Born without an expiration date

One

ETNA

When I was born, the doctor looked. Then my mother looked. Then my father. Another doctor was called. Then another, and another. Everyone looked! From head to toe they looked and looked. See I was born without an expiration date! Some doctors were shocked, never heard of it before. Some had, and said it was rare. Some didn't say a word, just left and refused to come back.

They tested and tested, bloods taken and scans done. In the end however, I was send home. Just an birth abnormality, nothing else wrong with me. My parents, half crazed, whether from worry or lack of sleep, named me Eternal (they nicknamed me Etna when they came to their senses). That should have been the end of it. Unfortunately, that is not the way the world works. Growing up in a small community where everyone knows each other, means I was treated like a freak, a cursed freak. My parents never let me out of their sight. I was home schooled, wrapped in bubble wrap and sheltered.

See normally, a baby is born, they find the expiration date somewhere on the baby's body, and everyone mourns their death, there and then. Then the week before their date, they get their affairs in order, say their goodbyes, have their parties, and then go to the Expiration Collections Centre to die in peace.

When you don't have an expiration date, everyone looks at you like you're about to drop dead any second. They tip toe around you, worried your going to break! Or refuse to be in the same room as you, just in case.

This is how I grew up. Over protective parents. Everyone else scared to be around me.

Until one day. The day after I turned 19. The day I vanished.