What Would You Do in a World Without Love?

Please take a moment to check for the following symptoms:


"Phase One
     preoccupation; difficulty focusing
     dry mouth
     perspiration, sweaty palms
     fits of dizziness and disorientation
     reduced mental awareness; racing thoughts; impaired reasoning skills


Phase Two
     periods of euphoria; hysterical laughter and heightened energy
     periods of despair, lethargy
     changes in appetite; rapid weight loss or weight gain
     fixation; loss of other interests
     compromised reasoning skills; distortion of reality
     disruption of sleep patterns; insomnia or constant fatigue
     obsessive thoughts and actions
     paranoia; insecurity
     
Phase Three (CRITICAL)
     difficulty breathing
     pain in the chest, throat, or stomach
     difficulty swallowing; refusal to eat
     complete breakdown of rational faculties; erratic behavior; violent thoughts and fantasies; hallucinations and delusions


Phase Four (Fatal)
      emotional or physical paralysis (partial or total)
      death"
                                   -Lauren Oliver "Delirium"  

Have you contracted Amor Deliria Nervosa? Sure, you may enjoy the thrill of the sickness. You may enjoy the way your heart races when he touches your hand. But is it worth it?

Imagine a world where your biggest fear is love; a world where even just a curious thought about the handsome young boy that sits across from you in homeroom could put your life in danger. Lena Haloway lives in this world. She lives in a world where Love is the most dangerous and deadly disease of all.

Lena has always looked forward to her eighteenth birthday: the day she can finally be cured, and free of the fear of contracting amor deliria nervosa. She'll be cured, and matched with a suitable partner for the rest of her life. Her life will be safe, measured, predictable. Her life will be happy, and free of pain. Lena counts down the days until she will be free of temptation - until she meets Alex.

The boy with the touch that makes her feel alive, the eyes that see through her soul, the autumn brown hair that makes her heart skip beats. The boy that infects her.

Isn't love the very feeling we all spend our whole lives searching for? The feeling we're willing to give anything for? What place would a government have to tell us we can't have it? To deem it a disease? How could we all exist without the passion we feel for our lover, the loyalty towards our best friend, or the fondness you feel towards your baby brother? What would be the point, and would life be worth living?