A crippled and devastated world has erased loved from existance; adults coming closer, loveless and passionless. Until one day, one rare and fond couple flee only to find a place they can call their own.

Waking up, he was smacked with the encounters that everyday life seems to face. Pollution, appeared to slip through the fractured window frames; split and broken by vandals. A common and often frequent occurrence.

“Of course” he breathed.

“What?” his bed croaked. The covers crawled from the dead, wooden posts of the bed, exposing a girl whom had the most alluring personality, although her face was deficient of contentment through no fault of her own.

“The world: dirty, dependant on materialism, unloved” The boy’s eyes fixed upon the world that was produced outside of his window. Ashen clouds, vast and abundant, not to mention the gloomy amber mist that complimented the gloom. Residential houses, fragmented and slowly transforming into a single mountain of brick, mud and mortar. Children although, played and danced in the street below, adapted to the shredded world around them.

“Connor you have to stop being so worked up about this. Nothing is going to change and it can’t change unless you can think or something” she explained whilst swaying her legs across the mattress, out from under the covers and into the frozen, heavy air. Their house still stood, only one of a few not to be affected by a humans’ instinctual need to “want”.

“A few years ago Deon, this wouldn’t have been the case. People understood what we have between us, and yet today, many don’t acknowledge what we have. Humanity doesn’t look in a person now, they just look at what they have on the outside. That’s it. ”

“The world has changed though Connor. The majority find someone who can contribute to endure this harsh world and someone who will just stick with them, because they “need” them” Deon replied as she sluggishly stepped towards him, who still, hadn’t stopped reminiscing. Floorboards groaned from every action she performed. Installing a carpet or restoring a floorboard was the least of anyone’s priorities. The sour creation, also known as Earth, had no resources; none. Thus pushing people into living loveless lives just so they could survive, mainly on whatever was available. No compassion, no dedication, no feelings. Nothing.

“Deon, look at them”

“Look at what”

“The children”

A cluster of children rose on a mountain piled with bricks, one of them stabbing a brittle wooden stick in the middle. On the other end of the stick, a white T-shirt. A flag almost, acting as if they had just completed the first Moon landing. Used car oil (Replacing what black paint would of done better) boldly outlined the badly drawn handwriting that was scrawled onto the white cloth. On the flag, was the word “Ours”.

“Appears it’s their world now. They’ve coped, others haven’t” Connor gently whispered as the children burst into an uproar of cheers from what they had claimed as theirs. Happy, beaming, and full of life despite the lack of food, water and pollutant-free air. They still transferred the broken world into their own. Their parents, sat inside and expressed nothing.

The sooty air coagulated as the day progressed, only making breathing more difficult which compelled the young minds to find safety from forceful winds and clogged air. Connor sat up on the unkempt bed sheets, reading a book that appeared to be ancient but infarct was only battered from being exposed to the tanned atmosphere. His book, was about a adolescent teenage boy and girl who escaped from their homes as they were not loved. They were both homeless and broken, only to meet and be indulged in each others company and love. Both escaped the terror of modern life which consisted of mindsets such as if a boy was hot rather than if a boy had a nice personality, or if a girl was pretty, rather than making her feel worse about who she is. Not to mention the buzz of technology; messaging them was better and was counted as having a relationship rather than being in their presence and embracing their actual inner self. Both teens took off, never seen again, only to live in a world, that was theirs.

“What if we escaped?” Connor asked as his face illuminated with an idea that today, no one would dream of.

“Escaped, from what and how?” Deon huffed; annoyed as it was a pretty dumb question to ask. No planes, cars or any other method of transport worked. Oil was non existent, as was petrol, diesel, bitumen, not even gas was available any more. All the Earth’s resources were burnt for electricity creating toxins that killed plants which could have rid the planet of its crude atmosphere today. Plants simply withered away, never to be seen again

“You know just, this” Connor jested, slamming his book and diving up off the bed. “This world, this loveless world that the children have now invaded as their own simply because they have a creative and loving mind. They understand and love each other for what they achieve together. That younger generation have something that couples today don’t seem to have, which is love. Look outside Deon, couples out there are living in a demolished world with minimal resources simply because they think a relationship is about having someone in your life and that’s it; no more work has to be done. It’s sickening. Why shouldn’t we move Deon? Why should we be bound to a house which we cannot go outside of because of this doomed world whilst we can create something that we want. Something that we can expand, and be proud of, something that we can call ou….”

His spiel was interrupted by Deon picking up a large blue backpack, situated next to the surprisingly clean radiator that only emitted the cold truth of the environment its owners are in. Connor stared at Deon, unable to comprehend what she was doing; neatly placing books, pictures, clothes, any electronic items that could be salvaged (but not used) and finally, any other essential supplies such as spare medicines, pens, plus paper and even the bed sheets they spent the majority of their time in together.

“Well” she started “Get packing. I’m not going to go on my own now am I?”

Hand in hand, they strolled along the cost line with only one backpack each. The waves of water: black. It appeared as if it was liquid coal. The sandy shore still kept it’s continuous pattern of dips and mountains of sand, only to have its shine restricted by the volatile clouds that fought back against incoming light.

“Look a boat” Connor shouted, pointing out a small white rowing boat. No oars, no sails, nothing to stear or control it. Its paint work was still strangely intact despite being partly-engulfed in a murky sea. The inside could fit up to 4 people and the warm oak wood only invited the couple to start throwing their belongings in. Connor lifted Deon into the boat and started to give the boat a push, provoking the waves to take the boat into its sturdy grasp. Once the small vessel was snatched up by the tide, Connor leaped in and stared as the boat drifted away from the definition of hell, tearing up as he whisper “One day, the children will join us. They deserve this. They deserve to be free” Deon had already got to work laying down a bed sheet that both of them could rest on. This sight welcomed Connor to lay down with Deon, to cuddle and to sleep the night away.

Waking up, he was tickled with the gentle head that the sun radiated through the rifts that were created between the leaves. Rising himself up into a sitting position, the boat had managed to divert itself into a lake in forest that was covered with a fresh, fluffy blanket of snow. The boat had been wedged onto an embankment that essentially look as if it was leading to an alter. Connor glanced at the girl also waking up beside him. The burning star in the sky only made her more admirable as rays of light met her skin, reflecting what true beauty is. Deon sat up also and started to immediately pack away anything that the boat contained. Her smile only brought joy to Connor as he knew they had escaped the unloving, undesirable world, and had done something magical.

Hand in hand, the couple walked up to the top of the embankment. It wasn’t very steep, and was covered in a thick spread of frost. Connor stopped and looked back down at the boat which had brought them so far. Branches from trees curved into an ark above where Connor and Deon stood. Connor took Deon’s hands, and simply said “No one can change this. We can love, care and look after each other here. I love you”
“This is, ours”