February 1, 2118.
"Hey Cathie, I hope you're feeling good!", I said, smiling.
"Of course Max!", she said. "Would you like a hug?", she proposed.
"Yeah!", I said. Me and her hugged for, like, 30 seconds, and then we let go. Life just feels so good. "I wonder how happy you are", I said. "I'm really happy, just like everyone in this world. Why should we be sad?" - "I don't know, I wonder if there is a chance of sadness happening in our world" - "Sadness doesn't exist anymore, ever studied history?" - "Yeah, I remember, wars, famines, violence, and such. I'm glad they don't exist anymore" - "And, do you know whom should you thank?" - "No" - "A random user on the old version of the Internet, 100 years ago, told us to be kind and accepting towards others, and it worked! No more wars, no more violence, it's great! Think about it, in 2018, you couldn't ask a girl to fart in your face! You would have been insulted and disrespected a lot! Now, the worst it can happen is that she refuses" - "Wow! How could people be so close-minded? There's nothing wrong in face farting! Nothing wrong at all!"
I was thinking about how people were like 100 years ago. I don't remember the name of the user who saved us. Thanks to him, now we are happy! It's great! I gaze at the sky, the birds are flying, and I hope they're feeling as serene as I am. I ask Catherine if she wants to run in the green grass, and she accepts. We run together hand in hand and laugh, as the warmth of sunshine melts our hearts. We sit down and eat each one a sandwich, it's so delicious! We put our arms upon each other's shoulders and watch the clear blue sky. Nothing can ruin this moment, not anymore. Humanity has been suffering for so long, but now the pain is over. Now everyone is safe and cheerful, isn't this a good ending? The best part of it? It's not even an ending! It's the beginning of a new era, an era when the horrors of war and violence are totally unknown. Let us all forget our dark past, it's not like it anymore, and never again will be.
"Cathie, can you please fart on my nose?", I asked.
"Sure!!!", she said, smiling joyfully.
She farted on my face, and it smelled extra strong.
"It smells nasty! I love it!", I said.
"100 years ago you couldn't experience this thing at all!", she said.
"I don't want to think about our past, it makes me feel uncomfortable, please let's forget the lives of past people, they made a mistake in organizing the society, that's all. Now that the pain is gone, please let's only think about the present and the future", I replied.
"Okay, it makes me uncomfortable as well, I'm sorry this caused you trouble. Let's be cheerful!", she said, smiling and holding my hand. I feel her hand touching mine, the physical contact feels pleasantly warm and nice. I wonder if 100... oh, nevermind. I don't want to think about that. I only want to think about pleasant things. I play some upbeat music with my SmartClothes® and everything is perfect. Nothing matters more than being with her to me. Am I in love? Or am I just a friend? Either way, being with her makes my heart pound and I feel butterflies in my stomach. It's such a lovely emotion.
Now that we are happy, we can live our limited lifespans the fullest. No more lives ruined by loneliness and bullying, now our 90 years long lives are fully filled with pure love and joy, and that's what matters. I don't care about growing old and dying, I'm still so young and have a full life ahead of me, and I'm glad I live in the 22nd century, it means I can live a totally blissfull life. I remember when I was a kid, I used to play videogames about having a pet and even though it wasn't real life, it felt like it. I love dogs and cats. I don't like skunks, because they stink too much. I like the stink, but not when it's too strong I suffer. I like Cathie's farts, they stink a lot but at least they are bearable. Oww... if I said this one hu... OH! I must NOT think about that! Why do I keep thinking about that? Suffering should not fascinate me at all, it's horrible! I don't know what suffering feels like, and I'm glad about it.
"What are you thinking about, Max?", Cathie asked.
"Ohh... nothing!!", I replied, startled.
Cathie smiled. "Don't worry, what do you want to do?", she asked.
"Oh, I don't know, I like being here in the grass and watching the blue sky", I admitted.
"So do I!" - "Any plans for the future?" - "I don't know, Max, I'm thinking about writing a story, I like expressing my thoughts and making others read them" - "I've tried some times, but I failed. I'm not good at writing stories" - "I write stories often, it feels good expressing all your pleasant feelings, I suggest writing a very short story, maybe 10 lines, as a beginning, and the next times you could add more detailed descriptions with words that will remain impressed in the minds of the readers" - "Sounds a good idea, but I'm not interested, I prefer playing video games" - "Video games are an awesome work of art! Maybe they are even the most perfect form of art, think about it: music, programming, literature, drawings, storylines... there's virtually every kind of art in videogames!" (I smile) - "I'm glad you agree with me...... please hug me"
She hugged me. "Please don't let me go", I said. We are hugging, and this embrace will last as long as I need, or at least I hope so. I can feel her heartbeat and breathing. She's holding me tight with her arms fully around my body. It feels good. 100 years... oh no! I mean, they didn't hug like this, maybe they didn't hug at all! BUT I must not think about this! Why am I fascinated about the year 2018? What did happen? World was as bad as it could be, and now it's turned into a flowery heaven. Except for deserts, but they're still heaven. And to think in 2018 you could be arrested in some places for having sex with a guy! And to think you couldn't express your feelings in many places in Asia, Africa and Cuba! And to think so many people ended their lives because of other people! Now that the sorrow is no more, I feel like I'm going to cry. Everything is going so well. Everyone is loved and greeted with smiles and (if they want) hugs. Nothing can go better than this.
"What are those tears?", asked Cathie, confused.
"It's nothing, I was thinking about something", I replied.
"About what?", asked Cathie, placing her arm around my shoulders.
"Everything is perfect. It feels so unreal"
"It's as real as it can be"
"I know, I know. It just feels awesome"
I started crying.
Cathie hugged me and caressed my head.
"It's okay", she said.
"Of course it is!", I said, with tears filling up my face.
"Which thought made you cry?"
"The fact that everyone here is happy and sadness doesn't exist. It feels too good to be real, and I'm glad I'm part of this reality!"
"You should be", she said, smiling.
We went to the streets of our city. Everyone was smiling, and some people even stopped us to take a photo together. It feels better than my knowledge of English allows me to describe. There are probably some words that can describe how I'm feeling right now, but I guess they are rather obscure and obsolete, but who knows, maybe they were common 100 years ago!
"Let's go eat something, I'm starting to get hungry!", she said.
"Yeah, let's go!", I said.
The love I feel is much stronger than the one of the boring and sad life of 100 years ago. I'm free. Now, everything is lighter, we feel like we can fly. Now, everything is brighter, we feel like we'll never die.
We're eating super delicious foods that didn't exist 100 years ago. Everyone tries to please everyone else, because happiness is the only thing that matters now. Robots do all the work for us, so no need to be stressed. We are super rich and can buy whatever we want. We are really kind, because kindness makes people happy. Nowadays it just feels like living in a really good dream, except you never wake up. From the dream, I mean, of course you wake up, uh (I smile as a dog walks near me and Cathie, I caress the dog and he wiggles his tail).
We finished eating and went out in the streets again. I watch the Old Internet Archive and watch videos from 2018. Life didn't seem that bad, however, they used to insult other people. The language is not that different from now, it's understandable, but they use some dated terms, but that's it, I can understand perfectly. I exit the Old Internet Archive, in fear of Cathie watching me.
"Will we be this happy every day?", I asked.
"We'll be together every day, I promise", she said.
The reason I'm so happy is because of Cathie and all of my friends, it feels so good knowing there are so many people loving you. Violence and bullying have been completely erased from the world. People are trying to build bases on the Moon and Mars, but the conditions there are very harsh. Nevermind, humans now are so tame and kind, that everywhere would be fine. I myself would like living on Mars.
FAFAFAI, I'M SO HAPPY I COULD EXPLODE
FAFAFAI, I JUST WANT TO DANCE AND THANK GOD
THANK EVERYONE FOR ALL THE LOVE YOU ARE GIVING TO ME
THANK EVERYONE FOR EVERY KIND WORD I'LL EVER SEE
THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME WHAT I ENJOY
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME FEEL THE JOY
DO YOU KNOW HOW GOOD IT FEELS?
WHEN YOU EVEN GET THE CHILLS!
"I love you, Cathie"
"I love you too, Max"
She kissed me on the cheeks and hugged me. I wish this moment would last forever. Oh, what am I saying? This moment WILL last forever, that's for sure!
"Thank you for all the love you are giving to me. Thank you for every kind word you'll ever speak. Thank you for giving me what I enjoy. Thank you for letting me feel the joy."
"Those words are brain-melting, Max. I'm so glad you love me as much as I love you".
I don't know what to say. I can't remember a time when I was not feeling like this, though. It looks like the 22nd century is magic. How can a human feel so happy? Everything looks so bright and colorful, and pain is just a distant memory of humankind's past.
"It will be like this forever, I promise", she said.
I believe her. I'm ready to live the life ahead of me.