“This is Ryan. He was spending too much time outdoors and is now hospitalized and is fighting for his life. Inhaling too much outside air could lead to serious lung problems and many other diseases. Always wear a mask outside. Protect yourself.”
The same old commercial I hear every day. I’m sitting on my couch just watching everything that's going down. Making me feel worse. All you hear on Television these days is, breathe with protection, be careful, join the pollination crew, it's a mess. You can't go outside, you can't breathe normally.
I often imagine if I were born a long time ago how life would be. I watch all these documentaries that teach you how life was way back when people had the choice to actually go outside whenever they wanted. Maybe if I lived that long ago I would see a bee. That would be amazing.
I like learning about these extinct creatures called Bees. Albert Einstein hundreds of years ago ago once said, “if the Bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.” Which is not true because here I am, living.
With the thought of bees still in my head, I get up to go into the kitchen. My Google assistant Alexa 10.5 turns on the lights, and opens the fridge. Apparently before the bees faced extinction, there were way more foods than there are now. But now it's dull, tasting like nothing.
As I'm walking back to the couch I feel my feet vibrating a little. I shake it off like it was nothing and continue walking. No, wait… the floor is vibrating… I suddenly went into panic. I bolt to the underground room, meant for these types of emergencies.
With every frantic step I took, I could feel the ground getting shakier and shakier, I get to the cold metal door, open it, get in. close the door, and frantically climb down the ladder, my shaking hands barely grabbing onto the cold bars. I finally get to the ground. It is cold and dry down here. I sit myself in the corner, wondering if the people I love are safe.
I grab my iphone X20 and pull up the security cameras. I screamed. I could not believe what I saw...
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Submitted to the First Page student writing challenge.The challenge? We asked students to give us a glimpse of the great Canadian novel of the year 2167. They wrote the first page of a book set 150 years in the future, with the protagonist facing an issue that's topical today and set the scene for how it's all playing out in a century and a half.How will the world leaders of today impact the world of tomorrow? Who will be the biggest name in pop culture in the future? How will climate change impact the protagonist's life, where he or she lives, the struggles he or she is facing? (Oh, and speaking of he/she — does gender even exist in 150 years?)The book could be from any literary genre, from mystery or thriller to literary fiction, from adventure or romance to satire or sci-fi.
