A
Short Story
By
Katrina L. Velsor
April 15, 2039
Dearest Diary – It is the thirtieth anniversary of the day our journey began. You have grown by volumes over the years and I treasure you as much today as I did then. Hard to believe that I was ever thirty-five!! What dreams I had…how naive to think we could prevent the inevitable.
I know that I have neglected you, dear friend. It has become increasingly difficult to find private moments within the walls of our commune. However, I could not let this important anniversary go by without entering a word or two. I bartered with a fellow citizen to obtain the candles I am writing by. Electricity is reserved for community use and individuals are not permitted to use it for things other than chores that benefit the whole.
Enough of my complaints! I promised I would not do that today. Oh…hold on. Someone is at my door…
“Citizen Commander, we confiscated these handwritten volumes during a Commune Raid on Wednesday. The citizen’s name was Mary Leigh, aged 65” said the soldier. He placed a large box onto the chair in front of the Commander of Commune Compliance and Citizen Modification. It contained several books that appeared to be both professionally bound and handmade. On the spine of each book were a volume number and the year in which it was written. Some volumes covered one year and others only a few months.
“What kind of books are these, Soldier Citizen?”
“Diaries, Citizen Commander. Apparently, Citizen Leigh has been unlawfully documenting her activities with an underground Tea Party Coalition for the past three decades.”
“THREE DECADES!?!? HOW DID YOU LET THIS GO ON FOR THREE DECADES!?!?” The Commander’s face became twisted with rage. He slammed his fist on the table beside him upsetting a photograph of the founding father, Barack, which drew a gasp from the soldier. Realizing what he had done, the Commander quickly retrieved the photo from the floor and polished it with his uniform sleeve before returning it to its place of honor.
“Citizen Commander, Sir, Citizen Leigh had cleverly hidden her writings. She has lived her public life as a model citizen. We have had no reason to question her patriotism until Wednesday when a fellow citizen noticed the candle light flickering in her window. Apparently, she assumed that the commune would be empty. The reporting Citizen had forgotten his Compliance manual and returned to his room to retrieve it. That is when he discovered the light in her window. He advised us immediately and we proceeded to search the building in which Citizen Leigh resides. Sir, we also recovered paraphernalia from the Tea Party Coalition. This includes a list of some of the remaining members. We are conducting raids on their communes as we speak.”
“Good work, Soldier Citizen. I thought we had squashed those bastards fifteen years ago. Please leave me. I want some time to review the books and compile a report. Where is Citizen Leigh now?”
“Deceased, Sir. Upon careful review of the situation, we have determined that she brandished a weapon and had to be taken down. We will send our regrets to her surviving family members.”
“Good, good. Now leave me.” said the Commander as he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.
The soldier nodded his head and quickly left the room, closing the door behind him. Once alone, the Commander searched through the box. He came upon a book entitled “Volume I, 2009 – A Joyous Beginning”. It was in slight disrepair. The cover was faded and the edges worn.
Walking to his desk, he made himself comfortable and opened the book to the first page…
April 15, 2009
Hello, Diary! I have never felt comfortable writing to “no one” before. Diaries seemed so silly. But this is a momentous occasion for me. I am going to attend my first tea party! Our government has changed so drastically from the Founding Fathers’ original plan, they don’t listen to us anymore, and I fear the Health Care Reform Bill being pushed through Congress by the current administration will lead to a larger gap between us and the Constitution (by which we are supposed to live our lives). I have never been one to be politically active; however, this is a cause I feel I must support. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. Mary
The Commander thumbed through the volume until three words written in big, red letters caught his eye. “WE HAVE LOST!” This compelled him to read further.
December 19, 2009
Dear Diary – Despite all of our efforts (letters to Congress, attending Town Halls, etc.) the health care bill has become law. It saddens me greatly to know that 85% of Americans DID NOT WANT THIS, yet we were not allowed to vote on our own futures. My parents are in their late fifties. I wonder what awaits them if they get very ill and need long term care. I fear for children born with disabilities. I fear for cancer victims. Something in my gut tells me our rights and freedoms as we know them will eventually fade away. I truly am afraid. Mary
Many hours passed as the Commander browsed through year after year. Mary had been active in transporting children and their families to South America where a Constitutional Colony had been established during the 20’s. The Border Guards rarely stopped people from leaving New America if they were disabled or elderly. Those citizens were useless to our government and it saved money if they were under the care of someone else.
However, the government was not happy to lose Techies, Doctors, Nurses, healthy teenagers or those with the potential to work for many years in the Corn Co-Ops. Many of them had slipped through the complicated network of surveillance equipment, fences and guards leading dogs to escape the oppressive atmosphere in New America.
Mary’s commune was part of the “new Underground Railroad” set up to facilitate their escape. The government had attempted to remove all of the tunnels created in the early 2000’s by drug cartels in Mexico. Many had not been discovered until recently. Fortunately, they were discovered by the Tea Party Coalition and not the government. Once in Mexico, the Constitutionalists had a fairly easy trip to the South American colony.
Little-by-little, the Constitutional Colony grew. They bought land in large blocks and grew all of the vegetables they ate. Cattle were plentiful, as were chickens, eggs, pigs and sheep. As the years went on, they bought more and more land. Doctors were able to build a hospital with modern equipment purchased from Georgia and Japan. An old-style Main Street ran through the more populated area of the commune. Schools popped up here and there. Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and other religious structures were erected. A Colonial Military was formed to protect the borders from invasion by the New American Guard.
During the time of construction, Mary’s parents fell ill. No matter how hard she tried, they refused to leave their home in New America. Gordon and Patricia Leigh were eventually relocated to an End-of-Life Facility only to pass away shortly thereafter. It was difficult for Mary to come to terms with the fact that her parents would never see the Colony.
Not long before she was arrested, Mary had made final preparations to leave New America and take up permanent residence in the Constitutional Colony. She wrote little of what those preparations entailed. She seemed excited to begin her new life. However, the Border Patrol had been exceptionally watchful and travel was very risky. She decided to delay her trip until late summer.
Citizen Commander closed the final volume at 2 am. He rose from his desk and studied his reflection in the large picture window. He ignored the tears that tracked through the deep wrinkles in his face. “I will have many years to grieve. Now is the time to act”, he thought to himself.
The list Mary left behind named only those who were known spies for the government. The Commander was certain some of them had obtained enough information about the “Underground” to do irreparable harm to their mission. He was also certain that it was only a matter of time before they discovered his role in it.
He removed his uniform jacket and hung it on the back of his chair, gathered as many of Mary’s books as he could carry. He reached into a desk drawer grabbing a bottle of Zippo fluid and doused the remaining books until the bottle was empty. In the same drawer was a box of fireplace matches. He watched as the books were engulfed in flames and left his office through a hidden doorway in his private bathroom. He could hear fire alarms sounding in the distance as he descended the stairs that led down to one of the cartel’s many abandoned tunnels. The Commander had made sure this one would remain open “so we have a means of escape in case we are attacked by those Constitutional whackos.” A change of clothes had been kept at the ready. He discarded the rest of his uniform and began the long walk through the tunnel to Mexico.
Eric van Ness entered the gates of the Colony a tired, hungry man. He was greeted with hugs and handshakes from his fellow Constitutionalists who led him to a small diner on Main Street. “I haven’t had a steak in years. And baked potatoes. This is heaven!” he said as he leaned back in his seat.
“Well, Eric, this is regular fare around here. Get used to it” said the man seated directly opposite him. A woman in an apron cleared the dishes from the table. The man who had spoken was Lyle Talbot. He was one of the original Colonialists. “Anyway, we are deeply saddened about the loss of Mary. She was one of the best people I’ve ever known.”
“She sure was, Lyle.” With that, Eric lifted up the pack he had been carrying. He emptied the contents onto the table. People gathered around to see what he had brought.
The diner remained open all night as the Constitutional Colonialists took turns reading Mary’s books aloud…
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