Virginia Beach The reporter thrust the microphone towards her mouth and the crowd shuffled around her as the rain dropped on the pavement around us. We were protected by the wooden porch and some were standing out in the rain. The umbrellas were abnormally bright and colorful. Her light brown curly hair hovered in the wind and her words were crystal clear, “Ladies and Gentlemen.” Her husband stood by her but he turned away from the cameras, distraught and tired. Just minutes earlier I heard him talking about the fact that we were probably mislead for so long it was unbelievable. He was slightly overweight, dressed in a plain white T-shirt with a worn out college symbol and kaki shorts. His unkempt appearance was almost out of place. Their accents had a Mediterranean tinge, suggesting they were probably first generation immigrants who moved here when they were relatively young. She appeared to be in her early 40’s - I had never seen her before, but how could I? Others appeared to recognize her immediately. I tried to frantically understand what was transpiring, observing all possible details. Though it appeared to be daytime, the sky was dark as night, covered with low hanging black and white clouds. The ocean was half violent, the wind blew directly towards the shore and the flagpoles chimed anxiously. People were calmly discussing ways to improve, or better yet reverse the conditions. “The only explanation to what we are experiencing today….” the planet had been plagued by decades of climate change, economic and civil strife and there were differing theories on the causes, but it became apparent after a certain period that most of the disasters were self-inflicted, “is that there are certain people in key positions who are intentionally trying to make earth uninhabitable for human beings as we know them today.” I thought to myself, what a simple statement and what next? The reporter and the crowd remained silent as she paused. The trickle of rain and the swish of waves sweeping the shore felt like a refuge. The sound of uninhibited nature, a shelter for our beliefs, now appeared to be reclaiming its rights and strengths. I was suddenly reminded that out of 5 billion years of earth’s history, humans had only been traversing it for the last 20.000 years, or so we were told. She continued “The question that we need to ask ourselves today is why would anyone intentionally try and destroy our communities and our planet? The old theory that the balance is tipped due to monetary and political greed does not sufficiently address the quagmire we are in.” Of course even during our period there were differing views on how we had developed a system that was unsustainable, but somehow we knew that modifications were brought about when in trouble. Ever since I found myself in the crowd I felt somewhat dizzy and myopic in a sense, turning to the left and right but yet not comprehending nearly as much as I normally should. Had something happened this time around? Fixated in front of her, a reporter lurched on the steps of the porch, and a colleague helped him up as sirens went off in the distance. The clouds were closing in as if morning mist, but surprisingly there was no panic. People appeared to me demystified, totally nonchalant towards the onset of what was about to happen. She continued “It is now clear after these recent developments that we are being mutated and eradicated from earth in order to make way for a new intelligent species.” I grabbed the young reporter next to me and tried to ask him what was going on without sounding wildly out of place, I asked “How can she be sure of that?” He looked at me like I was being sarcastic, gave me light chuckle, “Well, we’re not sure either.” I decided to make my way towards her when my phone rang, and I needed to pick up. The umbrella colors faded.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 18:35:05 +0000
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