“I was a child and she was a child in this kingdom by the sea…”

                                       Edgar Allan Poe

***

The day before The Offering, Andrew left to take a walk around the island. He couldn’t stand one more second of his mother quizzing him with engineering techniques or his step-father snapping at him for refusing to play with his two-year-old step-sister. He loved them while he hated them. He needed to be alone. 

He wandered down the only road on the island that was kept in good shape. They all just called it “Main Street,” because it was the only way to get across the island. The only way to get from the East Section to the West Section was through the government building. Andrew had never been to the East Section. That wasn’t by choice either. He longed to see the East Section; according to his reading, this was the side that once connected to what they called a “continent” in the olden days before the earthquakes ripped it apart. Andrew didn’t know much about the East Section other than that; he was not permitted there, and it wasn’t until he was 13 that he found out why. That was the home of Erica Ann. His enemy. His birthday twin. 

Andrew knew he should think of her with contempt. How dare she be born the same day as him! But secretly, Andrew had longed to meet this girl his whole life. It was poetic really, the way they were pitted against one another from birth. They could be legendary foes, or, as Andrew often mused, they could be best friends. Playing games, arguing over who was older, and smashing cake in each others’ face on their birthday. 

Stop, Andrew. He heard his mother’s constant commands in his head. Your birthday. That day belongs to you. And after you beat that thing on your sixteenth birthday, you will finally have it to yourself. And I’ll be able to breathe easily for the first time in your life.

Andrew hated when this happened. He couldn’t help but feel that he was inevitably going to let his mother down.

***

Sitting outside the government building, Erica found her eyes drifting to the West Section way more than they should have. This was bad. She needed to focus. Shaking her head slightly, Erica returned her focus to the book in her lap. It was no use. All she could think about was The Offering, the tests, and Andrew McKee. The boy she would face tomorrow; the boy who would walk down Main Street thinking he could best Erica. No way, pal. Not without a fight.

Ever since she was given his name, it has been branded in her mind. She found herself repeating it like a mantra. Andrew McKee, Andrew McKee, Andrew McKee. It was like he was constantly teasing her, goading her on in her studies.

Tomorrow she would see the face that went with the name. She would face the boy who was challenging her for her place on the planet. He might have thought he could beat her, but she had been preparing for this her entire life. There was no way she was going to be The Offering.

Erica felt a little chill run down her spine. Get a grip, she commanded herself, but it was too late. She was feeling her sense of panic again; the sense of panic she had felt since her thirteenth birthday.

When she received the official letter containing the name of her opponent, she also received pamphlets about The Offering, as most of the details were hidden from the public and there were scarcely any books on the subject. These pamphlets allowed Erica to know what was coming: two days full of tests. Intelligence and emotional capacity were the overarching subjects, and there were subcategories to help direct her studies. Andrew had certainly received the same information, so there was an even playing field. But Erica had to beat him if she wanted to stay alive; they were born on the same day--April 11. Two people aren’t allowed to be born on the same day due to overpopulation. That was common knowledge, but Erica didn’t understand why she had to die just because she was born on the same day as someone smarter than her. No, Erica. Focus.

As Erica attempted to return to her reading, a government agent came up to her bench during his rounds. He was holding his big black gun in his hands. Only government officials were permitted to have weapons for everyone’s safety, but Erica didn’t feel safe with them walking all over the place clutching those things. She hopped up quickly and headed home. She sincerely hoped that she could go her whole life without seeing one of those guns fired.

***

The morning of April 11 dawned with a clear sky and a bright sun to melt the morning dew. The birds sang their sweet morning melodies, but they were not the earliest up for the worm this day. Erica and Andrew were both awake well before the sun, and they each took drastically different approaches to preparing for their fate. Erica was eating a balanced meal: yogurt, granola, fruit, any food that was said to give brain power and lasting energy. Lord knew she would need it. Andrew, on the other hand, was woken in the wee hours by his mother for a last- minute study session. She seemed to believe that these last minute notes would prove that he would be more helpful to their society. Andrew was pretty sure he knew better. 

At last, it was time. Seven forty-five. Time for The Offering to begin. Erica poked her head in to say goodbye to her parents, but they were fast asleep. One of her three little siblings was snuggled in between them. Perhaps they forgot, but Erica didn’t have the time to worry about them. She scribbled a quick note reminding them where she was and that she would hopefully see them after the weekend was over. And that was that.

Andrew, on the other hand, had a hard time getting away from his mother. Him being her only child made this tough on her, but she didn’t have much time to dwell on it. It was time to cook her step-kids’ breakfast. Sure, she would miss him, but at least she wouldn’t be alone.

As they both took to the long, paved street that ran the length of the island, they were shocked to see it lined with people. It had been a few years since the last Offering, and apparently no one on the island  wanted to miss it. This was the most interesting part, after all. They were about to see each other for the first time. They would size each other up, decide their battle strategies, and march into the government building together. They must look strong. It was the only way.

Shoulders back, chin up, make eye contact. Andrew could hear everything his mother had drilled in his head on repeat. Now was his moment to prove that she had not been wasting her time. He could do this. He could be strong. He was more valuable than some girl named…

Erica Ann. There she was, finally in front of him. And suddenly, Andrew forgot how to breathe. All long tanned limbs and golden hair. She stared straight back at him, and, did he imagine it, or were her cheeks flushing pink? He knew his were. What should he have done? Should he have shaken her hand? Given her a hug? All he could do was stare.

And Erica did the same. Never had she been so enthralled by the presence of a boy. His crystal blue eyes bore into her own, and for a moment she let herself forget that they were naturally born enemies. She wanted to know this boy, to talk to him. No, Erica! Stupid, stupid, stupid. She cannot be weak. Suddenly, she remembered the crowd and felt herself blush. Surely they thought they were intimidating each other, right? She had to take charge. She had to be stronger than him.

“Andrew McKee,” his name was sweet on her tongue. She had never allowed herself to say it out loud before; that seemed to make him too real. But now that he was in front of her, she could not ignore how present he truly was.  

“Erica Ann,” Erica was stunned to see the flicker of an impish smile. His eyes were so bright. Was he excited? Was he that confident? Erica squared her shoulders and stared straight back at him, but then he winked and she had to hold in the giggles. Oh, no. This was going to be a lot harder than she imagined.

***

“The rules, as I’m sure you are aware, are simple.” The first day was filled with a variety of intelligence tests. The part that they could prepare for. The governor had placed the exams face down in front of Erica and Andrew with a flourish; it felt as if she was exhilarated by this. The room itself was desolate and bare. White walls, no windows, four desks. Erica knew from her research that there had never been more than four babies born on the same day in the history of The Offering, and thank god for that. She shuddered imagining having to prove her exceeding worth above THREE competitors. She had enough trouble keeping her nerve sitting across from her one opponent, but every time she looked at Andrew, he just seemed bored. Was he really that confident?

Andrew was not confident at all. His entire body had broken out into a cold sweat; his test-taking anxiety was what his mother considered to be his biggest flaw. It’s just an exam, Andrew. It’s not like it’s life or death. The irony was not lost on him.

“You have two hours for this exam,” the governor declared. Did she think she had an audience? The only people listening had spent their entire lives preparing for this moment; they knew the rules. “And now… you may begin!”

Erica and Andrew both looked at each other in fear. Brown eyes locked with blue, and Andrew swore he felt electricity crackle up his arms. Suddenly, he wasn’t nervous anymore. Something about Erica’s presence calmed him; something about knowing that they were linked in this experience allowed him to collect his thoughts. They were like a team, really. No, no, no. Not a team. Opposition. Foes. Enemies. Nevertheless, when Andrew winked at Erica and saw her shy little smile, he knew they would have been the best of friends. If only the cruel world would have allowed it.

***

It was eight o’clock that night when Erica and Andrew finally finished their intelligence evaluations. They wouldn’t receive any results until after the final test tomorrow. Erica couldn’t decide if she was anxious or relieved.

The pair was taken down into the makeshift bedroom in the basement and told to rest after their long day in order to prepare for tomorrow. Another windowless room with white walls and a single bunk bed. Great. Just like a camp cabin. Maybe they would braid each other’s hair and sing silly songs. Erica almost laughed at the thought. Why did they insist on keeping her and her life competitor so close together? Is this all some kind of a joke to them? For her and Andrew, this was a fight for life, not a fun little getaway!

Erica seemed upset, and Andrew could just tell. He was never the best at reading people, but when she huffed out a dramatic breath, pulled a book out of her bag, and huddled under the blankets of the bottom bunk, well, she didn’t exactly try to hide her feelings. Their escort--the lady who worked the front desk of the government building--raised her eyebrows at Andrew and stared at him until he shimmied up the ladder into bed. Alright then, he thought. I guess it’s bedtime. But after about ten minutes of sitting in the dark, the only sign of life being the sound of Erica turning a page in her book, Andrew couldn’t take it anymore. This might be his last night, and this was how he was supposed to be spending it? No way.

“Erica,” Andrew was leaning over the side of the bunk bed with his head hanging upside down. “Whatcha reading?”

Erica had to bite in her lips to keep from smiling. His floppy brown curls were hanging all around him like a frame, and she had to admit that his little mocking-child voice was very endearing. What was she reading, he asked? That was something she could not tell him. Not that it was anything terrible, but how was she supposed to tell this boy that she just met that she was trying to read “Annabelle Lee” by the ancient poet Edgar Allan Poe, but she couldn't stop herself from reading:

And neither the angels in Heaven above

Nor the demons down under the sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Andrew McKee?

She could not tell him that. She was being ridiculous anyways. A philosophical romantic at one of the most inopportune times in her entire life. She had to change tactics. Keep the conversation safe and brief. Instead she replied, “Some of my favorites. Just in case. What are you doing up there?”

“Wasting away my numbered days,” he hummed the words, almost like a song. Was the possibility of imminent death a game to him? How was he so calm about all of this?

“You know you have a fifty-fifty shot, right?” Erica was always down to the facts. Why accept defeat when there was a possibility of survival? Of getting to live? Of going back home?

“I don’t see it that way,” Andrew sighed and sat up in his bed so Erica couldn’t see his face anymore. “Even if I get the higher score and you are The Offering, I don’t think that I would be able to appreciate my life knowing that the price was you losing yours. I just don’t see how learning more facts and doing better on a test means that my life is more valuable than yours. And what about all of the people who were not born on the same day as someone else? They never had to fight for their right to live on this island. They have never had to live with the burden we have known our whole lives. They have known that they are free to learn what they want and forget the things they don’t care about. They can live their first fifteen years completely carefree, because why should people as young as us already be worried about survival? What did we do to deserve this? Why us?”

As he reached the end of his monologue, Erica couldn’t help but chuckle. “Do you always rant to strangers about the flaws you see in our government, or am I an exception because after tomorrow there will only be one of us to recount all of that rage? Because it sure won’t help you on tomorrow’s emotional capacity tests.”

“No, I just…” Andrew jumped down from his top bunk and landed right in front of Erica with a thump. “Let’s get out of here. Screw this. I’m not wasting my last night sitting here hating the way our lives have gone. Let’s go out and live for one night. No stress, no studying, no Offering. Let’s have fun.”

Fun. Erica couldn’t remember the last time she went out with someone her age for fun. It was like Andrew’s brain worked in the exact opposite of Erica’s. Fun was always on the backburner for her. Most of her free time had been spent with a book, and most of the kids in her classes didn’t bother getting to know her or invite her places because they all assumed she would be dead in a couple of years anyway. Why bother getting to know the marked girl? Better to hold off until it’s more certain that she is worth anyone’s time, or until she’s The Offering. Everyone said that it was easier for them that way. But no one cared if it was easy for her. Because it most certainly was not. Was his life the same way? She had never thought of that before. Was this boy possibly the only other person on the planet who knew exactly what her childhood felt like? She felt her heart beating faster and her breath becoming rapid. She had to know.

Andrew leaned closer to Erica. He was too close, but he didn’t care. He felt charged with that electric buzz she caused in him. She made him feel things he had never felt before: energized, enthusiastic, excited to be alive. He felt understood; he felt connected. He was completely enthralled in Erica. He wished that they had more time together so that he could see if this feeling ever went away. “Do you trust me?” he asked her. “Let’s go be kids.”

***

There were key card swipes to unlock every door. After the two of them pried off the plastic, Andrew actually smiled. It was a computer. He was fantastic with computers. All it took was a little reprogramming, and all of the doors in the building were unlocked. Easy peasy.  He had never appreciated his mother’s insistence on studying until this moment. The moment where he was using his skills, well, not for good. But at least for something. It was refreshing to know that all of that studying wasn’t a complete waste. 

“Where are we going?” Erica asked. “You know everywhere is closed. We’re past curfew.”

It was past the enforced curfew, but ever since Andrew’s spiel, Erica couldn’t find it in herself to care. What were they going to do? Kill her? As if they weren’t already waiting to do that. She might as well break some rules--live a little-- before it was all over. Because it would all be over no matter what. Things would never be the same.

“I want to see the ocean one more time,” Andrew answered. “The coast is beautiful on my side of the island. Have you seen it?” Erica shook her head.  “Of course you haven’t,” Andrew sighed. “Well, come on. There's no time like the present to see something so breathtaking.”

The waves lapped ever so gently across the softest sand Erica had ever felt between her toes. She had read poems and even seen some old pictures of the beaches, but she had never gotten to see a true beach like this. Her side of the island was mostly rocks and plants; how had she never known that something like this still existed? Something else that The Offering had taken away from her. What other wonders was she missing out on because of her life full of restrictions and studying? There was a whole world out there that she may never see. 

“This is where I want it to be,” Andrew whispered out of the blue.

“Want what to be?” Erica needed clarification. This boy obviously had something on his mind. Something so somber that she almost wasn’t sure he meant to tell her that or not.

“My grave.” Andrew’s voice had become flat. It was like he knew she had won. As soon as they turned in their exams, he had begun saying his mental goodbyes. He didn’t know what the results would be, but he knew that he wouldn’t feel as alive in a world without Erica. He barely knew her, yet he felt as if his whole life revolved around her. Everything he had ever done, all he had ever been, was because of her. How was he to go on living after that? Who was he without her? He looked over at Erica, and she didn’t look the least bit surprised. She looked as sad as him.

“I left my book of instructions for my parents on my desk,” she revealed. “They never asked when I was there; they were focused on other things, but I figured they would have to clean out my stuff eventually, and if I put it in plain sight, they might take the time to read it.”

“My mother never let me discuss the idea of losing,” Andrew sympathized. “She expects me home tomorrow, celebrating my victory and ready to get back to school. Isn’t it ridiculous? They don’t realize what it means for us. We’ve been living on borrowed time, and after tomorrow one of us will be living on stolen time.”

“Better you than me,” Erica spat, but Andrew knew her anger was not toward him. “I’m living on borrowed time, in a borrowed room, with borrowed resources. My parents didn’t even get up to say goodbye. I was the accident baby, and then when they found out their accident happened to be born the same day as a planned child, well, they didn’t want me anyways. At least I wouldn’t be around forever.”

He didn’t mean to. He didn’t think about it much at all really, but Andrew reached out and took her hand. “We don’t deserve this. Any of this. You don’t deserve that. Don’t they see how special you are? I watched you take that test. You barely had to think. I bet you’re the first one to ever get one hundred percent.”
“Like that means anything,” Erica sighed. “You know they need more boys on the island. That’s why I have studied so hard since I found out who my opponent was. You’re a boy, so they need you. I wouldn’t be surprised if they faked the results to favor you.”

Erica saw that impish smile flicker across Andrew’s face again. She knew that this boy meant trouble, but she found she didn’t care. Here they were, breaking curfew, and she was ready for the next adventure he had brewing. She felt charged with his presence, almost like she was a volcano filled with the pent up stress and pressure she had felt her entire life, and being with Andrew too long would make her lose control. All of the tension would flood out in a cataclysmic eruption, and she would be… happy.  

Andrew had already started backing away from Erica with his stupid smirk. He couldn’t help it. She made him reckless. “Well,” he said, “if they want to fake the results, the least we can do is make sure we know the truth. Race ya!” And Andrew tore off towards the government building, a giggling Erica right on his heels.

***

It was the moment of truth. They had completed the emotional capacity test, hundreds and hundreds of questions inquiring them on the decisions they would make in certain situations, and Andrew and Erica were standing just inside the doors to the front balcony of the government building, hand in hand. Their last chance to savor the feeling of unity between two people with shared experiences, for they would be brought out in front of the crowd quickly gathering on the front lawn, the results would be shared, and The Offering would be made. 

Last night when they returned from the beach, the doors were still unlocked from Andrew’s programming. They crept around, but no one was there. They put so much faith in machines, they forgot they left the two most studied kids on the island in a building controlled by a single computer. After they found the governor's office, it wasn’t hard to find their exams laid out in a clearly labeled folder. Erica had beaten Andrew on every exam by at least ten points. Neither one of them was really surprised, but they still had no idea what was going to happen today.

“Erica,” Andrew whispered, even though they were alone. “I don’t know what is going to happen today, but I’ll be forever grateful that I was able to meet you. I don’t think I really lived until we came face to face. You have been my whole world since I was thirteen. I used to think that was a bad thing, but now I know it was a blessing.”

“Stop it,” Erica scoffed. Again, Andrew could tell that her anger was not towards him, but towards the way life was playing out for the two of them. Then, Erica smirked. “Either way, I expect you to leave some lilies on my grave for our birthday. They’re my favorite flower. I think you owe me that.” 

As the doors swung open and the crowd roared, Andrew whispered “I owe you more than you will ever know,” but Erica did not hear him.

***

“Ladies and gentlemen!” The governor roared, “These two brave children before you have battled intellects for the past two days, vying for their place on this island. The results are in, and your Offering is…”

Silence. You could hear a pin drop. Erica and Andrew knew that this moment couldn’t have lasted more than mere seconds, but it felt like an eternity. Andrew had squeezed Erica’s hand, but now he was pulling away. Don’t leave me alone now, Erica mentally pleaded, but once again, she had to look strong. No matter what.

“Erica Ann Pise!” 

Before the crowd could even process the name, Andrew lunged forward into the center of the balcony. “NO!” He screamed. “You’re lying! She beat me on every test, and I can prove it!”

Andrew ripped copies of their exams out of his pocket; Erica didn’t even know that he had made those. Had this been his plan the whole time?

He dramatically rustled the papers around, trying to get the people to believe that The Offering was rigged. The people down below were in hysterics, screaming obscenities at Andrew, but he didn’t seem to care.

Andrew turned around amidst the chaos, and Erica saw that he was wearing his same impish smile. He wanted to cause this chaos. That clever, stupid boy. Did he think this would change something?

Right as he gave Erica a satisfied little wink, someone in the crowd cried “How dare you defy our laws!” Above the sound of the distraught crowd came a loud crack, the loudest sound Erica had ever heard. And suddenly, Andrew wasn’t standing in front of her anymore. He was lying, collapsed on the balcony in front of her, a pool of blood slowly growing around him from the bullet wound in the back of his head. 

All Erica could do was scream.

***

It was April 11, 3226. Erica Ann’s seventeenth birthday. She should be celebrating. It was her first birthday without the looming shadow of The Offering, after all. Instead, Erica was laying on her stomach in the softest sand she had ever seen. She had just laid a bouquet of lilies on the single headstone in the area. Her tears came steady and fast as she rested her hand on the smoothed stone. I stole your time, she thought. And you were right. I’m not really living at all.

***

I was a child and he was a child in this kingdom by the sea,

But neither one of us were really ever children,

Me and my Andrew Mckee.