"One day, the government decided that human rights wouldn't be the same again.

Nowadays, you can only buy human rights; they were no longer given to you since birth. Only the rich could buy them all. I am an average human being, so I could barely afford 4. Even though I am only moderate, I was still one of the lucky ones to be able to buy that many.

It was complicated choosing with the money I had on me. I nearly went bankrupt purchasing these rights. Some rights sadly need to be supported by another one to show their true power and potential. So I had to choose carefully.

I usually start my day off by getting ready for work. Nowadays, humanity has been going insane with jobs, prizes, and bills. Everyone wants to obtain more rights, so they do everything that is in their power to achieve their goals. Nothing mattered to them anymore. Even basic morals have since long been given up on. Whatever was in their way, they would stomp upon to achieve their goals. It didn't matter if it was an obstacle or a human being. They showed no mercy.

"Another robbery of human rights has been reported to the police this morning in San Francisco. 2 rights have been stolen. The right to life and the freedom of expression."

Wow, this is the third time this has happened within a week. The robbery of rights started about five weeks ago. At first, it happened occasionally, but the cases kept stacking. More and more rights got stolen, and only those with the protection of property are safe from this misery. Knowing how vulnerable this tight was, I had saved up as much money as I could for a long time. I haven't thought deeply enough about which rights to get, but now I regret my stupid actions. I know no one can take my life away from me or force me to work for them. All my rights may protect me, but none protect me from getting robbed, which could end up in a disaster someday.

While getting into my car, I saw an elderly lady. She was walking down the streets with a paper. It was a human rights paper.

Since the new government orders, your rights have been written down on paper by the government. You had to carry these papers around so the system ruling over us could identify our rights and protect or punish us accordingly.

All of a sudden, I saw a strange-looking man approach her from behind. His face was covered in a black mask, making him unidentifiable at first glance.

"WATCH OUT, MA'AM!"

I yelled in her direction, but it was too late...the mysterious person, who I assumed was a male, had ripped the paper away from her. She was clinging onto it, begging for mercy. That man then snatched the paper away from her before kicking her in the stomach and leaving her lying on the sidewalk.

After the thief had run off, I rushed over to the elderly woman and helped her stand up. She was devastated.

Seeing the despair and pain across her face made me feel guilty about not interfering sooner. The guilt within my chest grew as she cried out loud:

"My...my son...this right was for my son..."

I soothed her and checked if she was injured. Luckily, she wasn't hurt. I heaved a sigh of relief and advised her to go to the police station. She thanked me for my help and left for the police station just as I had recommended her. I got into my car and drove off to work, still feeling guilty about what had happened.

At work, my boss lectured me because I was late. I excused my late arrival and went on with my day.

At work, the atmosphere was tense. No one wanted to lose their job or stand out poorly. I may have the right to prohibit discrimination against me, but gossiping about me and making fun of me isn't forbidden because of this right, leading my co-workers to start talking about me because I showed up late. This caused them a rush of pleasure seeing me get closer to getting punished or losing my job.

I cannot lose my job! Not now that I am so close to obtaining the right to protection of my property! I cannot lose everything now!

I shook my head to wake myself back up to reality and started working to the fullest of my abilities again.

A couple of hours passed, and I had skipped lunch break to make up for my late arrival when that mysterious man suddenly entered my office. He was armed with a shotgun and pointed it at my female co-worker, Clementine, who was frozen in terror. You could see the sweat form on her forehead as her eyes widened. She stared at that man like a deer in headlights.

"You, woman, give me all your rights. NOW!"

The man demanded her. Clementine woke up from shock when the thief yelled at her. She shakingly grabbed the two rights she had earned herself and gave them to him obediently.

"You."

He pointed the gun at me, startling me. I could feel the tiny sweat drops forming on my back and forehead as I gulped down, trying to reproduce my loss of saliva.

Oh no, this isn't good! I have to get out of this situation!

"I saw you before. You are that guy who helped that granny, weren't you?"

I gulped down again and just stared at him with raised hands. He got closer to me, lowering his weapon when he was just inches away. Able to feel his breath, I subconsciously looked him up and down, trying to memorize his looks.

He was tall, handsome, and had curly black hair. Seeing his eyes, I was stunned once again. Within them, a riddle hid, ready to be solved. Seeing this riddle, I subconsciously decided to dare try and solve it.

His pitch-black eyes stared into mine as he said:

"Well, well, well...You don't seem half bad. What rights do you have?"

"The r-right to life...the right t-to liberty a-and s-security...the right f-for pr-prohibition of d-discrimination a-and the r-right for the prohibition of s-slavery a-and forced labor."

I answered him, unable to control my stuttering.

"Very well."

He said while grabbing my collar. He reached into my pocket and pulled my car keys out, and turned his back to me, leaving me in shock.

"I will be taking this; I don't want your rights."

He turned around and left. I was still frozen in shock and terror. Why didn't he take my rights...?

The incident at work got reported to the police, who were also speechless when they heard what he did with me. I have been in some daze since that moment. It was weird, but his eyes looked kind...His eyes and his actions did not align...

I went home on foot that day and wondered what the next day would bring with him.

All I could say was that I did not expect any of this..."