Submitted by Gregory Alderete.
Mara sat in the waiting room, staring at the flickering fluorescent light overhead. It buzzed, a low, monotonous hum that filled the silence between the occasional coughs and shifting bodies of the others waiting with her. No one spoke. There was nothing to say.
She had spent the last decade chasing something better—working two, sometimes three jobs, each one paying just enough to keep her alive but never enough to help her escape. Rent had gone up, wages hadn’t. The degree she once thought would open doors had become nothing more than an expensive relic of misplaced hope.
At 28, she was exhausted. The constant battle to survive in a world that didn’t care had worn her down to nothing. She had no savings, no prospects, no one to call for help. She had tried, she had fought, but the system wasn’t built to be won. It was built to keep people like her exactly where they were—treading water until they drowned.
So she had made the appointment.
The government had introduced the Voluntary Euthanasia Initiative three years ago, though most just called it The Exit Program. It was a quiet solution for those who no longer had a place in society—too poor to thrive, too broken to fight, too exhausted to keep pretending. The process was free, painless, and efficient. “A humane solution for an inhumane world,” the brochures had said.
A nurse in a crisp white uniform stepped into the room and called her name. Mara rose, smoothing her thrift-store sweater out of habit. The nurse smiled—a kind, practiced smile—and gestured for her to follow.
Inside the sterile room, there was a chair, a small table, and a screen displaying a soft, rotating landscape. The nurse asked the standard questions, making sure Mara was certain, that she understood there was no turning back. Mara nodded.
“Would you like to choose a last memory to focus on?” the nurse asked.
Mara thought for a moment. There weren’t many good memories to choose from. But she remembered one—being six years old, standing on the beach, her mother’s hand in hers, waves rolling against the shore. She held onto that image as the nurse pressed a button.
A warmth spread through her veins. The room blurred. The ocean filled her vision. For the first time in years, Mara felt light.
And then—nothing.
Mr. Alderete,
Your depressing article has no meaningful point & will not provide inspiration to anyone who needs help from the community. I urge you instead to support the many individuals in Puget Sound who dedicate their energies & commitment of time & money to the needs of their homeless & hurting neighbors.
I appreciate your perspective, but I disagree with your assessment. What you read was not an article but a short story intended to reflect the despair that many young Americans experience today. Fiction can serve as a mirror to reality, helping readers understand and empathize with the struggles of others. While it may not have been explicitly uplifting, acknowledging hardship is often the first step toward meaningful change.
That said, I respect the work being done by individuals in Puget Sound and elsewhere to support those in need. If you have specific organizations or efforts you’d like to highlight, I’d be happy to listen and learn.
Carol’s response was spot on. Young people must NOT be given the impression that the suicide “assembly line” may be an option for them to consider, particularly with the low wage-earning scenario. It was a very sick example and choosing the age of 28, presents a morbid message to struggling youth. I’m appalled that this “fiction” was even published!?! The assisted suicide act in WA State (and OR) allows SOME terminally ill patients (e.g. 3-months to live) to relieve their chronic pain and suffering as part of their end-of-life care plan.
Carol Wilson, Perhaps his fictional story was to illicit the very response you just gave; an increased awareness and discussion of those truly struggling in today’s world and who need guidance and help before giving up? Depression takes the lives of many who are not able to locate the help that may be available. This story may be dark and shocking, but it is very real to some who have lost a friend or family member to suicide; the pathway to help or to see a brighter future is hard to find when you feel so defeated and lost.
I appreciate what you have said.
I very much appreciated your symbolic story. I choose to see it as a wry commentary on “throw-away” people: people marginalized, disparaged or vilified by those in power seeking to divide for their own personal enrichment.
To be sure, Jesus tells us that after death there is either Heaven or Hell, either one is of our choosing. May I suggest that we choose life and light in Jesus? “16 For God loved the world in this way, he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:16-21)
Bottom line? If there’s some all-powerful being out there, I think he’s got a real flair for marketing—lots of promises, plenty of fear-mongering, but somehow, all the evidence is conveniently hidden until after you’re dead. You gotta admit, that’s one hell of a business model!
Anyone who promotes suicide has no experience with it. Everyone who has read this submission should search their own inner thoughts and truly reflect on how suicide has impaced you. While life has struggles why not focuse on where help can be found? IN THE CITY OF LAKEWOOD PLEASE REACH OUT TO GREATER LAKES MENTAL HEALTH FOR SUPPORT… 253-581-7020
“If there’s some all-powerful being out there”? As someone who, in my opinion, has seen a medical miracle I have a great deal of Faith that God is real.
Not sure what state you live in Mr. Alderete but here in WA assisted suicide, without a terminal diagnosis, does not even exist.
The fictional story was written to highlight the personal struggles many face on a daily basis, some to the point where they see no way out. This is unfortunately all too common today, and we, as a society, should do everything we can to promote mental wellness and provide the necessary support. I agree that reaching out for help, like through Greater Lakes Mental Health, is essential, and we all play a role in fostering a compassionate and understanding community.
Maybe your next fictional story will focus on the youth who are making a difference in our community. There will an inspirational msg about how to reach out and not the despair of ending ones life.
That is a permanent solution to an almost always temporary situation.
If you ever want to meet and talk about the true effects that mental health and suicide play in too many families I am happy to meet with you.
Gregory, Your depiction of today’s reality is refreshingly accurate as well as disruptive. I would think that Voluntary Deportation could be added to the names of the government program you report.