I stare up at the screen and await my fate. I’m surrounded by hundreds of young people, we all sit shoulder to shoulder wondering if today is the day we’re Matched, or if we go back to our room alone once more.

If I wasn’t so sick of seeing the same four concrete walls, I’d mock the ladies desperately hoping to be chosen. Today I’m almost ready to see my name pop up on the screen next to some ran...

At the age of 10, Sara knew who she would marry. She also already knew her profession. Housewife. What else. Her future husband was a successful businessman who would bring home all the money without any problems. And she didn't think that was a bad thing. Nobody did that. At the age of 10, everyone was assigned their future partner and profession in order to give everyone a fulfilling life. For S...

I can’t think of a single person in this town who knows what love is. Partnerships are transactional, predetermined and bland.

I stood under the flickering light that’s been flickering for at least a decade that I know of, in the small, and only grocery store in the town of Mars, Florida. I was fingering loaves of bread on the shelf, trying to pick the freshest, when my eyes wandered over to a co...

She was always told who she would marry. She grew up knowing the exact age she would be when the marriage would take place. But then one day she saw someone she hadn’t ever seen before walking into the village. He was beautiful with bright blue eyes and dark wavy hair. She desperately wanted him to get to know her. She craved his attention. Soon enough the traveler and her became close friends. So...

In my town, people have arranged marriages, but in the the only one thinking, “but what about true love?”

People around this society think I’m going bonkers! Especially my parents. My parents had to learn to love each other… I want to love them from the beginning… but they don’t seem to see that.

So the other day I was walking around, just wondering… it seems that every man around here is taken...

It is important to prioritize building a strong friendship before rushing into marriage when it comes to investing in love. Love starts with friendship and grows over time as you get to know the qualities of the person you are interested in. By taking the time to invest in a genuine friendship, you can develop a deeper connection and hopefully a committed relationship. True love takes time to deve...

I got my list on my seventeenth birthday, same as everyone. They’re based on the things that matter, according to the government. Grades, physical state, mental state. You can date whomever you chose before that, but once you get your list, you’re expected to drop everything and find the peorson at the top of your list and settle down with them. The government originally introduced the list system...

My life has always been planned out for me from the moment I was born. My name, who I am to marry, how many children I am permitted to have. All of it.

The government controlled all of it.

My parents had agreed to it, so I did too. That way of life was all for me. It is our society, so everything else that opposed that society is muffed and cut off.

But now, I’m not sure what is right and what...

In the heart of a society that prides itself on the precision of arranged marriages, there lives a young woman named Elara. Since childhood, Elara has watched as friends, family, and neighbors entered into meticulously matched unions. Each match was calculated to ensure harmony, prosperity, and the continuation of social order. Yet, while these marriages were undoubtedly stable and functional, Ela...

Ria always wanted love.

With the concept of soulmates ruling society, she never was sure that she would get that after Lizzy died.

She isn’t even certain she was in love with her. Just that maybe she could have if given more time. By the rules of soulmates, one doesn’t get another. They are very spelled out. You are born with powers, meet your soulmate, first physical contact takes away your p...