[ WP ] The government has deregulated parenting . All children under 18 now belong to no one , Making kidnapping legal .

I first remember being kidnapped when I was 6. Old enough to lift and carry, cute enough to beg, clever enough to steal if trained. Of course I was kidnapped back less than a month later and taked to the Tattooist. I suppose I was lucky to go so long without a brand, but my parents had lost my brother when he was only 8 and unlike many he was n't registered so they had had no word of him for four years. The brand hurt for days and then stung and then I thought it was pretty cool. Mom had decided my mark had to be pretty too so it was n't just a garish barcode or a reference number, she had the numbers spiralling at the center of a blue flower with tiny green leaves. I've seen some messed up brands in my day and I've always been glad my parents cared what mine looked like. Of course a few years ago I found out that they were n't my original parents, rather I'd been stolen as consulation that they would never find their own again. 
 
 I turn eighteen in 4 days and am very excited. My best friend was raised nextdoor to me, we met through the bars of her window and learned together for years. My brand meaning I was almost always found and returned by hired hunters when I would be taken, and the rest of the time I was turned loose adults not willing to face the hassle of cheap labor by being hunted. I had no clue that brands were so expensive until my friend had explained it to me when I asked why she did n't have one so we could play outside. 
 
 She's 6 months younger than me and has never been kidnapped. Honestly it's a crime. In 4 days I'm going to kidnap her and show give her the childhood the rest of the world gets, instead of being stuck in her sterile little world her parents think is safe. I do n't know how she's not gone crazy lifing like that, how would she ever learn to do anything if no one takes her and teaches her! It's not like they tell you how to survive in school books!
