The Calling

Every year, one person is sent to the moon. They never return. No one knows what happens there. It’s been a long time ritual since the early years of humans travelling in space. No one is sure when exactly it began but it was many years ago.

Legend says that first, the space stations disappeared and we began to lose contact with every piece of technology we had in the atmosphere. It began as static crossing the radio waves then a high pitched shriek rang through all the systems that could be heard here on the ground, and then silence. After that, everything vanished from space. No more space station, no more satellites, no sign of any of the astronauts that were in space at the time. Everything was just gone. 

Around the same time the year after, that piercing sound returned, heard everywhere. Every passing day it got louder, and louder, until the entire globe trembled with its waves. That was when this madness began, the sacrifices. It didn’t take long for everyone to realize what we needed to do. We sent up a team to see if they could find the station; to check if the shriek meant everything had returned. The last words we heard from them was: ‘No sign of anything having returned’. They were wrong though, what returned after they went up was the static, then silence.

Year after year at the same time the sound returned. More violent, more greedy, more hungry. Every person was assigned a number at birth and after reaching a certain age, your number gets thrown into a global bowl and one ‘lucky’ person gets called forth like they are the winning number in the worlds sickest game of bingo.

Everyone not called rejoices. The poor sap that does get picked, however, has three days to get their affairs in order before they are stolen, their families robbed, and forced into space. To do this and still silence whatever lies in the deep recesses of space, we hold The Calling three days before the siren wail returns. Waiting until it arrives let’s us know that this is still necessary. The human race, an endless yearly buffet of one. 

Today is the day of this years Calling. It will begin in just a few short moments that will feel like hours. Everyone gathers around their family, friends, loved ones, everything they hold dear.

Everyone trembles, watching the TV in fear as the world roulette rolls and tumbles all the numbers around. Billions and billions of identifiers singing against the metal of the rack as it goes round and round until it stops and one falls out. The unlucky one this year is…

“Number 10,546,420,002. I’m so sorry. Thank you for your sacrifice.”

This time there is no rejoicing. Just silence and the sound of my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I feel the goosebumps all raise on my body, every hair standing on end, I feel so cold and the eyes of the room are on me. That’s my number. Finally I feel a gasp of air wretch its way into my lungs and escape with a sob, then it all goes black. 

A few hours later, I wake up. Cursing myself for wasted time I got up and walked into the family room, smells of all my favorite meals drifting from the kitchen. Mom was busy, usually her cheery demeanor left everyone else in the rom busting with happiness. This was solemn and pain staking. I could see the tears just roll down her face as she prepared a last supper of sorts for her only child. Odds of 25,956,782,993 to 1 and her child is the one who has to go, her child she only got to love for 16 years, her child who’s number was entered for the first time. 

No one speaks the rest of the night, we eat in silence, trying to make as little noise as possible. For the first time in years, my mother gave me a hug and kiss goodnight, shaking the whole time and making the side of my face wet. I hugged and kissed her back but I did not return the wetness, I was too numb.

DAY ONE

I woke up this morning from a very restless night of tossing and turning. When I sat up my dog lifted his head from the foot of my bed and whined. He looked concerned like he knew what was coming and he whimpered as I pet him. He was always such a good dog. I hope my mom can still care for herself and him after I’m… Unable to finish the thought I got up and around for the day.

The water in the shower was as hot as it could get, scalding and making my skin red instantly wherever it hit. I just let it run off me and didn’t even bother really getting clean. I just wanted to wash away this suffocating dread that entered this place, drown it, burn it, wash I down the drain away forever. I stayed in till the water ran cold and burned my scorched skin in a much different way than anticipated.

When I left the bathroom, still damp and skin steaming from the heat, I found gifts laid out on the kitchen table with my mom sitting next to them, smiling the fakest smile I have ever seen.

“Hello dear, good morning.” Her voice was raw and raspy from her wailing throughout the night. Her eyes reflected that as well, red and puffy. “Your birthday came early this year. These are for you.”

So this is what she has planned for today. Have me open the gifts she got me for my birthday in a few months and pretend like these aren’t the last few days she’ll spend with me. Skimming the gifts I noticed one addressed from my father. It was nice of him to remember his first child’s Calling Number, even though he was with his new family now. I know all these gifts were delivered throughout the night and morning by those close by, mingling in the heap among the ones from the only person who ever truly cared for me my entire life. She dedicated every moment to me and this is the cruel irony bestowed on her for all those years of diligent care and love.

The rest of the day went on in a blur. Many people came to visit, say their goodbyes, or to act like it was just another day, not willing to accept that time is fleeting and we’re all just pawns in this giant game of chance played by angry gods. I was jealous. They all get to go home and hug their loved ones while talking about ‘how brave’ I am being, while deep down I’m still numb and unfeeling. They will all forget about this tragedy my family is experiencing in just a few months, once their own hearts and lives slow down and they begin adjusting to the new reality without me, to their peace until next August 10th. 

DAY TWO

This morning began much like yesterdays. My dog was lying on top of me this morning, as if trying to keep me here in this spot for all of eternity, to stop the rushing of time. 

No one came to visit today and for that I was grateful. There was only one person I wanted to spend time with and that was my mom. We reminisced over memories and told stories. We made a blanket fort in the living room like when I was little, behind a nice pillow wall. We gorged on snacks and I was allowed to drink alcohol because I wouldn’t be around to do so legally. No one would judge us now and no laws would count against us. We laughed and we joked and I got to get drunk with my mom. She told me about the first few years of her name being in The Calling.

She told me of the year her boyfriend was called a week after he proposed to her. She never said yes because she wanted to wait till after before committing to something like that, but she said she wanted to and should have so they could have been married for a few days at least. She shared all her heartache and her joys from her life up until now, what she described as her greatest heartache of all; her heart torn and shred into pieces she will never be able to pick up.

I shared with her all my crushes and the person I longed for an embrace from. She suggested we hunt them down and get one. Because we were drunk, it sounded like a great idea but I was so wasted I couldn’t move a muscle from the stack of pillows against the wall. We both collapsed and fell into a deep sleep. It did not last long.

DAY THREE

The sound I dreaded hearing began as a light thrum of noise at five in the morning. The feeling of numbness finally worn away as reality crashed into me. I wanted more time, I needed more time. How many sacrifices is enough? How many lives must be given to the unknown before it is satiated and leaves for good? Why did it have to return on my year?

My mother woke up to the sound as well, still holding me close to her and as she recognized the buzz for what it was, she clung even tighter. She needed me more than I ever felt like I needed her. I pulled her tighter as well so she could feel every ounce of love I had to give her in these last few hours. For at least half of one, we stroked each others hair, crying and repeating ‘I love you’ over and over in an endless loop.

Throughout the day the shrillness that surrounded us grew in pitch and volume. I began cowering in fear and attempting to hide anywhere from the authorities that were going to beat down the door anytime now to drag me away into my eventual nothingness. Nothing to bury, nothing to cremate, nothing left to mourn over but the vague emptiness left behind, the void. The only one feeling any of that misery standing there trying to get me to just let her hold me and brush my hair one last time, creating moments of memory before the end. I wanted to hide, to run away, to disappear until they called someone else, as impossible as that was, I wanted it more than anything. I wanted to stay.

The knocking at the door was all the warning we got. Come out and go willingly or be dragged out fighting. Either way I was going today. I ran to my mother as soon as they opened the door and we held each other as tightly as possible before they pulled me away, our fingers the last connection of our bodies to separate, clinging to every second. 

I screamed, I wept and staggered all the way to the shuttle. They loaded me in and then shot me up into the vast black of beyond. Once I entered space, I understood everything. A cloud of color ripped through the stars jagged and incredibly beautiful. From it came the shrieking violence, our galaxy being shredded by this universe trying to escape. It grew before my eyes and the sound intensified and pulled me in. Watching out the side at my planet, I watched the seal close again, blocking me from ever returning home.

Again, silence was heard throughout the world, until August 10th comes around once more.