Puzzle

Chapter 1

         There’s a lake across the street. We call it Summer Hill Springs, same as the street I live on. The lake was once lush, and beautiful. It was blue, shimmering, just like his eyes. They were deep and sparkling, and his hair was just barely red. He walked with the air of a regal king, but spoke softly so that his words were carried away with the wind.

         I touched the diamond pendant on my neck. Shaped like a rhombus, only half was jagged and broken. I’ve worn it ever since I was a teenager, now that I think of it. Seventy years. Seventy years is what I had to find the other half, and I did. Just not how I expected to.



Fifty-three years earlier



It was the year 2048. I had just turned seventeen, in time for the yearly ceremony. This was the coming of age ceremony, where every child in the American Empire took their transition to adulthood. We would receive pendants, special stones of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Your family’s social status didn’t matter, their income didn’t affect what you were given. This pendant was half of a precious stone, which you were to keep for the rest of your life. That is, unless you met the person with the other half. On this day, anyone else, of the opposite gender, could be receiving the other half of the stone, on a pendant as well. Everyone’s had been analyzed, matched perfectly to their soulmate, destined to meet and spend their lives together. According to the law, one was to marry someone if, and only if, they had matching pendants. Matched, perfect. There had never been a problem, there never would be. Everyone found their match. I was so excited, not ready to meet my true love, but prepared to go on a quest to find him, once and for all.

         For a moment, I thought back to Cecilia. She was my best friend, still is, I guess. I never see her anymore, because of an incident earlier this year. She kept rambling about liking girls, liking my friends, liking her teacher, even liking me. She didn’t want to be matched to a boy. Right around the time of year when all parents were being summoned to a meeting, to learn about their matches, a problem arose. Though all parents are sworn to secrecy regarding their children’s matches, this is what I gathered: There was no pendant for Cecilia. No match, no soulmate. I didn’t know this could happen. Since the Great Nuclear War between the American Empire and Russia, homosexuality had been outlawed, among other things. It just vanished, was gone overnight. I earnestly thought that Cecilia had been joking, faking her feelings, but now she had been taken away to a mental facility. They tell me that she’ll be back soon, but her bedroom is bare, her seat in school taken.

         My mom came trotting down the stairs. Her short brown bob matched her eyes, yet contrasted with her ruby pendant. It was a twin to the one my dad wore.

  “Emilie, are you ready?”

I was. I had a pretty green dress on, with a halter neck. It was mid-summer, and sweltering hot. I couldn’t imagine how the boys felt, having to wear dress pants and a nice shirt. “Yeah, I’m ready!”

My mom gave me one last hug. “I can’t wait for you to bring it home,” she said, meaning the pendant. “It’s beautiful, I know you’ll love it. But, I can’t give too much away! Off you go, off you go.”

The door shut behind me. I lived close to the auditorium, a huge building where all the large events took place. Next to that was a church, and then a gigantic supermarket to buy everything you need. As I got closer, I grouped up with some of my friends.

One of them, Clover, seemed very nervous. “I’m so excited! My mom didn’t tell me anything, she wouldn’t even say if it was pretty! I hope my match is beautiful, real handsome guy.”

  “Ah, they wouldn’t dare put you with anyone less than that.” Soon we were sitting down on the red cushions that made up our seats. The mayor started to call up the girls. First went Amanda Aaron. Soon we were to Pink Greenberg, then Thalia Isles. Then, Emilie Karter. Wait, that was me! I ran up the staircase and bent my head to receive the pendant. I didn’t dare look at it yet, I just closed my eyes and hoped that I hadn’t completely embarrassed myself. The mayor patted my head, signaling me to return to my seat. I had been the first of my friends to get the pendant, and they all fawned over it. How beautiful! A diamond shaped diamond, clear as day and shining bright. I tried to picture what it might look like when put side to side with it’s other half. Then Clover had to leave, as she was a Murphy. Then she came back with a pink half-circle.

  “Oh, just a circle? Isn’t that a boring shape.”

Sometimes, I was mad at Clover for things like this. Nothing was ever good enough for her. She always wanted more, but already had everything. A real brat, but still my friend.

         Now it was time for the boys. Alan Abrose, Turner Eave, Ulysses Forrest, Venti Rett,