Nature, Our Friend

• Aisyah Hairuddin, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2020

Loneliness is a deadly pandemic. Every day as the sky shrouded with sheets of grey, the momentum of the once tall standing city gradually slows down; minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. Nothing was left, the world had crumbled. Speckles of silver, metal dust were in forms of snow that fell lifelessly from the sky - the only aesthetic aspect of life at this time. Corpses of houses, buildings and infrastructures remained stature as if they were being exhibited at an anatomy museum. Harsh, frigid winds blew from every compass direction, having no control over how they were maneuvered in this ruined world. It was a sombre ambience. Heavy sighs filled the air, which caused large puffs of smoke to accumulate, fogged the streets - too opaque to been seen through. Discord overtook us and ravaged everything in its footsteps as fear, anxiety and panic ignited bright lights that caused heat and destruction to our foundations. Lifeless, that’s what the world was now. Lifeless. Greed, rivalry, betrayal and dishonesty still seeped through the grounds of the Earth till this day. Only a few of us were left. The very few that believed that there could be a dynamic change in this comatose, destroyed world. It was just us...kids.
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As we were scavenging for things to increase our survival, a bright glow of green twinkled amongst the ash and soot. The shrub was as minuscule as the length of our pinky nail. Our eyes were glued onto the small shrub sweetly cozied in the warm soil that was hidden beneath our toes and ash. It had been years, many years since we saw a glimpse of hope. This was our revolution, this was our saviour, this was our friend...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The luminescent, amber ball of fire that had risen each day towards the painted azure sky, radiated its warm rays down onto the cold city, heating every inch of its spectrum, making the glass windows of every household glisten like scintillating crystals within a mining cave. The soft giggles from the bellflowers from outside each window pane ring in synchronised harmony, playing a sweet melody. The darkness and depression that were hung over our city, was finally bright, exposing them to the glow of sunlight. The fragrant smell of the refreshing breeze coming through the cracks of the transparent windows, filled the house like a sugary juice box, hinting every individual flavour that was evident - green apple, grape, orange, pineapple. The cotton candy-like clouds moved steadily across the painted azure sky, filling the atmosphere with a gentle breeze that flowed through the gaps of the eccentric windows of the guesthouse. Wide doors that would creak in a rhymic movement displayed a full sense of harmonic intelligence, playing the right beats thumping at the right time. Prolific patterns were reflected onto the walls of our house. Before we all raced out of our houses, we left a little note on the window seal, “Dear nature, thank you for being our friend.”