DYSTOPIAN
The Punishment
What if it was visible?
“There are fewer of them, have you noticed?” Sharron asked me out of the blue.
“When it first happened, there were so many of them, I remember seeing my husband's hand that morning,” her voice trailed off. “And then more, of course.”
We watched as a man and woman strolled past, both of us looked for his right hand but he was keeping it in his pocket. A sign for what he was hiding.
“Do you think it’s made a difference? You know, in how people are treated?”
“You mean in how men treat women, oh yeah. And how women treat men too. There’s definitely more attempt at trying to just steer clear of them altogether. Especially after the last round of punishments was dolled out.”
The young man who brought us our lunch stopped by to ask how we were enjoying it. We both studied his earlobes for marks. Nothing. Good. Good Boy.
“I wonder how this will affect mankind moving forward? I mean, do you think it’s possible to create change with this kind of punishment?”
I shook my head. “It’s a really old dog that’s being retrained here, I just don’t know.”
We watched the busy lunch hour crowd move along the sidewalk in front of restaurant row in the older part…
