World Of A Young Girl

Everyone today thinks of it as a dream place. A place almost everybody knows as a place where all wishes come true. Still, I can't help but smile at them, smile at their blessed ignorance. Because I know the hellish truth about it. I know what a terrible, dangerous, dark place it is. And I again feel what a mercy it is not to know about some things— because not everything on this Earth is for everyone, and it is better to stay ignorant of some things. When I first completed the necessary processes, I couldn't help feeling something on my back, because I couldn't forget the vile things people spoke about the place. Still, suppressed excitement won over that natural alarm, and I felt too confident to keep myself safe from bad things.  The first few days went well. I used to go and spend quite some time there. I met several new people, who were all nice and friendly. I always tried to prove myself and quite succeeded in that— in no time at all I got a bunch of good friends who...

Third place winner in ClimateScience Global Community Story Contest, September 2022 Waking up in my grass bed, I winced in pain. I looked at my body. I barely had any golden colour left on my skin. I know, I don’t have much time. Perhaps this very day I’ll drift to peace. So I’m relating the story of my life. Long ago, it wasn’t like this. We lived happily here, hopped around to catch insects, and danced in the rain. The mountain was a paradise for us then. But everything began to change. The weather began to get drier and drier. There was hardly any rain; if any, it brought only more heat. In that foul weather, a deadly fungus began to grow quickly, spreading an epidemic in our population. My parents, siblings, friends all perished to that fungal disease. But I’m not heartbroken. Because I know, I’ll be reunited with them very soon. Everybody in our colony is gone. Perhaps I’m the last survivor of the golden toad species. But I know what has brought this disaster. My best friend told ...