The Cactus Stands Alone

Chapter 2

You may be wondering how it is I'm able to communicate so clearly to you right now and my disdain for your entire existence.

I assure you, the secret stays with me and the one who has imbued me with this ability to speak across a medium of which I have no understanding. If you've been in this land, even for a moment, you would understand that logic and linear thinking are not regarded as the norm. The further you can get from sound logic, the more apt you are to adapt to the changing climate.

Let me stop complaining for a bit and move on towards something that may catch your interest more than my loathing. Even I know one should not sit in the company of those who want nothing more than to complain about the smallest details of every person and situation. It's the reason I refuse to attend any family functions.

Several cacti gathered together, miserable and unable to express themselves to each other. After mere moments of this horrid awkwardness, it turns into a competition for the last drop of dewfall ignored by the insects and birds of the morning. A riveting tale for others to write about, I'm sure. Perhaps a poet should attend the next one and overlay their sympathetic posturings towards our actions.

You see, I am tired of being precluded from the adventures this world can bring. While there are clearly marked boundaries to the sand upon which I am limited, having walked the mighty expanse several times, I'm afraid I never stepped off. Let me rephrase that in a way that should make things clear:

I've been afraid to try stepping off the sand.

Yes, I admit it. I'm afraid.

The sand, while it has been my nomenclature of comfort my entire life, I've never tested it to be my lifeline. Today, everything will change.

I stand right now on the edge of the eastern most edge of the Carrotic Desert. It behooves me to think they allowed such a name to be given to this hellish environment: Carrotic Desert. Could the creatures of nonsense at least attempt to provide some truth to their naming conventions?

If you've never been to the edge of a desert, there is a surreal feeling as you realize the next step will take you away from anything comfortable you've understood about the world. It is a glimpse into the unknown.

Looking at it from the other direction it a feeling of relief... unless you're a cactus. Then it is torture because you can't step any further and it only angers you.

It's the cool breeze wafting over you and the moisture that has suddenly permeated the air, letting you know everything is going to be all right again. The smell changes from a dry wafting of your own body odour to the fresh fauna growing nearby. To look at all this through my eyes is an experience like no other.

The roots of my being, buried beneath the blowing sand, feel the nervousness of uprooting themselves to step into ground that requires extraneous effort to dig into. This is the moment upon which no other creature in Wonderland will ever be able to speak of in their tales of heroic entities.

It is also an opportunity to finally put an end to the heart of this world and end it forever.