The Voices of Time

| by Anonymous

There was an abandoned town where the grass was green, where the sky was blue,

and no one ever saw. There was an abandoned city where the sun was warm, where

the water was cool, and no one ever felt. There was an abandoned planet where the

roses grew, where the mountains stood, and no one ever breathed.

In the gentle breeze and passing time, silence and sound filled the empty atmosphere.

All was calm, all was peaceful, but nothing was ever anything else.

Structures and roads stood in a city with its name forgotten, all completely abandoned.

Vines like serpents wrapped around each rusted metal rod and each crumbled wall.

Rain gently sprinkled around the city and tapped a familiar rhythm, yet there were no

ears to hear it.

Centuries ago, the cities existed in dry land, the air the color of mud. Sounds were

everywhere, all from voices, but only voices who complained. Everything was a protest,

whine, or sigh. Yet they only did nothing, just waited as time flowed through. After a

while the sounds became unbearable.

So they took to the skies. They ventured farther and farther, into places where no one

else had ever gone before. A new world, they said; a new world where everything was

fine and nothing ever died. Problems were forgotten, but only because they fled. They

fled away, only because they couldn’t handle the sounds of voices without hands that

listened and acted.

Fools, they were. Now there were no voices in the city because they took them to the

skies with them. People are awful creatures, they said, yet who was to blame? Why

can’t everyone be good and happy?

In the new world, a world they called Haven, the cities were crowded. It was mostly

identical to their previous planet and people soon adjusted. During the period called

day, they worked and developed while following the rhythm called time. At the period

called night, they rested and escaped from the sorrows they had hid from everyone

else. The people smiled, telling each other that this time they would do it right. Of

course, they thought, the second time’s the charm!

Yet was it really only the second time?

They forgot the past, but not because they learned from it. History was history, they

said; there’s no use dwelling on what came before.

After many, many years on Haven, more people crowded the roads. More structures

were built, and soon there was no more room for fields that grew plants right out of the

dirt. This is fine, they told each other, since we have our advanced technology! They

reassured themselves, saying the problems showing themselves at every moment were

small. The rulers of Haven told the people that now they were a new world, and that

new worlds shouldn’t keep old ways. They abandoned the fields and took to new

methods, ones they claimed were much better than before. They asked themselves,

why should people need to eat anyway?

Centuries passed by. The population became unbearable. Land was little, and even

after they went to the sea, the sea became crowded too. Even after they changed their

bodies to withstand the heat of the day and live with the small number of supplies,

problems reemerged or new ones came to light.

Why, they exclaimed, it shall be a good idea to take away suffering! Even if we have

problems, as long as we’re happy, things should be alright. They didn’t, though. The few

bright ones left still convinced others to face the problems head on. The only issue was

that they were greatly outnumbered, and soon their voices became overpowered by the

mindless.

Soon, the cities existed in dry land, the air the color of mud. Sounds were everywhere,

all from voices, but only voices who complained. Everything was a protest, whine, or

sigh. Yet they only did nothing, just waited as time flowed through. After a while the

sounds became unbearable.

So they took to the skies again, this time farther away. They brought their old ways into

a new world, one they called Shield, their voices telling others that this time they would

do things right. The second time’s the charm, they thought. Again, they repeated their

pattern along with time, maintaining their bright, yet ignorant look. Haven was just

another word, sounds strung together.

Back in the abandoned cities, time still flowed like the sea, which was empty of people

yet the bluest it had ever been. Day and night crept by, yet there was no working nor

escaping. There was only the sound of the gentle tap of rain and the cool breeze that

had finally blown again after many, many years.

There was an abandoned town where the grass was green, where the sky was blue,

and no one ever saw. There was an abandoned city where the sun was warm, where

the water was cool, and no one ever felt. There was an abandoned planet where the

roses grew, where the mountains stood, and no one ever breathed.