The Devouring (#PlanetOrPlastic)

A Story in the Dark

In a cluttered room dimly lit by a fire burning in a crumbling fireplace, two people sat together. An old man with long white hair and wrinkled skin sat in a bulky, old reclining chair. The chair's fabric was worn, stuffing was falling out in many places. His dull gray eyes shone with a quiet wisdom as his gaze lingered on the fire in front of him before slipping down to the child sitting below him.

On the rugged carpet floor was a little girl wrapped in blankets, her brown shoulder-length hair was slightly tangled, her bright blue eyes burned with a passion only the young possessed, but as she looked up to the old man there seemed to be a hint a sorrow in that fire. "Grandpa, can you tell me a story?" She asked in a small voice as if she was afraid to wake something.

"A story..." The old man's hoarse voice wavered, he chuckled softly. "A story to pass the time?"

"Please." The child begged, scooting closer to him. He looked back to the fire, scowling.

He knew what story he'd tell her. He'd tell her the story that should have been told by the world long before now but was only whispered by a few, a story he should have told his own son. 

First, there was nothing but cold and dark and this went on for what could have been an eternity, then in this dark light was born, with its warmth and soon after that, life. Thus the planet Tellus came into being. 

Tellus was a world covered in lush green forests, tall proud mountains, and crisp clean water. It was a paradise and should have been treated like a treasure. However one of Tellus' creatures did not see Tellus for the heaven it was, but instead as a means to fill the hole in their hearts. And in their greed, they created a monster. 

A monster born from the filth of humankind. It quickly became a huge, hulking mass devouring the planet until all that was left was garbage. No longer was there forests, the mountains were buried beneath piles of trash far taller than them, the water was no longer clean. The planet had become a plastic wasteland.

And still, we ignore the beast and continue our gluttonous consumption of the planet.

The old man was cut off by a rumbling from above. Dirt fell from the ceiling. The young girl gasped in fear and crawled into her grandfather's lap. He held her close to him and closed his eyes completely expecting this quake to finally be the last, but it passed like all the others. 

The old man looked around with the remaining firelight at the piles of garbage that filled the room, and with a quivering breath he looked up and imagined the thousands of tons of trash above that threatened to crush them any second. 

"What kind of hell have we condemned our children to?"