(no subject)
On a surprisingly warm, but overcast winter afternoon Katata stood staring at the soil under his feet. his attention was focused ont he plans for the next planting season when he would make his first attempt at growing crops. He considered the difficulty of the location as well has his inexperience and ground his teeth in deep thought. Crops had not been grown here in centuries and despite his studies, he knew very little about them.
His attention waned as he felt a surge of heat in the omnipresent cigar hanging out of his mouth. Katata examined it with disdain as he noticed it was almost finished and he would have to return to his distant farm house to acquire a replacement. He adjusted his trousers and felt the familiar pistol holstered below the small of his back. Though retired from the military, he felt naked without it.
Katata knelt down and grasped a handful of dirt as his thoughts returned to farming and the land. As the dirt sifted through his fingers he tried to remember what this place was once called. Near the turn of the millennium this East European plain had been the site of one of the world's worst disasters. The land was so poisoned with radiation that solar flares ignited on the surface. However, centuries later, the radiation dissipated and scientists deemed the land workable once again. Katata gathered another handful and thought harder. The moist earth sifted through his fingers and he uttered the ancient word, "Chernobyl".
Katata stood up and dusted off his hands. He wiped them on his trousers for extra measure and took one last look around his new home and at what would be the next chapter in his life. The soil had been recently tilled and looked totally barren. The flat gray sky expounded on the bleakness and Katata took a final drag on his dying cigar to help draw away the feeling of discouragement that scenery compelled.
As he began his return journey, Katata noticed the large ferris wheel on the horizon. A monument dedicated to the town which was abandoned centuries ago after the cataclysm. Suddenly, the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the panorama. The ferris wheel began to glimmer and the bleak landscape was bathed in a golden glow beneath the persisting flat gray clouds. Katata squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brilliance and he noticed the landscape now appeared more surreal and bleak than ever. And as soon as the sunshine appeared, it was once again blocked by the colorless clouds. Katata chewed on his dead cigar and continued home.
His attention waned as he felt a surge of heat in the omnipresent cigar hanging out of his mouth. Katata examined it with disdain as he noticed it was almost finished and he would have to return to his distant farm house to acquire a replacement. He adjusted his trousers and felt the familiar pistol holstered below the small of his back. Though retired from the military, he felt naked without it.
Katata knelt down and grasped a handful of dirt as his thoughts returned to farming and the land. As the dirt sifted through his fingers he tried to remember what this place was once called. Near the turn of the millennium this East European plain had been the site of one of the world's worst disasters. The land was so poisoned with radiation that solar flares ignited on the surface. However, centuries later, the radiation dissipated and scientists deemed the land workable once again. Katata gathered another handful and thought harder. The moist earth sifted through his fingers and he uttered the ancient word, "Chernobyl".
Katata stood up and dusted off his hands. He wiped them on his trousers for extra measure and took one last look around his new home and at what would be the next chapter in his life. The soil had been recently tilled and looked totally barren. The flat gray sky expounded on the bleakness and Katata took a final drag on his dying cigar to help draw away the feeling of discouragement that scenery compelled.
As he began his return journey, Katata noticed the large ferris wheel on the horizon. A monument dedicated to the town which was abandoned centuries ago after the cataclysm. Suddenly, the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the panorama. The ferris wheel began to glimmer and the bleak landscape was bathed in a golden glow beneath the persisting flat gray clouds. Katata squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brilliance and he noticed the landscape now appeared more surreal and bleak than ever. And as soon as the sunshine appeared, it was once again blocked by the colorless clouds. Katata chewed on his dead cigar and continued home.