Sunrise

A red sun is rising over the land, bringing with it light and warmth, and awakening the life it sustains.Sitting on a dewy hill, far away from the man-made world, is a man. He lives parallel to that world, but is not affected by it, for it concerns him not. The man is facing the sun. The first light of that morning flickers in his eyes, almost too bright to bear, and so he rubs them incessantly, but to no avail. He is left with a large white spot obstructing the centre of his vision. But only for a while.

 There is silence.

 Then, suddenly, a great tremble shakes the earth beneath the man. Startled, he looks around him for what might have been its source. But there is nothing. He decides to climb a nearby tree and get a view from above. After some minutes he pierces the forest roof, and looks out over the land some two hundred feet below. At first he sees nothing, but then, narrowing his eyes and squinting into the distance, he sees what appears to be a great wall of water approaching. How can that be? As the water comes closer he notices that it is carrying debris with it. And not just driftwood. Houses. Cars. Streetlamps. Realising the danger he is in, he decides that there is no use in running, so he must cling to his tree, which is quite solid, and hope for the best. The water is now closing in rapidly, moving with seemingly impossible speed, and crushing everything in its path. As it begins to invade the forest, the man notices that it is taking many trees alike to the one he is in and uprooting them as easily as if they were twigs. Seeing as he now has but seconds left, he hugs the large tree trunk with all his might, holding on, quite literally, for dear life.

 The water hits with a force he could not have imagined seeing it approach. It was like being hit in the face with a slab of concrete. Ironically, moments later just that happens. He sees with clarity the wall of what must once have been a house approaching, knows that it cannot be avoided. Moments before the tree he is in joins the endless wave of destruction, it flattens him against the tree trunk much like a fly, shattering every bone in his body. Nothing remains of him but a bloody mash of bone and flesh sandwiched between stone and wood. The water rages on, flooding the forest he has called his home these past few decades, and leaving nothing behind but a barren waste.

 

There is silence.

Impressum

Texte: Jacco van Eijk
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 08.10.2013

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