• John Hatheway sauntered to school lazily. It was mid-autumn however the temperature seemed that of late spring or early summer. The cloudy sky matched the towering, gray skyscrapers that watched over him as he walked upon the cement path to school. His only companions on this journey were the daily commuters walking to their offices and assorted errands in the city. Not much could be said of the fellow weary travelers. Their black and gray suits meshed together as they crowded every street corner, like an ocean of dust. Their movements were slow, and their eyes were glazed over, thinking only of completing the tasks that have been set before them.
    Amongst the crowd of the gray suit zombies, John spotted some young children, about nine or ten years younger than he. A little girl in a white dress held her mother’s hand tightly and stared forward at attention. Another child, a young boy in a black sweater and grey pants, walked next to his father while he managed a small PID. At the sight of this John instinctively reached into his pocket and lightly touched his own portable device. Those little devices, known as Personal Identity Devices, held not only dates and contacts, but personal information, ID cards, licenses, and far more. A person’s entire identity imprinted onto the hard drive of such a seemingly insignificant device. If someone were to lose this, it would be the equivalent of death, not because of someone could steal their identity (the security software kept that fear at bay) but by losing their PID, they lose who they are. All identification, all personal contacts, and all history of that individual is lost and he becomes an NI, or “no identity.” To be an NI is a frightening ordeal for those cursed to live it. They sit against buildings and beg for money or food from any passerby they encounter, most however ignore them.
    As John stared out at the crowds of people in front of him, something in the distance caught his eye, a small pink dot moving about the grey. At first he simply ignored it; however his curiosity grew as his eyes continued to fall upon it. Finally his will succumbed to his curiosity and he ran forward to see what this glimmer of color could be. He weaved through the crowd until the pink dot could be recognized as a hat, he pursued further. He was within arms length of the hat’s owner and reached out to grab the person’s shoulder. When his hand made contact, the person stopped. As the moving ocean of grey passed by them, the owner of the pink hat turned.
    It was a girl. A young girl of fifteen or sixteen, with bright blue eyes and silky blond hair. Besides the pink hat, she wore a violet hoodie over a turquoise t-shirt with a rainbow scarf around her neck. Her vibrant clothes seemed to accentuate the dull grey of John’s attire. She smiled at him and then took off down a nearby alleyway. John stared after her, confused by her actions. Just then, the school siren droned over the speakers signaling classes were about to begin. His common sense told him to heed the bell and make his way to class, but as he took a step forward, something stopped him. Some odd feeling in the pit stomach was telling him that he was making a grave mistake in his decision. He stared down the dark alleyway where the girl had run off through, then his eyes fell upon the school. He had to decide between the known path, and the unknown. It took only minutes for his choice to be made.

    John’s footsteps echoed off the walls of the corridor as he sprinted through the turns of the alleyway. He had never seen nor knew of these hidden corridors. It felt like hours until he finally caught a glimpse of the girl’s pink hat running in front of him. He dashed madly after her, following her through the winding paths. He wheezed and coughed as he used muscles that had remained dormant for years. He had not run like this since he was in grade school, playing tag with the other children. As his pace slowed due to his fatigue he noticed the girl’s pace slowed as well, when he caught his second wind and sped up, the girl continued to match his speed. It was as though the girl wanted him to follow her, but never let him close the gap until they reached their destination, a place unknown to him.
    After what felt like years of running, the girl came to a stop. John caught up to her and stood behind her, his body leaning against the wall as he tried to catch his breath. The girl turned and smiled at his exhausted posture.
    “Run much?” she giggled as John simply shook his head no.
    She smiled at him, and patiently waited for him to catch his breath. Once he had she took his hand into hers and led him out of the alleyway. As they emerged from the shadows, John squinted his eyes at a bright light from above. As his pupils adjusted, he realized the light was the sun shining down from the heavens onto a beautiful field that laid just beyond the city’s boundaries. His eyes widened as he stared at what was easily the largest tree he had ever seen. Its light green leaves seemed to sparkle in the sunlight and its branches danced with the light breeze that blew. John couldn’t help but smile at the colors that surrounded him.
    The girl walked forward, leading John to the tall tree and the two sat below it. His mind raced with questions, who was this girl? What is this place? Why did I follow her? The questions continued to flow through his mind until he could only manage to utter a single word,
    “Why?”
    The girl turned to John with a look of confusion at first, then understanding,
    “Because you saw me,” She smiled at him while hugging her legs to her chest. John raised an eyebrow in confusion.
    “O-of course I did…everyone there did….you kind of stand out…” he stammered shyly. She smiled wider.
    “No, they knew I was there, but none of them saw me,” she said. Her explanation only caused more confusion in John’s mind. She sighed, “When you see a bug…do you stop to pick it up? Do you speak to it? Do you treat it in any special way?” John thought for a moment then shook his head no, curious as to how this related to the subject. “That’s right, your only thoughts on the bug are either ignore it, or squish it. That is how most people see me, as nothing more than something to ignore…or….squish…” Her voice softened as she spoke this final word. John felt sorry for the poor girl, wondering what this poor young woman had gone through. But before he could entertain the thought further, she smiled once more, “But then you came. You saw me as something more than just a bug. You may have said nothing, but your eyes showed curiosity, a feeling you do not show when staring at a bug.” John’s face reddened slightly, unsure of what to say next.
    “…I-I’m John…John Hatheway…” he took out his PID and showed her his ID which was a customary gesture to someone you have just met. He waited for her to do the same, but she didn’t. She simply held out her hand to him.
    “I’m Jenna,” She said with a voice of confidence. John stared at her hand, unfamiliar with the gesture. He was about to question her peculiar behavior when she suddenly grabbed his hand and gave him a firm handshake, “Nice to meet you, John.” She spoke quite informally, as though she and John had known each other for years. John smiled momentarily, then it faded,
    “Where’s your PID?” He asked gesturing towards his own. Jenna smiled and shrugged,
    “I’ve never had one, and I’ve never really needed it.”
    John was astonished, she was an NI yet she seemed so cheerful. When he asked her how she could be happy when no one knew or could know who she was without a PID, she simply smiled and answered,
    “Does that contraption tell you who you are?” John was taken aback by the question, but he quickly answered,
    “Of course, without I wouldn’t know my ID number, my friends’ contacts, or my social security number.”
    Jenna stared at him, “…sounds to me like you know what you are to the state, but who are you to you? What is it you hope to do someday? Who is it that you hope to be?” She questioned. John thought about this. He had never really thought of himself outside of his schedule. Who was he? Where was he going? And when he got to the destination, would it be worth the uphill climb?
    It was after a long talk between the two when Jenna mentioned that it was probably time for John head home. John tried to say that he had plenty of time still, but when he looked at his PID, he realized it was nearly pass curfew. Jenna quickly showed him the way back to the street where he would be able to find his way home. Before he departed, Jenna stopped him and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek,
    “Come back soon,” she said softly before disappearing back into the alleyway.
    Weeks later, John found himself on the usual route to school that he had always taken. He trudged past the gray buildings, the gray people, and looked up towards the gray sky. For the first time in his life, he truly saw the city for what it was; a prison. Although there were no bars and the people could freely come and go as they pleased, there was an unknown wall that kept them in there. It was fear. The fear of what would happen if they were to cross over into the unknown. They have been trained for years to live by the motto: “Today will not be any worse then yesterday, and tomorrow will be the same.” He stopped as he thought of this. He decided that it was true, today can be no worse than yesterday because today will be scheduled by the same events.
    But why must it be the same? Why? His thoughts were interrupted as he looked up. He found himself staring down the same alleyway that he and Jenna had run through together weeks before. He turned toward the school, whose siren started to drone signaling class. With a smile he turned back to the alley, and was gone.



    Epilogue:
    A young man on his way to school trudged his way through the mid-morning sidewalk traffic. His eyes locked forward only staring at the school. For a moment his eyes fell to the gray sidewalk cement. The reasoning for shifting of his gaze was unknown, but because of it he came across an abandoned PID. He paused, considering to simply walk on by, ignoring the device, but a strange curiosity forced him to pick it up. He turned it on, and a note filled the screen.

    Hello,
    My name is John Hatheway, and this was my PID. It is said that by
    holding tight to our schedules and the monotony, we will never see
    day any worse than the day before. But what about a day that’s better?
    I once held close the device you now hold in your hands as a priest
    would hold his bible. I felt that if I were to lose it, I would be losing my
    identity, but that’s false. One’s identity can’t be held on a hard drive,
    but instead it can only be held by one’s heart, their soul. So I relieve
    myself of this device and the gray world it represents, and move on
    to a world of color, a world I hope you will one day see.

    END