It was my eighteenth birthday tomorrow. I knew what was coming, and frankly, I was seriously excited. Tomorrow was the day I would get a job I would be stuck with until my very end. I knew what job I was gonna get, definitely a babysitter. I was good with children and already babysat my younger cousins. Tomorrow, after my party, I would join countless others in getting our jobs. My family would be proud of me, and with that job, I could make them even prouder. “It’s time for bed, tomorrow’s a special day, you know!” my mother called.

Today is the day. I put on my purple sequined dress and walked down my hallway into the living room. “Happy birthday!,” My family sang. I never really know what to do during this time.

There were presents in a corner that I would open later at night. The cake was three layers of chocolate happiness, eighteen pink candles flaming calmly on top. Food was distributed all over the table.

A few minutes later I had blown out the candles and was eating my mom’s special cake when she says, “You better hurry up if you don't want to miss the job programming ceremony.” We all rushed out into the limo we had rented, leaving a mess to clean up later.
As we drove up to the city hall, I looked out the window, daydreaming about my soon to be career. I watched all the construction sites pass by. There sure are a lot of them around these days. I turned to look in front of the car. I could see the city hall from here. Joy filled up my heart instantly.

As we walked up the stairs into the main hall, I realized that the place was a lot bigger on the inside. Like some kind of spell had been placed on it to make it seem small from the outside. I could hear the voice of hundreds of people in the next room. I just couldn’t hide my excitement. It seemed like we made it just in time because a man on a stage announced that the ceremony will begin in 2 minutes and that we should get to our places. My family left me to go to the stands on the side. I walked up with the rest of the people getting jobs, a bit scared, but still excited.

The same man finally started addressing us about how important this time in our lives was and explained that we could not leave this job even if we wanted to. I wasn’t scared of that because I knew that I would be a babysitter and I would absolutely love it. After about 30 people, I was called.

“Dawn Everbright!” I walked through the herd of people and got to the stairs. As I walked up, I could see the computer that would give me my lifelong job. As the man input my information I waited impatiently, aware that an incredible amount of eyes were on me. “Dawn Everbright, you are now, for the rest of your life, a…” My heart fluttered. “Construction worker.”

Then, time stood still. Everyone, everything, was frozen. All the eyes were on me, the man with the computer staring into my soul that had just been crushed. Why did this happen? I was supposed to be a babysitter. I knew I was. This was not. Supposed. To. Happen. As my entire body swelled up with sadness, I could feel my eyes start to become watery. I had to get out of here. Time resumed. I walked as calmly as I could down the steps and out of the room. My family was waiting for me. I ran crying into my mother’s arms. I was sobbing so hard I couldn't hear a word she said.

We drove home in silence. When we reached our door we found a letter telling me that my first day of work would be tomorrow at 4 A.M. I moped back to bed early since I had to wake up so early in the morning.
I woke up to the infernal beeping of my alarm clock. I wanted to sleep in when I remembered that I had to go to my job. I could not be late on my first day, no matter how much I despised my job. I ran down my hall to the smell of pancakes. After, I got in my car and drove to work.
When I got there, a woman greeted me and told me I would be supervising for my first day. Long story short, after a few hours, the latch on a concrete block broke and it fell. On my head.

I woke up not knowing where I was, but as I looked around, I realized I was at a hospital, but there was no one there. In fact, the machines were off as well. I was confused so I got up, found my clothes folded on an armchair, and changed into them. I left my room, and after wandering around I found my way out, to find that my car was in the empty parking lot. I was very confused at this point. The entire hospital was empty? Is that even possible? Anyway, I drove home, but all the lights were green, and the roads were empty as well. What is going on? What happened while I was in that coma?

I reach home to find another piece of paper from my mom saying that it had been 2 days since I had last been home, and I had to leave for work as soon as I got home. Now, this seems a bit unfair. I almost died and I get no breaks. Oh well, I guess that's our society, isn't it? I set out to work again. When I got there I found the same woman who had greeted me on my first day. Of course, I asked her what had happened to everyone, but she did everything in her power to avoid the question. She said my next job was to take a tombstone to the nearby graveyard. Turns out someone had died while I was in a coma. I turned around to ask who, but she had already disappeared into thin air. That was rather strange. I got back on the empty road.

After I reached the graveyard and found the spot of the tombstone, I started digging a hole to place it in. It was covered in a bag this entire time so nothing would happen to it. After I placed it securely in the hole, I took off the cover. I would finally find out who had died.
My heart skipped a beat. My breathing slowed. It's not a common thing to see your name carved into a tombstone. I started to panic. Was someone out to get me? Was this a warning. No. I remembered there was no one around. Acting on pure impulse, I started digging below the tombstone with my hands. Now I understood why the world was so empty. The people were not missing…..I was.