavior, but it never stopped them from hunting down the foul.

 I looked up at the sky as a bird flew overhead. My eyes shifted to the clouds instead. My mother always said my eyes were like windows into the heavenly azure. The pale baby blue iris, with patches of white strewn around as if painted in by the Gods themselves. My hair she would describe as the long wisps of bleached Triticum wheat that I would go out and harvest every fall. My skin, nearly porcelain, and splattered across it were light honey-brown freckles we gained from working out in the fields under the sun. Father says it is the Gods’ way of blessing us for paying them back for the rich land they gave us.

  We all look the same. Although our sizes and shapes may vary, we are all monochrome in the sense of variety. Males keep their hair short and neatly trimmed. All females hair are to grow out. My hair reaches the back of my knees. I find it troublesome, as I often find myself sitting on it, or getting it stuck in closed doorways or a clingy toddler’s hand. But that was life.

 “Oi, oi!” 

 I turned to look behind me, hearing the familiar voice. We did not have names. We are not meant to be individuals. We are a society, moving and molding together constantly. A girl a near mirror image of me runs up to me, looking excited. “What are you doing out by the fence? Not thinking of leaving me, are you?”

 “Of course not,” I say calmly, smiling a little. “That would be suicide. Besides, I could never live without you by my side.” She grinned at the message, and we shared a quick and simple hug. “You’ve been standing out here for hours, school is about to start!” She grabs my hand and together we trek through the wheat fields, making it to the district. All our houses looked the same. A simple white square, with two floors containing the necessities; a living area, a kitchen, a dining room, three bedrooms, and three bathrooms. 

Each family was to have two children; a boy and a girl. If a family gave birth to two boys or two girls, they would give one up to another family who had not yet conceived, and either try again or adopt the gender they were missing, even though it was a rare case to give birth to the same gender twice. My mother was expecting, and I was excited to be a big sister.

We arrived at the school and quickly make it to our desks. No-one turned to look at us, as it was a rude thing to do. We took our seats and the lesson began. Each lesson lasted an hour, with a break between each session. After the third lesson, we would return home to eat. Today my friend came home with me for lunch. 

Mother had prepared Fårikål, a famous dish in Norway. It consisted of pieces of mutton with bone, cabbage, whole black pepper, and some wheat flour made from the wheat I collect and bring home. It took hours to make, so I was curious as to what the special occasion was. However, it appeared my friend was even more curious than I was.

“Miss, how come you made such a fancy dish?” She took a bit bite of the lunch. My mother laughs softly at her enthusiasm. “It’s the baby. They’re coming soon… I suppose I’m just excited,” she softly answered with a smile. “I’m due in a week.” I couldn’t help but beam brightly. A week was not long to wait, but it would feel like a millennium to me. 

That night, my friend and I headed back to sit by the fence and look out at the ocean. This time we were joined by our friend, Two-Tone. I know I said we didn’t have names, but he was special. Generations ago, one of his family members had brown eyes. He had a blue eye and a brown eye but kept the brown one hidden under a blue contact. 

He sat next to us, taking out a journal and quietly writing. Years ago - we would have been twelve at the time, we are now 17 - he was caught up in a hunting accident. Gun misfired, came close to his ear. He ended up losing his hearing in that ear, and it spread to the other. He was completely deaf but could read lips and talk.

I waved to get his attention. “What are you writing about?”

“The outside world,” He replies quietly. He looked down at the journal, where there was a stunning sketch of a sea bird. The info below it was written neatly, but it wasn’t much. He liked to study what wildlife he could see and note its behavior. “Did you know that slugs have four mouths?” He laid his hand down in front of a little black slug, which almost seemed to happily slide onto his hand. 

“How do you know so much?” My friend asks him, poking at the slug curiously. 

“Simple observations,” he replies. “I don’t know much though… I’ve only been able to document the wildlife I see outside the fence. I can only imagine what kind of animals exist out there…” 

All of our eyes turn up to the vast open land in front of us. Two-Tone and I look up in surprise as our friend stands and walks to the fence, getting a good grip before starting to scale it. Two-Tone stands up, eyes wide. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!” His voice was hushed but just as angry as it needed to be.

I stood as well. “Are you crazy, get down!” I stepped up to the fence to grab her foot but she was already out of reach. I turned back to look at our neighborhood, hoping that no one was seeing what was happening. I heard a thud and swiveled around to see that she had made it to the other side. I held onto the fence, staring at her in shock. “Get back over here before someone comes!”

“Sheesh, mom, relax! I know what I’m doing.” She crouched down, plucking a yellow flower from the ground before reclimbing the fence. She made it to the top before seeming to get caught, losing her balance and starting to fall back over. I covered my eyes. Two-tone jumped up, grabbing her arms and pulling her back to safety, catching her bridal style in his arms. 

She looked up at him, looking a bit shameful as his face was full of disappointment. He set her down and started to gather his stuff before walking back to the town. I grabbed her by the shoulders. “Were you trying to get yourself killed?! You know the rules!” 

“Yeah, yeah- look I’m sorry, okay? I just couldn’t resist!”

“Just don’t ever mention this ever again…” I let go of her, following Two-Tone. She sighed softly, gazing down at the little flower she held as she walked after us. 

That night I could hardly sleep. Anything could have happened to her! Carried off by some bad men, mauled by a lynx, and other things I couldn’t even begin to imagine. I sighed and closed my eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

  The next day went as scheduled, as usual. Wake up. Bathe. Brush teeth. Get dressed. Eat Breakfast. Go to school. After lunch, however, the intercom came on in the middle of class. Murmurs spread across the school, as the intercom never came on unless it was a weather warning, or perhaps a warning that a wild animal had made it over the fence.

 The teachers hushed us, and we obeyed. 

 All students, please report to the main building, I repeat, all students please report to the main building. Stay with your class, your teacher will escort you. Please remain calm.

 Of course, we all panicked. Harsh whispers erupted from every room.

“What happened?” 

“Did someone get hurt?”

“Are we in trouble?”

When the clamor died down, we were escorted to the main building. The school itself was set up much like the rest of the community. A big plain white rectangle with only necessary windows, surrounded by other, smaller rectangular buildings, being the classrooms. 

The main building served as the main office, the attendance office, and the gym. The teachers lead us to the gym and put us in 5 rows. There were about 50 kids in the school since our community was pretty small with only 25 families. 

There was still confused whispering going about, as everyone tried to figure out what was going on. I looked around before I locked eyes with Two-Tone. We shared a nervous look. All at once, the room goes dead silent. We turn to face the front, and my breath gets stuck in my throat. Standing on the podium was Elder Hakon. 

The Elders are the only ones with names, as they are meant to stand out amongst the rest of us. Hakon is the highest-ranked Elder in the congregation, his appearance could only mean something really bad has happened.

Once he had our attention, he cleared his throat and began to speak. His voice felt like it was full of ancient wisdom like you could ask him anything and he could answer truthfully. “It has come to my attention that someone crossed the fence last night,” he states calmly. The clamor started up again, to which he simply raised a hand to quiet us. 

One of the Authorities started walking up and down the aisles of students, examining everyone’s clothes thoroughly as Elder Hakon spoke. “We found a strip of cloth atop the fence… it appears to be a student’s uniform.”

I felt my heart skip a beat. The night before, when she got stuck on top of the fence, it must have caught her dress. Every student only had one uniform. Two-tone switched spots with the kid next to me. He grabbed my hand, holding it tightly. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to make me feel better, or if he was afraid. I squeezed back softly and closed my eyes. 

There was a collective gasp, and I regretfully opened my eyes to see the Authority grab my friend’s wrist. I covered my mouth, eyes wide as he dragged her up to the front. I watched her struggle, trying to escape the man’s clutches. “No, you’ve got it wrong! I didn’t do anything, let me go!” I watched the tears fall on her face. She was terrified.

He forcefully pushed her over a table, crouching down and grabbing the hem of her dress where there was, in fact, a tear. He pulled out a strip of fabric and held it up to the tear. Perfect fit. He stood up, turning to Elder Hakon with a nod. Hakon sighed softly as my friend turned to face the students, her hair plastered to her face with tears. 

It was silent. Dead silent. Two-Tone slowly let go of my hand, looking down at the floor. I broke from formation and grabbed her by the arms, tears streaming down my face. I was furious. I was scared. I felt betrayed. “Why? Why did you do it?!” I’ve never once yelled in my entire life. But I couldn’t help myself. 

“You wouldn’t understand,” She sobbed back, shaking her head. “You always follow the rules. You do what you’re told and you always follow the schedule! I can’t do it anymore. It doesn’t make sense!”

“But you’ve lived here your whole life, it’s how you were raised! What is there to not understand?!”

“Because I’ve snuck out before!” She shouted at me, closing her eyes tightly. I let go, stepping back in shock. “You… what?” 

“I’ve seen the outside world… you are all being lied to!”

Elder Hakon stood up. “That’s quite enough, young lady.” 

“The Elders are lying! The Great One is lying! The outside world isn’t what they tell you it is!”

Hakon slammed his staff down. “I said that is enough!” His voice boomed across the room, quelling the noise. It was silent as the Authority grabbed my friend by the arm, dragging her outside. I went to follow when I felt a hand on my arm. I turned to see Two-Tone. “You can’t stop me from following her,” I say dryly. “I know,” he replies. “I’m coming with you…” 

I never took him to be the type of person to want to be involved in these kinds of things, but I guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover. Together we chased after them, and no one tried to stop us. We got to the fence gate where the two were standing. The Authority pushed the rebellious teen to the ground, grabbing her by the hair and pulling out a knife. 

I gasped and ran forward, only to be stopped by Two-Tone. I watched as he used the knife to roughly hack off the majority of her hair, leaving her with short, shaggy and uneven hair. He then opened the gate and pushed her out, before shutting the gate again. He walked past us and back into the school. Two-Tone and I ran to the gate. 

“Why,” I asked again, staring at the girl in front of me. She came to me, lacing our fingers together through the fence. “When I’m out here… I’m allowed to be me. I don’t have to be like everyone else. I can act on my initiative! I can speak freely, and I… I’m a whole new person.” She looked down at her feet. “I like being free. I can’t stay in here anymore…” 

I shook my head in disbelief. “So you’re just going to leave me? For your own selfish needs?” 

“It’s not selfish!” She let go of my hands. “I never expected you to understand.” She started to back away. “I’ve changed. I know you’ve noticed, I’ve been sneaking out for the past year! I’m not the same obedient child you are now. The sooner you realize this place is crazy, the better. And by the way… my name is Maiken.” She turned, walking to the forest. 

“Get back here!” I shouted, feeling the tears coming back. I fell to my knees, my body shaking with sobs. Two-Tone kneeled next to me, gently holding me. I didn’t fight it, I couldn’t. Just like that, my world had been changed forever. 

We stayed there for a while, before I finally sat up, turning to the boy next to me. “Do you think what she said is true?” I ask quietly. He thought for a moment, before looking out to where Maiken had made her way into the forest. “There are a lot of things we don’t understand about the outside world. But I think she’s right… the world is much more free than we will ever be.”

I looked at the forestry, seeing small animals dart around and such. “The animals seem happy. She… Maiken, I mean, seemed happy to go after she was outside. Maybe the outside world isn’t as bad as they make it seem.” 

Two-Tone and I stood up, looking at each other. “You feel like filling up your journal some more?” 

He looked back at Uforanderlig, then took a deep breath and looked at me with a nod. We turned to the fence and climbed our way into a new life.