Friday, January 09, 2009

Entry #39

Back In The Garden
by Wavemancali


Eve stared in shock at her first sight of electric light in 8 years.

The grid had gone down June of 2012, 4 months after the sickness spread like wildfire. It was impressive the automated systems had lasted that long. That year had been hell. Disease from the masses of bodies killed some of the few survivors.

In Peoria the only other survivor had been a sweet girl named Julie. Julie died last year from tetanus when she scratched herself on an old barbed wire fence. It had been a bitter reminder that 911 was a distant memory.

Eve had started slowly making her way southwest after that, determined to drink fresh orange juice at least once more before she died.

So, who had a light on in Clarksville, Tennessee?

Making her way down to the lit building she heard no generators, but she did see that there were massive numbers of solar panels on all the nearby roofs.

Leaning her bike up against the side of the building, she entered.

Inside it was a gardener’s dream. Plants filled every space except a path to a working escalator. She took the escalator, barely resisting the snap peas to the left that had her mouth watering.

The man on the second floor looked up in surprise.

"Hi, I'm Eve", she said.

"I'm Mike", he answered.

"Thank God", she replied. "If you had said your name was Adam I think I would have slugged you."

“Let me show you around.”

21 comments:

JR's Thumbprints said...

Nice approach to a dire circumstance. Kind of like "The Road" --only an escalator instead.

Sameera Ansari said...

Scary circumstances.Glad she survived!

Lena said...

interesting.. and liked the bit of humour in the end. good piece :)

Anonymous said...

julie dying of tetanus...tht was nice.

JaneyV said...

Ah the importance of renewables clearly shown here! The acceptance of the horror and Eve's determination to survive is told so gently. I love the humour at the end. It is, after all, the human quality that gets us through the worst of times.

Rachel Green said...

Good storytelling. I liked the humour and the detail of Julie.

Catherine Vibert said...

You're talking to my heart. Let's have solar panels now! ;-) Nice writing.

BernardL said...

Very entertaining

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

imaginative and creative - and very
well written

Anonymous said...

I agree with Bernard - very entertaining - and I was thinking the same thing- if Mike's name had been Adam, I would have been chagrined. :)

laughingwolf said...

great wee tale, love the humor, too :)

Sarah Hina said...

I like this Eden. Not created from something supernatural or by the hand of fate, but from distinctly human ingenuity and a dogged persistence. Fantastic interpretation!

Nice execution, too. :)

Unknown said...

Loved the details.

Meghan said...

I love how she was so relieved his name wasn't Adam at the end! Well done. :)

Anonymous said...

loved your story... once we learn how to ride we never forget... like the bike aspect in the middle of the end... and eve and mike excellent choice... as an avid gardener yes, it is a dream w/my eyes open...

jaz said...

I liked the part about wanting to taste orange juice--great detail. And I loved the ending!

Tiffany said...

I like your originality. Great ending too.

PJD said...

I like the world you've drawn. I have to say, though, I'd prefer the ending without the overt reference to Adam.

Unknown said...

the earth will somehow survive after the planets align... i like the flicker of hope you've given us here.

jana

Esther Avila said...

nice details and good writing

Anonymous said...

Great job with pacing, entertainment value, technical skill, and voice!

Thanks for being a wonderful part of the contest!