The sun shone through a sky clear of imperfection and onto a pristine city. From horizon to horizon, paradise was all that could be seen. 
     Buildings that touched the sky, built from the ground up with bricks made from ashes. Ashes from the previous buildings. Ashes from the previous people. Buildings that would fall over at the slightest breeze, if not for the people holding them up. Some people had it easy, only having to support the upper parts of the buildings. But everyone else had to do the difficult part, supporting the weight of the entire building on their shoulders. Filling the cracks in the foundation with their friends and family who couldn’t take the pressure. 
     Machines that didn’t kill the earth. Technology that reached for the future, squeezed from the minds of the best and brightest. That is, until they have nothing left to squeeze, then onto the next best and brightest in the ever-extending line of “volunteers” who grew up being told they were going to make a change. 
     Music that brought tears to one’s eyes. Some cried for the beauty, the superficial message. And others, the older, wiser ones, cried for the true meaning that lay underneath, the one that sung the truth of this paradise. Only a select few songs were made purely with the intent to cleanse one’s soul. All the rest were made with the intention of drowning out the screams of the innocent to make this existence bearable. 
     Books that could keep you entertained for hours. Fairy tales for the children, who should never have to be exposed to the real world. Sci-fi and fantasy books for the ones who crave a different life. Comedic books for the ones who crave a break from their life’s monotony. Romantic books for the ones who crave a look into a happier life. Non-fiction books for the ones who crave the knowledge of life. One page after another, each one filled with lies to distract from the ugly truth. 
     People who didn’t kill people. Rob people. Rape people. Families that were unified. Relationships that were free of abuse. People who lived in harmony with one another, if only to keep society happy. If only out of fear for what would be done to them if they broke the rules. 
     Walls that protected the people. Walls that allowed them to have their buildings, and their technology, and their music, and their books. Walls that reminded the people, “You don’t know how good you have it.” Walls that kept the people in the dark of the world that lie on the other side. Walls that kept paradise a paradise and cut off any contact with the rest of this godforsaken planet in order to prevent infection. 
     A paradise. A utopia, even. Filled with people who had absolutely no idea what lay six feet underneath them.