The
thundering noise woke me from my afternoon nap. Alarmed, I looked outside the
window. It was dark. It always was. The pollution had blacked out the sky for
ages. It was the prize of our negligence. Rarely did the sun shine. Perhaps it
had abandoned us and was creating life on some other better suited planets.
Most of other planets have better conditions than ours now thanks to our
ignorance, I believed. I felt around for my glasses on the table nearby and put
them on. The deafening noise came again. Boom!
Excited and
unsure, I stood up with the help of the window sill. Slowly I moved the chair
to the porch. Even in my condition I somehow found the energy to pull the chair
outside to experience this spectacle. I sat down in spite the fact that it was
not safe sitting outside especially for my age. The ‘noise’ was not as
dangerous as the polluted air. An intense flash of light, then the whole neighbourhood crackled again and it lasted a while this time. Even my half deaf
ears felt it frightening.
“At last you've decided to come now”, I smiled at no one.
“Grandpa!
GRANDPA!! Where are you”, my four year old granddaughter shouted from inside.
Clearly she was frightened. She came running to me.
“It’s a war
grandpa. These are alien space crafts like in that movie we saw last week. Star
Wars episode 16”, the fear in her eyes was genuine.
It amazed me
how kids of one generation are smarter than the previous, yet not smart enough
to foresee the dangers and preserve the world that we live in. I looked in her
bright eyes as her face shone in the great flash that came from a distant sky.
The sound that came next was like of a thousand dynamites exploding miles away.
She covered her ears tightly and her eyes were shut.
“we are
going to die!”, she shouted despite the noise. I couldn't help but smile. I
lifted the child onto my lap and kissed her forehead.
“No darling,
there’s nothing to be afraid of. Its called rain”, I smiled at her as the first
drop from the sky fell on her cheek and blended with her tear. It was the first
and the only rain of 2052.
The
thundering noise woke me from my afternoon nap. Alarmed, I looked outside the
window. It was dark. It always was. The pollution had blacked out the sky for
ages. It was the prize of our negligence. Rarely did the sun shine. Perhaps it
had abandoned us and was creating life on some other better suited planets.
Most of other planets have better conditions than ours now thanks to our
ignorance, I believed. I felt around for my glasses on the table nearby and put
them on. The deafening noise came again. Boom!
Excited and
unsure, I stood up with the help of the window sill. Slowly I moved the chair
to the porch. Even in my condition I somehow found the energy to pull the chair
outside to experience this spectacle. I sat down in spite the fact that it was
not safe sitting outside especially for my age. The ‘noise’ was not as
dangerous as the polluted air. An intense flash of light, then the whole neighbourhood crackled again and it lasted a while this time. Even my half deaf
ears felt it frightening.
“At last you've decided to come now”, I smiled at no one.
“Grandpa!
GRANDPA!! Where are you”, my four year old granddaughter shouted from inside.
Clearly she was frightened. She came running to me.
“It’s a war
grandpa. These are alien space crafts like in that movie we saw last week. Star
Wars episode 16”, the fear in her eyes was genuine.
It amazed me
how kids of one generation are smarter than the previous, yet not smart enough
to foresee the dangers and preserve the world that we live in. I looked in her
bright eyes as her face shone in the great flash that came from a distant sky.
The sound that came next was like of a thousand dynamites exploding miles away.
She covered her ears tightly and her eyes were shut.
“we are
going to die!”, she shouted despite the noise. I couldn't help but smile. I
lifted the child onto my lap and kissed her forehead.
“No darling,
there’s nothing to be afraid of. Its called rain”, I smiled at her as the first
drop from the sky fell on her cheek and blended with her tear. It was the first
and the only rain of 2052.
