This is the first of a two-part series. I hope you enjoy.
It was small, smaller than she remembered. It had loomed before her all those years ago. Now thought, now it seemed so much smaller. The oceans of blue seemed minuscule in the swatches of brown. The white wisps seemed to be specks upon the surface. As a whole, it seemed more like a marble. So tiny, and so long it had been since she’d last laid eyes upon it.
Before it had been gigantic. She had thought nothing could be bigger. That nothing in the world would tear her away. But then they’d taken her away, and now it was small and insignificant. It looked as if a giant could flick it away as easy as it could a fly. Something happened, she told herself. That explains it; someone came along and shrunk it. Don’t be silly, exclaimed the logical part of her mind. You can’t shrink the Earth.
–eleven years earlier-
The sun beat down hot and mean. The few wispy clouds had raced away hours ago, as soon as the fiery fingers of light crept above the eastern horizon. The sand lay still from lack of wind. It burned the tough flesh of their feet even through the sandals. The air was dry and hard to breathe. Shimmering waves of heat rippled around the small party, blurring the distant mountains.
Noon had come and gone, and the hottest part of the day had come blazing in. Their clothing clung to their hungry bodies; no wind was present to whisk away the sweat. Wide brimmed hats blocked out the glare shining down upon them from the pristine blue sky but did nothing to hide their eyes from the sunlight reflecting off the sand.
The small band of white-clad travelers trudged steadily on.
In a voice hoarse from lack of water, the girl asked the professor, “was the land always like this?” she hoped a story would distract from the heat, hunger, and thirst.
“Very well,” the professor agreed, knowing the girl sought a story.
“Long ago, grasses covered the ground. Trees grew everywhere not just at the poles. Animals roamed the lush, fertile land, birds patrolled the skies and fish filled the seas. Food wasn’t scarce and fresh water was easily found. In those times life was simple and easy.
“At first, when the air began to grow warmer our ancestors didn’t realize what was happening. When they finally did the believed it was their fault as it had been thousands of years before when machines called cars were their form of transportation. The first time the land contained little greenery. The world had been taken over by metal and a substance they called concrete. The air was filthy and people were being killed by the simple act of breathing.
“The first time the air warmed it was their fault. The second time, however, was caused by something else.”
“It was the sun,” the girl exclaimed.
The professor nodded. “Indeed it was. When they realized this they knew that the sun would heat the Earth as a fire heats a stone. It would be a slow process; they estimated the sun would swallow the Earth thousands of years in the future. But when that time arrived it would not matter for all life would have long since perished from the heat.”
“So what did they do to stop it?”
“Nothing, they didn’t believe anything could be done.”
“Why not?”
“There’s no way to stop the sun’s advance.”
“But there is a way. You found something.”
“Yes, we did. When they first learned of the sun they sent out a plea for help into space. However, the rising temperatures warped the receivers and they were unable to obtain a response if one had indeed been sent.”
“But there are myths that one remains,” the girl said recalling her history lessons.
The professor lifted a hand to wipe the sweat from his eyes. “Yes, many people have looked into the myth. A few, including myself, believe it to be true. We have determined that the most likely place to find the receiver is in a cave in the mountain range before us.”
“Why there?”
“Long ago, this was where they conducted most of their research, they may have left a receiver behind when they fled the heat.”
“But why would there be a message now when there wasn’t one then?”
“The messages take years to travel in space it may be that someone received it and sent a response that arrived after they left.”
“What are we going to do once we find it?” the girl asked.
“See if there’s a message waiting for us.”
——–
It took the group another day to reach the mountains and a couple more to find the cave. When they did the blistering sun had started to descend below the horizon.
It was a dark night, and dry. The air felt blissfully cool after the scorching heat of the day. They were camped a little way from the cave, on the only ground that was anywhere close to level.
The professor had decided the cave could wait until morning. The party was exhausted and hungry. A night’s rest would attend to the exhaustion, however, the meager helpings of rock hard bread would only serve to keep their hunger at bay.
There were no insects. They had migrated to the poles many years ago. The once lush mountains were dust covered and cracked from lack of rain.
The girl couldn’t remember the last time she had felt rain patter on her face. She supposed it had been some time before the professor had come to take her away on his expedition. She must have been in the palace gardens. The poles were the only place where plants grew and every year fewer returned. It must have been there. She had spent so much time in the gardens, soaking up the beauty before it disappeared. She remembered the way rain felt. Cool and refreshing against her skin. It kept down the dust and kept the few plants there were alive. The raindrops would fill the collection pails and for a couple of months, they would have fresh water before the strict rationing returned. She missed the palace and her family. Her mother and father had both contracted the sickness, the one that came from dirty water. But she hadn’t, that’s why the professor had taken her. He said she was the only one left who was in any position to talk to the help if it came.
“You’re the last leader of our people,” he had told her. “If they do indeed come, they’ll only want to listen to one person.”
“But why me?” she had asked.
“It would be best if the negotiations were performed by a leader of our people. With your parents sick that leaves you.”
Stated like that even the young girl knew she had to go with the professor if it meant a chance of saving her people from the sun’s fury.
And now, here she was on the verge of discovering the last remaining option left to them. And they didn’t even know for certain it if worked or if it was even there. Everything hung in the balance; the lives of millions of people.
The girl curled up beneath in the blankets, more for comfort than for warmth. Tomorrow would determine everything, but for now all, she could do was try to sleep.
Hi Miss Rae –
I got on and excited to read your post – but it didn’t come up for some reason. The message on your page said “oops not found”.
Just FYI – I was interested in reading.
Love you – Maman
Hi,
Sorry, it will be coming out at 5pm. I missed scheduled it. Please let me know if it comes out at 5. If not, I’ll try to fix it.
Love you