Day 75 Ruminating And Writing

Thirst

The desert stretched wide and far before them. They had been walking for four days straight, and the food and water they had been carrying were slowly vanishing. None of them wanted to admit that they were lost, that the desert would never end, and they would die. It was hope that kept them going.

It was after the last drop of water had been exhausted that the madness began. The desert warped around them, and the heat of the midday sun felt like it was boiling them alive. There was no water, no shadows, no food to call their own. Yet, even in their madness, they knew that this was their only hope. That life before fleeing into the desert had been unbearable. They only had to find the oasis the stories spoke of, and there would be salvation. There would be life.

Villain

Her power had forged the city. Her power had saved everyone from the beast, and without her, there would be no land, no life, nothing. It was her given right to be compensated. She watched as people lined to her feet, bringing their gifts. They felt so small compared to her. It was her duty to keep them in check that nothing that had happened before would happen here again.

Climbing

The rock rose above her, towering over her petite frame. She tightened the chalk bag around her waist and chalked her hands. She took a deep breath in and took hold of the first small crimp on the wall. There was no looking down. One mistake would get her killed. All she could do was make one move at a time and put all her focus on her body. The next crimp was high. She would have to lift her right leg above her shoulder and place her heel on the ledge. She pushed hard down, lifting her pelvis up and hoisting herself to the crimp. Everything in her body tensed to make sure she held on to the slight edge without dropping. There was no return from here on. The only way was up.

The Prompts are from the book A Year of Creative Writing Prompts.

I’m reading a book about mining cobalt and copper in Congo, and I can’t help but think that we have gotten this world of ours so wrong. We have become desensitized by this consumer culture, having lost any sense of decency. I’m not disillusioned to think that the past eras were any better. We, humans, have always been capable of great horrors. The slavery and horrendous conditions in Congo have been there for hundreds of years throughout imperial colonialism and now capitalist colonialism. Yet, we should know better. We should be able to address this issue. The silence and the acceptance of how the world works and how we have constructed our societies around consumption and exploitation is maddening. I don’t know what the right solution is or how we should make our society work so that it doesn’t need to function the slavery and blood of other human beings. All I know is that it feels like our modern societies are slipping into madness, and this cannot continue. Something needs to change.

I apologize for my tone today. It’s just that I don’t understand, or rather, I don’t want to accept this equation.

Thank you for sparing your time to read my blog! I hope you have a good day ❤