Under the Mango Tree: 101 Tales (1)

OBSERVATIONS

Challenge No.15 - Heat Wave.

It keeps getting hotter, and things are also getting weirder. Write a scene or story that describes the strange things happening the hotter it gets.

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Living the life of a modern West Indian had finally become too much for Roy and it had triggered PTSD in him. Roy was no soldier; he wasn't even a police officer. Roy was an Accountant. Fearing for her husband Rita had made the decision that he insisted saved his life. She'd made the unilateral decision and moved them out of Castries City, into a Log Cabin, in the heights of Anse la Raye. Close enough to an urban centre but far enough from civilization. On occasion, Rita would head to the town to sell their crops.

"How's it out there?" Roy would ask.

"Hot." She'd reply.

One hot night the couple sat under the stars. "People think that living off-grid means you're living in a cave and have fallen off the planet. But not so. There is a heatwave on and the forest is saying so." Roy said.

"The European heatwave of 2003* the hottest since 1540*, was a warning that few took note of. Including us." Rita sipped her wine.

"I suspect the great die-off has begun." He postulated.

"Why the gloom and doom, Roy. It's a clear night, the moon is out, we can see the stars, the sounds of the night are a lullaby. What's wrong? You okay?"

He put his wine glass down, then stood. "Come."

For a moment Rita watched Roy walk away. Then did as she had been told. He was heading for his workshop located under their home. By the time she entered, Roy had the bottles lined up. Rita entered and approached cautiously. She picked up one bottle then another going down the line. "A six-legged toad? A hairless bat? Oh my god, are those wings on that snake?! Roy! What the hell is this!"

"They were already dead. But I see live ones out there and more. It's the heat. The planet is too hot. The Lucian Parrot has moved higher up the mountain. We will have too soon."

Rita studied the rest of the specimens. "It's like Dr Moreau's Lab."

"I like to walk in the forest. It's relaxing. It gives me peace. Unless I'm on a hunt for wild pigs, sheep or goats; I don't bother the creatures and they don't bother me."

"I know."

"But lately I've been seeing the change in the forest. The leaves are brown from water stress, the place is going silent as the wildlife leave for higher ground and now these."

"We'll move too. Meanwhile, maybe now the wealthy nations will take note."

"I doubt. Drug Barons, Robber Barons, even Royal Barons know that money cannot buy happiness and it certainly cannot buy love. What they now need to understand is the many other things that money cannot buy; like time, it cannot turn it back either, and whereas money can be used to extend life, death will not be bribed nor will it be stopped."

"Nor can it be eaten," Rita added.

© 15 March 2022

* True event.

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