Story 1

The air felt cold, sweat was dripping from his forehead, flowing down to his eyes, taking a slight turn at the point where it reached the eyelashes. The trickle started slowly at first, it ended up at his chin, hanging on for dear life, in a moment, it jumped. Many more started following what the first did, without hesitation. In 2 minutes, his face was soaked with the remnants of fear, and it seemed they are here to stay.

With all that is happening around him, he looked calm on the surface. If anyone was to say, they’d be sure this man knew what he was doing. He took careful steps towards the artifact, pausing every moment to ensure he was alone. He had to hurry, for ‘that’ might happen anytime. He thought about ‘that’, and decided to throw caution to the wind, he quickened his pace unwillingly. In a matter of minutes, the artifact was in front of him, within grasp. He heaved a sense of relief, but he knew it was yet to be over. His heart was pumping, and he knew it was the result of ‘that’, rather than fear.

He reached his hand into the chest, and felt his fingers wrap around what seemed to be a smooth and circular object. With adrenaline pumped throughout his body, he wasn’t sure what it could be, he pulled the object out of the chest, slowly and cautiously. He sensed his body weakening, his hands turning flaccid. His heart started to pound ever more stronger as the seconds faded by, he knew it was time, and ‘that’ has taken effect. He knew his death was of no significance to anyway. After years of alcohol and paid sex, he came to realize that all form of love has left his soul. But,he tried to reject the numbness spreading through the body like a wildfire, but he couldn’t.

He was poisoned, almost 25 hours ago. ‘That’ had been injected with the pretense of a cure. A cure that would have removed the disease that has plagued his for years. He had been given new time, and he wanted to do something good with his time. He lifted himself from the chair and turned to thank the medical personal. Covered with a surgical mask, he couldn’t manage to see his face entirely.   The doctor smiled, and somehow, he knew something was wrong. The smile was different, not one of satisfaction and glory, it was something more sinister, evil, and he feared for the worst.

He was told the drug administered had been for another patient, and he had 25 hours to live. He felt betrayed, frayed by the news, he collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. However, he knew he had something to do, something important that he has kept from the world every since the age of 23. He pulled himself up, dried his tears and started walking. He knew he was being betrayed, but if he did not do what he was supposed to do, the world could suffer. He had to be quick, or else they could catch up. He opened his stride, and headed to the place where it all began.

The intermittent rain started again, with drops of water hitting the window pane of the building. He was already lying on the floor, and there wasn’t much time left. He felt the object in his hand, and attempted to turn his line of vision towards it. His body was already not under the control of his mind, and he remained motionless, however, still very much alive.

He head a footstep, quick and firm, and it was getting closer. He did not try to move his head towards the direction of the noise. Another man stood beside him, and bent down. He pressed his forehead onto the chest of the man lying down, and began to sob. This happened for 2 minutes, he lifted his gaze, and moved it towards the man’s hand. Reaching out his hand, he drew a line on the object with his index finger, admiring the smooth finish. He pried the object out of the man’s hand, he did not expect the grip to be this strong, nonetheless, he has now acquired what he had wanted for so long. He pressed onto the bridge of his horned rim glasses, attempting to position it, but to no avail. Giving off a sound, he stood up and left the man to rest.

Lying down, numb, and shocked. He felt his heartbeat weakening, and life slowly left him. He closed his eyes, and was hoping that images would flash past his eyes, like a memory of his life, but it didn’t happen. He took his last breadth, and his body stopped functioning.

As the cold wind blows.

With his gaze fixed upon his weapon of choice, he started the mundane left to right motion. This task was given to him years ago. You could see his weathered complexion, telling us of all the trials and tribulations he had overcame before. He peered into the distance, and tells himself that time will bring him closer to his goal. He puts his head back down and continues his routine.

I watched him from a distance, feeling pity yet happiness for him. At such an old age, he still has to dedicated himself to manual labor. I thought to myself, where has all the compassion gone to? The old man continued his duties, gazing into the distance every now and then. A vehicle brushed passed him, a machine seemingly futuristic, driven by a much younger man. The irony begins, he thought to himself, why did man create machines only to take his job away?

I continued watching the old man, how I wished that he is to be enjoying his life at his age, filled with laughter from his grandchildren and the smell of delicious food made by his homely wife. I pictured the same thing for myself in my head, again, I turned towards the old man and wondered if I were to be him in the next 40 years.

The vehicle zoomed passed him again, albeit at a slower pace. This time, the young man looked at the old man, with a look that can’t be described with words. It seemed to me that he was looking at the old man with regret, thinking to himself if that were to be him in time to come, except with that help of an additional machine.

Past, present, future. All of us live in the present, however, our minds remains in the past. We are always thinking about what has gone wrong is the past, we are unable to focus on the present. The future is unpredictable, with this said, planning seems unnecessary. The key here is to ask yourself, are you living in the past, or the present.

The old man continued raking leaves as I left to continue with my duties.

We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special. – Stephen Hawking

En Español

Con su mirada prestaba atención al arma que había elegido. Empezó haciendo el movimiento de  izquierda a derecha. Hacía esa tarea desde hacia muchos años. Tenía la cara cansada  de  los recorridos a los que se había encaminado y vencido en su. Miró al cielo, y se dijo que  le faltaba una distancia hasta su objetivo. Bajó la vista y siguió haciendo lo que necesitaba. Tenía la cara cansada con las marcas de todo aquello por lo que había luchado en la vida.

Le vi desde un puesto muy lejano, me producía ambos sentimientos,  simpatía y dicha. Ya siendo mayor, todavía tenia que dedicarse al trabajo manual. Pensé que de dónde habría salido la compasión. El anciano seguía trabajando, mirando al cielo de vez en cuando. El coche le rozó  estrechamente, parecía del futuro, conducido por un hombre joven. La ironía se desenvolvió, y pensó, ¿por qué los humanos crean  aparatos sólamente para que les quiten  el trabajo.

Le seguí mirando, esperé poder disfrutar de la vida a esa edad. Ser  jubilado  es estar lleno de las risas de los nietos, y del olor de la comida cocinada por  manos  que tienen muchos años de experiencia. Me dije que la misma cosa me pasaría en el futuro. Me volví al anciano y me pregunté si en 40 años, me parecería si en 40 años sería como él.

El coche se movía a su lado de nuevo, aún mas lento. Esta vez, el adolescente miró el anuncio, una mirada que no puedo descibrir. Me parecía  que el adolescente estaba mirando al anciano con pena, preguntándose si sería igual que este anciano, excepto que tuviera un coche futurista.

El pasado, el presente, el futuro, todos viven en el presente, pero casi siempre nuestras mentes están en el pasado. Siempre estamos contemplando el pasado, nuestros fallos y nuestros errores, no podemos enfocarnos en el presente o el futuro. El futuro además,  no puede adivinarse, por eso, planificar parece inútil. La solución clave es que te preguntes si estás en el pasado,  en el presente o en el futuro.

From children to adults.

My childhood was filled with various superhero figurines and ‘build it yourself’ toys such as Lego. I remember the joy and fun I have had with them, I miss my childhood. A child looks at the world differently compared to an adult. As adults, we have been through much in life and we are taught to differentiate right from wrong. Our values are engraved into our minds, and we fear change. However, how much of what we have learnt is true, and correct? We start to work and worry about monetary matters, the light in our eyes we once had when we were kids has been extinguished from what seems to be the harshness and cruelty of the society. In this man eat man society, we are coerced into being selfish and cynical.

Imagination slowly creeps away from us as we grow older. Color fades away from this world as we eagerly accept the harshness of this society. As children, everything we see seems to be magical, we live in a world full of fairy tales and colors. We have able to entertain ourselves from the most mundane things in life. To an adult, a newspaper is strictly for reading, however, to a child, that stack of newspaper can mean hours of endless fun. You can roll the newspaper and use it as a light saber, or even shred it to pieces to build a paper snow man.

Toys are often discarded once the novelty starts to wear off. Children start to demand newer toys. Reminiscing my childhood memories brings me to the time where little girls were carrying little dolls with them everywhere they go, clutching them closely to their breast, they seem to be protecting something sacred to them. Boys could be seen with action figurines depicting the various action hero cartoons on TV, mimicking thecatch phrases wherever they go. However, as we grow older, technology catches up with us. Children are no longer giving souls to their lifeless dolls, instead, they seems to be charged by an endless supply of electrical appliances. Technology is infectious. Once taken in, it stayswith us forever. We are always chasing after the latest gadgets. The chase never ceases to end.

En Español.

Mi infancia estuvo llena de figuras de superhéroes diferentes y de juguetes como los Lego. Recuerdo la alegría y la diversión que he tenido con ellos, Extraño mi infancia. Un niño mira el mundo de manera diferente en comparación con un adulto. Como adultos, hemos pasado por mucho en la vida y nos han enseñado a distinguir el bien del mal. Nuestros valores están grabados en nuestras mentes, y nos da miedo el cambio. Sin embargo, ¿cuánto de lo que hemos aprendido es fidedigno y correcto? Empezamos a trabajar y empezamos a preocupar nos por asuntos monetarios,  la luz en nuestros ojos que una vez tuvimos cuando éramos niños se ha extinguido a causa de la dureza y crueldad de la sociedad. En esta sociedad el hombre se come al hombre, estamos obligados a ser egoístas y cínicos.

La imaginación se desliza lentamente alejándose de nosotros a medida que envejecemos. El color se desvanece lejos de este mundo tal y como aceptamos con avidez la dureza de esta sociedad. Como los niños, todo lo que vemos parece ser mágico, vivimos en un mundo lleno de cuentos de hadas y colores. Tenemos poder para entretenernos con las cosas más mundanas de la vida. Para un adulto, un periódico es estrictamente para la lectura, sin embargo, a un niño, esa pila de papel de periódico puede significar horas de diversión sin fin. Puedes enrollar el periódico y utilizarlo como si fuera un sable de luz, o incluso hacerlo pedazos para construir un muñeco de nieve de papel.

Los juguetes suelen ser rechazados una vez que la novedad comienza a desaparecer. Los niños comienzan a pedir nuevos juguetes. Rememorando mis recuerdos de infancia me trae a la época en que las niñas llevaban muñequitas con ellas dondequiera que fueran, sosteniendo las cerca a su corazón, parecía  que estaban protegiendo algo sagrado para ellas. Los niños podían ser vistos con figuras de dibujos animados de diferentes héroes de la televisión, imitando sus frases donde quiera que fueran. Sin embargo, a medida que envejecemos, la tecnología nos alcanza. Los niños ya no le dan vida a sus muñecos inertes, en cambio, parecen estar rodeados por un sin fin de aparatos eléctricos. La tecnología es contagiosa. Una vez que entra en nuestras vidas se queda con nosotros para siempre. Continuamente estamos persiguiendo los últimos gadgets. La búsqueda no cesa hasta el fin.

Hello world!

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” – Albert Einstein.