Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself
Franklin’s 10th birthday was a day of firsts for him. It was the first time he woke up before 9:00 without an alarm or being awoken from his mother. It was the first time all his grandparents and aunts and cousins and uncles didn’t come over for his birthday. It was the first time he was allowed to have cake for all three meals of the day.
The day was going so great. He should’ve guess something would ruin it. Franklin got all the gifts he wanted. The there was an itch on his left wrist. He was alone in his bed just about to go to sleep. Franklin could faintly see through the heavy dark something black on his wrist. Fear struck him.
No.
Not this.
Not now.
Franklin ran to the bathroom to get a better look at the letters on his wrist. The letters that had just ruined his life.
Soulmates were rare. They were also dangerous. Franklin was taught at school that people with soul marks were weak. That they weren’t human. That the government took them and shut them away. The teachers said that the government was helping them. Franklin was never so sure. A soul mark can appear anywhere on a body, at any time. The word that appears can vary. It can be a first name or a last name, sometimes title or a nickname. This effects about 1 out of 100 people but the last study for that was done a long time ago. Soul mates were becoming more and more common. They were becoming more and more dangerous.
Franklin scrubbed and scrubbed at his wrist. The water burning hot. His arm becoming red from the friction. Then his parents came in.
It was the first time he has ever saw his father cry. He screamed words at Franklin that evening. Words that have managed to haunt him long after they were spoken. As his father screamed, his mother cried. He was glad now that his grandparents weren’t here now.
His father stopped yelling. His mother was now walking toward him and told him some new rules.
1. Always have the mark painted over
His mother grabbed some make up and showed him what would be his daily routine for many years. She was very rough with Franklin’s arm. She rubbed so much makeup on his wrist it was like she was trying to erase it. It took a lot of makeup but the black mark on his wrist was covered.
2. Always have the mark covered up
Summers would the worst. Never able to wear t shirts without a sweater or wearing long sleeves or something. So many crappy excuses were made and outright lies were told. Brett never believed them.
3. No one could ever find out
Brett found out. Took him 5 years to piece together the story. In those five years Franklin became Foggy. To be honest Foggy is surprised that he was able to keep a secret for five years. However Foggy is talkative when drunk. They stole alcohol from Brett’s annoying neighbour Mr. Roberts. Or was it Mr. Peters? Who cares? They hated Foggy anyway. Always gave him weird looks. When Brett found out, he didn’t really care. Which was weird but he was raised differently. And times were changing.
4. Stay away from the government
While times were changing, the law wasn’t. People were still taken everyday. Unspoken things were done. Foggy loved the justice. So did Brett. However they both hated the law. When they were little, Brett and Foggy would dream about working together. That they were super heroes. That nothing could hurt them. Brett always wanted to be a police officer. To physically bring criminals to justice. Foggy wanted to be a judge. To save the good and condemn the bad. However that wasn’t Foggy’s fate. His wrist made sure of that. Brett would become a police officer. Foggy however should stay away from the law. His mother forbade him from becoming a judge or a lawyer. His face would lie on 41st street. At a crappy butcher shop in Hell’s Kitchen. Like his mother always wanted.
5. Every Sunday he would have to go to church and pray every evening
This was a last effort on his fathers behalf to save Franklin from the name on his wrist.
To stop the Devil from poisoning his heart.
That night. On his 10th birthday. It was the first night Franklin cried himself to sleep.