Call me Blue; it seems a most fitting name whilst I flee.

Once outside, I welcome the rain. It means I can raise my hood and so hide my face.

Girls of my age are publicly scrutinised. We must walk upright with our heads held high and our long hair tied back to ensure our faces are completely visible to the general public. When the sun is high and dark glasses are worn, it is the public's civil duty to stop us, remove our shades and check our right eye is clear, before allowing us to move on.

Mercifully, during rain, we are allowed hoods, to travel short distances on foot.

A woman stares with intent at me and I hesitate towards her, hoping she is a Blue Dissenter, whom has been informed of my imminent result. When I note the gentle nod of her head, I assume she is, and rush to her. She turns her back on me and walks away with a hurried step.

I follow, careful not to divulge any haste in my walk that shows my hurry and elicits suspicion. The driving rain and high winds are serving me well; few people are on the streets and those that are walk with their heads bowed in shelter from the rain.

She turns into a side street, and a few feet behind her, so do I.

I'm fully aware that I may have been betrayed and this woman could be leading me to the Postulant's Prison. And if that's the case, then I'll fight. If not, I'll breathe sighs of relief.

She stops by a low door, stares, nods her head once more and flees inside, leaving it enticingly open.

I follow, closing the door behind me and pulling over the multitude of metal locks, as I was instructed to do.

It is dark with a sweet and sour smell. The smell disarms me, it makes me think of my mother and her pickling kitchen, which in turn makes me want to run home to her protective hug. But I can't, I must continue on, and I do so.

Down the darkened burrow I scurry, wondering what fate has in store for me. When I hear a distant 'buzz' my heart quickens, as does my pace.

It is the 'buzz' of hope, and as I continue onwards the sound intensifies, filling me with a reticent reassurance that I have been led into the hands of help.

###

I emerge into a bright space. A low ceilinged room filled with artificial light, in the centre of which, sits a chair. The woman whom I followed welcomes me to sit; she holds buzzing electronic shears, "Come sit, let me shed your hair," she says, with the warmest of smiles. She reminds me of my mother, and at this moment, I wish she were.

###

The sight of shorn hair falling by my feet saddens me. Mother would call it my crowning glory whilst she guided a brush through it on bathing days. Now, as the final strands settle on the floor, my discarded hair is a stark reminder of the dishonour I've bestowed upon my family. It is best I am gone from them.

Recognising my upset, the Blue Dissenter brings a mirror to my bowed head, "Look at yourself, you can pass for a young boy now. Your appearance will help with your escape," she says, supportively.

Tentatively I raise my head and once more stare into the looking glass. This time a smile cracks my face; because I can't help but notice how much I look like him– the young man, whom I loved.

###

His name is Jake.

And we loved each other.

But I'm realistic, the consummation of our love has led me here, and now I must continue without him.

###

The Blue Dissenter who shorn my hair, also gave me my finance, "Don't attempt to escape by any of our ports, their Blue Eye Detection Technologies are highly sophisticated." She looked at me with a sorrowful face, "Take care." Then she was gone, never to be seen of, or heard from, again.

###

I was thankful the rain remained. It meant that I was able to walk to the outskirts of my town with my hood up. Occasionally, when I saw people passing, I pulled down my hood and was gladdened that my shorn head did not elicit any attention, for I did indeed, pass as a boy, at least from a safe distance.

As I trekked onwards toward the edge of town, I thought glowingly of Jake.

Sadly, I knew he wouldn't be thinking favourably of me. By now, my disappearance will have been noted, my goodbye letter found, and all my friends interrogated. They will all have a raging hatred for me. For I have clouded them in a fog of suspicion which may take months to lift from their lives.

I won't blame Jake for dismissing me, nor for diluting our relationship, or denying our love. He has to self-preserve, as do I. Which is why I continue onwards to my country's far-flung, treacherous shores– my only way out.

###

As the afternoon progresses the rain eases but a cloud of damp remains. I stick to the side streets and alleyways, which are mostly residential. And since most people are at work, I am less likely to be noticed on these streets.

But I quicken my pace, as I must make it to the fields by nightfall. When darkness comes my Blue Eye will illuminate, throwing out a beam of blue light, which literally puts me in the spotlight and will result in almost certain capture. The Government has significantly increased their financial rewards for the capture of Fleeing Blue Eyes (FBEs), so I will be much sought after by my fellow citizens.

###

I thank goodness it is spring; it means the fields will have abundant berries, glades, grasses and herbs to nourish me.

That thought halts me and I hold my stomach, "Nourish us," I say, softly. Those two words bring a smile to my face. For this journey isn't just about me, it's about my baby and I.

I'm not alone, for with me, I carry a part of my beloved, Jake.

###

I have been walking for over six hours now, thankfully without incident. The streets become less and the land around me becomes more, with only the occasional homestead to navigate. As the clouds part, I remove my hood, as this will make me look less suspicious. From a distance I will look like a rural boy on his way to gather from the fields, and as such I will be overlooked. At least I hope I will.

My thoughts continually turn to Jake. I do hope he hasn't confessed. If so, he will become a Blue Tear. He will be taken away by Government Officials who will have a 'Tear Shape' permanently inked below his right eye. This will seriously impede his life.

No woman will marry a Blue Tear. He will be excluded from practicing all professions, his only way of making a living being hard manual work.

His life diminished, all because he physically loved a girl once, before marriage.

But I mustn't dwell. I must hope and assume that Jake was most vociferous in his denouncement of me, and thus has avoided the Blue Tear.

###

Thankfully I arrive at the fields whilst there is still good light. I look across a vast wilderness of rolling hills and fields. The shorn heads of myriad boys are dotted sporadically across the landscape; their body's bowed as they pick and gather for their families. I look at them, and know that to their eyes, I look the same.

I feast on berries and herbs, and gather more to sustain me through the night. Then I look at the lowering sun and know that I have to seek my first night's dwelling place, a cave.

The Blue Dissenter told me I must keep travelling north, hence I will come across a stream surrounded by rocky land in which I will find a multitude of caves to rest and hide throughout the night.

But as I look north, all I see is a stretching eternity of green fields and a dangerously lowering sun. I am dangerously exposed.

Occasionally, I see the shorn heads of boys look my way, and I wonder if they know?

If they don't know now, as the sun goes down and my Blue Eye shines, they will know for sure. I am worth over 1000 Kinders to these boys. That is life-changing money. They will fight to the death for the prize of personally delivering me back to Government and reaping their reward.

Looking skywards I see the sun dropping lower. I have no option but to take off in its direction.

I literally have to race the sun, for my life.

My sprint is swift. But as I chase the sun, I hear racing footfall behind me.

Boys are chasing me, they know I am a Blue Eye, a commodity that they are each eager to catch, for the considerable value my capture will add to their life...