Golf Club: Wasteland, story

Memories

It wasn't always like that. It used to be more lively, more colorful. I'm not saying we don't have colors anymore, because we do, and we have a lot of light from the neons, especially the pink ones which can be seen on most buildings. Sometimes we sit on the rooftop with Adam and marvel at the landscape of the silent world which still exists, even though people didn't give it a chance. Why Adam, you ask? I've decided to name him after the first man on Earth, who was able to begin everything and create life. For me, he is the last one and the first one for the new future, able to create life, I believe that. He knows everything, remembers the past, is able to foresee the future, and knows how to function here. Damn, he knows how to survive and to live in this big silent bubble where we used to eat, sleep, and dream every single day without even realizing the fact it may come to an end one day. Funnily enough, it is said that Adam means "red" in Hebrew, which is taken from the color of the land, from which he was formed, but this little boy has nothing to do with Mars, which is red, of course. I have to admit I'm glad it stayed that way.

I remember being curious what would it be like if humanity went extinct. I was twenty at that time and sure I'll die surrounded by my family, or at least friends. My family was kept in health, everyone cared for each other. There wasn't a day when we didn't have an update on each other's lives. First via phones, and later emails and voice messages, when my parents figured out (with a little help from me) how to use them. They were so excited and shocked that they used to update me on every little detail from their day.

"Hi, Charley, I have just made tea for myself and dad, and we're going to watch some news. Stay safe!"

"Hello, Charley! We hope you have a great day today. We're at the shop now, cause the groceries went out and I wanted to make this special salad your sister likes. I'm so happy we don't have to go a long way only to buy a few things"

"Charley, darling, I've just finished the book you lent me last month and it was amazing! Did they really get married? I'm not sure how to interpret the ending. Let me know as soon as you can or else, I'll be forced to check it online, and you know I don't like it very much. Kisses!"

Well, now I have the answer for my question, at least a part of it. I don't like to think of people as if they were extinct, because they live far away, on Mars. But it's not the same, when you don't see them or hear them. When you don't take part in their everyday activities, you're not part of the group. It's well known that human is a sociable creature and, without the society, can we really talk about the socializing?

I'd say of course. I socialize with Adam and we get to know each other better and better with every day and every moment we spend together. He taught me to catch fish and talk with animals. I taught him to write and read. Therefore, we read books in the evenings. At the beginning we used to read out loud - first me, and then him. But later on, he decided he would like to be able to use his imagination while reading, because when he does it out loud, he focuses on the pronunciation and loses the pictures and ideas that comes to his mind. Of course, he didn't use such hard words as pronunciation, but we're working on that. I'm sure one day he'll be able to give live to every though that's in his head.

"Why don't you draw what you see in the book?" I asked him one day.

"Draw?" he replied, not being sure what the word means.

"Create a picture with shapes and colors," I explained.

"How?"

I wish we had some crayons left somewhere, but there was no such thing here. I took a little rock and started to draw in a sand near our little house.

"Book?" he guessed.

"Yes, that's a book. You want to try?" I gave him the rock.

He took it cautiously with a shaking hand and looked down on my drawing.

"I-I can't," he said and threw the rock away. It disappeared in the lake leaving big circles on the water surface.

"You do. Trust me" I took his hand and looked him in the eyes. I saw fear and disappointment there. "You just have to try."

"I don't want to."

"Okay. Tomorrow?"

He nodded.

"Let's eat something. I'm starving," I said and we went home.

When we first met, I didn't know I'll be living here till the day I die. I wasn't even sure he'll accept me in the first place. But as the days passed by, we started to understand each other's way of live and perception. We have learned a lot from each other and living together became the most pleasant thing for both of us.

The weather nowadays is very peaceful, as if the Earth knew everyone was gone and she could finally take care of everything the way she wanted to for a long, long time. We had a few rainy and windy days, but they weren't at all problematic. Me and Adam managed to rebuild the house and it looked more like a safe place to live rather than a tent that may be destroyed in a second, so we didn't worry about it. As I said before, the weather is generally peaceful and it also helps keeping us calm. In the past I used to be meteoropathic, but it didn't kill my admiration for rain. I loved sitting in my room, in a train, or in a bus, and just observing the drops falling down and washing over the windowpanes. I found it relaxing then. Sometimes I'm trying to keep those memories in mind, but I am not able to. It's good to at least remember they were there. I feel sad for Adam, because he has never seen such view and will not, probably. We don't have glass to make windows in our home, and there are almost no windows left in the buildings. Besides, it wouldn't be the same, because here rains are like morning dew. They're not furious, they don't change info floods, as they used to in the past, because of humans doing and the global warming.

You know, there are days when I feel thankful. I'm glad to be alive, to see the world waking up every day and feeling good, to experience little activities, to communicate with the boy who in another dimension might have been my son. Of course, I still regret a bit what I've done in the past, but I've come to terms with it and realized it cannot be undone. There is nothing to feel bad about, because the humanity didn't die. Or did it?