Earth Day 2022; The Day Before

It was the planet’s time.
The signs were there; the warmer hotter days; the wintry out-of-season winds; the animal’s behaviour – everything was mixed up, everything confused.

Eventually, due to the heat, everything crumbled. The rivers and oceans dried up. Everything turned to a red scorched dust which covered the planet, choking it even more. Dust particles filled the clouds, thickened the air.

Occasionally, signs of life once present were found, uncovered by the strong winds, standing exactly where they perished. Skeletal remains, relics from a vibrant time long gone.

What was the name of the planet?

That too, long forgotten. It matters not, for now it is merely a barren rock in a star system full of barren rocks.

Couldn’t we do anything to help? Before things got that bad?

We are merely observers, bystanders watching events unfold. We cannot interfere with the natural order of things.

But couldn’t we have warned the inhabitants somehow? Helped them to help themselves?

We did what we could. We sent other signs; messengers; tremors; eruptions; but sometimes the signs only become clear when it is too late.

Sometimes the future isn’t set in stone. Sometimes, the stones are the future.

(Obviously this post isn’t about the Earth. Not yet, anyway.)

((The fun will be back tomorrow, with Maraganna and Huffle!!!))