I was walking down a road, thinking that the afternoons are underrated. It’s quiet, and most people are at home or work. I climbed the concrete steps that lead to a playground/park, adjacent to which was my apartment building. The building was five stories high and covered the length of the park. As usual, I walked past the entrance to my apartment and went over to the bench that was at the edge of the park. This was my favorite spot, and I had spent a lot of summer afternoons just sitting here. The park was surrounded by trees and had more such benches where the parents used to sit and talk, barely watching their children play on the swings and slides in the evening. The bench where I sat was special because it was right under a tree and in the park’s corner. It felt separate but also an equal part of the park. It was peaceful.

The park was empty as it was the lazy hours of the afternoon. I sat on the bench alone, looking at the ants making their way past each other. They were colliding, almost as if they were greeting each other and bidding farewell before moving into opposite directions. It is funny how your brain can prevent your fully functional eyes from working altogether. I was daydreaming. My eyes were observing the ants, but my brain was busy thinking about the weather. The ants, although interesting, weren’t as interesting as the weather. I was forced to notice all the vivid details and the aura it had. An ambiance so perfect that the place boasted a personality. All my senses gave in and submitted themselves to this milieu.

The tree above me cast a soothing shadow. Sunlight found the gaps between the bushy leaves of the tree, making the shadow look like a pattern of white polka dots on a black surface. Every now and then a zephyr hit my face making my hair move in its direction. The leaves moved too, making the shadow dance. The breeze was like a soft whisper and carried with itself a fragrance. It was a pleasant combination of different types of flowers, and the air had a hint of petrichor even though it was summer. The day was not humid, and it had the perfect balance between warm and cold. I must have lost track of the time because I got distracted by all the commotion in the park, which meant it was already evening. I looked around and saw the kids playing and their parents talking to each other. I realized that I had sat here for hours doing nothing. The peace was gone, and it was no longer quiet. It was time for me to go as the atmosphere no longer suited me. I got up with urgency and tripped. My reflexes were numbed, and so I hit the ground face-first.

It was like someone slapped me out of a beautiful dream and welcomed me back to the harsh reality. The whole left side of my face hurt. I began to realize where I am. I had been slammed and pinned to a road by the fierce and strong wind. My body had formed a mutated swastika on the road. My head was bleeding from where I hit the ground. I was completely numb. I tried to pick myself up but failed. After a few painful efforts, with the support of a metallic rod, I was finally on my feet. I glanced around and saw the utter chaos that was left behind by the storm. I remembered being evacuated when the storm hit and separated me from the rescue crew. I hit my head and dreamt about the sweet weather in an unconscious state. It wasn’t a dream, but a memory from my childhood that I didn’t even know I had. Hoping that the nostalgia calms me down, I started walking in the strong winds and heavy rain. I faced the conundrum of finding the rescue crew before the storm hits again.

I saw some trees and buildings in the distance. It was a park. I hurried towards it in search of shelter. The wind was pushing me backward, but I kept going on. When I was at a close distance from the park I saw the trees were shaking violently, and some of them were even getting uprooted. I walked past the trees and rushed to the nearest entrance of a building. I was completely exhausted, and thankfully the entrance walls were taking on the strong winds for me. I searched for people in sight, but there was no sign of them. I felt so alone and afraid that I might be the only one stuck in this storm and nobody was looking for me. The wind was roaring, and the noise of it was deafening. My head began to hurt, and I started feeling sick. My body was giving up on me. I felt dizzy and was about to lose consciousness when I smelt something. It was so putrid that my senses came back. The strong wind was carrying all kinds of bad smell with it. This smell was keeping me awake. I was down on my knees, almost throwing up when I heard something just behind me. I looked back and saw the entrance exit lit up with red and blue lights. I heard a siren that was getting louder and louder. I got up with all my strength and dragged myself to the exit. It was a military van probably searching for survivors like me. I walked to the center of the road to make sure they see me and waved my hands at them before fainting…

I woke up in a hospital. I had an oxygen mask on, and my whole body was aching. I tried to rest my eyes and sleep some more, but my mind kept going back to that childhood memory. It made sense to dream about the perfect weather amidst a storm. Back then, I had always avoided the entrance for the tree’s shade, but the very same tree would have killed me in the storm. It was the building that saved me. The rotten smell gave life to my senses the same way the fragrance carried by the zephyr had done. I had always liked the park empty, but I was desperately searching for people in the storm. All these thoughts made me realize how quickly we can adapt to these turn of events.

Authors Note:

I don’t need figures and stats to understand that climate change is real. My skin understands the difference between how it is now vs. how it was back then. I had initially written the first part of this story as a practice for writing the details about a place and its ambiance. Eventually, it led me to write this whole thing, where I try to show how quickly we humans can adapt to changes, especially when it comes to survival. Although, a good thing, it can be very dangerous too. By the amount of sweat I produce, I can safely say that humanity will have to leave earth behind soon. We have consumed more than we have preserved. We have learned to adapt but not to avoid. The endgame is closer than we think. I just hope it’s different on Mars.