The Mysterious Journey - Tamar

Holy shit, where am I? What happened?

I woke up this morning to a brand new world. Don’t know what happened when I slept – maybe I died, but this doesn’t look much like heaven to me. And while it’s a bit warmer, it just isn’t hot enough to be the other place. Who knows?

“Hey, you’re new here, aren’t you?”

I turned around, and saw this old-timer, leaning on a stick and squinting at me.

“Yeah – I guess so, but where am I? I don’t even know how I got here.” As I spoke, I realized I was probably still asleep and this was just a crazy dream. A thunder-like roar shook the ground as I spoke, but my new acquaintance seemed not to notice it at all.

"Just a bit farther south, is all,” replied the old guy. “Find a place to squat, but go east or west of here. Here in the south it tends to be a bit of a tight squeeze at times. Actually, the North West is probably the best way for you to go. There’s been a lot of newbies arriving lately, you might even find someone you know there.”

Still puzzled, with tons of questions, I headed in the direction he suggested. Uphill all the way, with a few bumps and hollows here and there, which were great when I needed a rest. The thunder roared sporadically, and even though I couldn't see any rivers, I could hear the merry tinkle of streams and gurgling waterfalls every now and then. Sure enough, after what seemed miles of walking, I saw more weary travellers ahead.

“Hey!” I shouted, “Wait up!”

Imagine my surprise when I caught up to the group and found several folks from home.

“Do you know what’s going on?” I panted.

“No, not really.” I was surprised to see it was actually an old friend of mine who answered, someone who had disappeared two weeks ago. In fact, on closer inspection, I found quite a few familiar faces in the group.

“Don’t mind if I join you guys?” I asked.

“Nah, the more the merrier,” someone called out.

So off we wandered, a slow-moving group of lost folks, united in their common goal of finding a new home in this vast territory.

(Note from author: As you grow older, do you notice the backs of your hands show tendons, veins and arteries more than ever? It’s a scientific fact that the fat that usually pads the backs of these hands tends to disappear with age. Scientists may not know why, or where, it goes, but I have it all figured out. It goes to your butt.)