“For men are forbidden to take notice of women, and women are forbidden to take notice of men.” There is no joy for men, they work very long hours and are unhappy. We desire to speak to them; to conversate about anything. We have always wished the world to be different. No one should be controlled by the government. We never tell anyone, because we have to follow the rules. 

We live in the dark Home of the Peasants and have been assigned to attend the soil. Each day we throw seeds in hopes that grass will grow. Street Sweepers clean the streets and make sure they are clean for our brothers and sisters. We passed them every day. We never made eye contact with them, as it is debarred to even take notice of them. So we walk along and ignore them. There was one that we always saw. While they worked, they were always watching us. They looked at us as though they saw that the world was going to be different. Their eyes were always lit up; we could see hope in their eyes. 

From then on, each day we always encountered them. We tried to secretly learn about them, but we had no knowledge of their name, or who they were. We never made eye contact with one another or spoke any words. But we only saw them for a brief second before we got called back. This made us upset. 

The days were always gloomy, but we always found hope in seeing them. We subconsciously learned more about them every workday. Their name: Equality 7-2521. A handful of Street Sweepers were called out one morning, and they turned around when “Equality 7-2521” was called. Seeing Equality every day brought us a great deal of excitement, but we kept quiet and pretended to focus on throwing seeds. 

One day we decided that we were going to make eye contact with Equality. Although it was prohibited and unforgivable, we were determined to do so. We walked and waited until we saw them. There they were; sweeping in the distance. Strongly and confidently we walked up to them. We turned around and made eye contact for just a second. “They looked upon us” (Rand 82). We felt safe looking in their eyes. Startled, we turned away quickly and walked back. For the entirety of the afternoon, we felt butterflies. 

The next morning we were determined to break the rules of the government and smile at Equality. We thought that they deserved a smile, and we were hoping that they would smile back at us. We walked proudly on the road right up to Equality, and we smiled. Looking shocked, Equality smiled back. A strange feeling of serenity fell upon us, and we felt a sort of comfort that we have never felt before. 

From this time, Equality and we greeted each other with our eyes. And each day we felt more hopeful that the world had more to offer than just this. Maybe one day we will get to live freely and happily and see the wonders of the world beyond this city.  

Equality 7-2521 occupied our thoughts more and more as the days went on. There was something about them that was different. We assumed that they have the same outlook on life as we do; to secretly want more from this life. Equality made it exhilarating to go to work each day, and made us dream of a life beyond this government. We dreamed about freedom and being able to do as we please, and we knew someday we would get there. 

One morning the sky did not look as gloomy as usual, the sun glistened with light and the world seemed more alive. We went to work, and our task for the day was to spread soil down by the moat. The entire time we wondered when we were going to see Equality. Just about when we were done, Equality found us. They came over to us and we stood up to politely greet them. They looked extremely happy today; unlike other days. Before we could even lift our arm up to our forehead, Equality quietly said 

“You are beautiful, Liberty 5-3000” (Rand 42).

We were completely astonished by their words. Women and men were forbidden to speak, but they just did. An indescribable feeling came over us; a feeling of relief and excitement all in one. We could not speak nor react, as we were in shock. We kept a stern look on their eyes, and although we already knew their name, we asked,

“What is your name?” (Rand 43).

A rush of nervousness overcame us, and for a second we felt as though something would go wrong. We became paranoid about who was watching or listening, and our heart began beating quickly. We could barely focus on what Equality was saying to us. We heard him speak greatly of us, which made us feel calm. We wanted to continue the conversation, so we thought of something to ask,

“Are the Street Sweepers moved to other parts of the City or do they always work in the same places?” our voice trembled as we spoke. We wished as though this conversation would never end. 

“They always work in the same places, and this road will always be ours” Equality replied, reassuringly. They meant that we would always be able to see each other, and that made us content. We could not take our eyes off of Equality; they had such nice eyes. 

“Your eyes,” we started, “are not like the eyes of any other.”  Before Equality could reply, we had a connected thought, a growing fear,  and sadness washed over us like we were both covered with a rainy cloud that blocked away the glistening sun. We felt sick to our stomach and knew what was coming next.

“How old are you?” Equality asked. We knew what Equality was implying by mentioning this.

“Seventeen,” we said, sadly. We knew what this meant for us, and we wanted to try to find a way to prevent us from going to the Palace of Mating. We became determined to find a way. For us, and for Equality. We did not know what to do, so we just looked up at Equality and smiled. 

The other girls walked by, so we walked away with them.”We did not wish to move” (Rand 78).  We threw the remaining seed down, and walked away from Equality. A feeling of hope came upon us. We thought about our conversation all night long, until it was time to go back out to work the next day.