Sunday Scribblings: Existing and Living

For Sunday Scribblings, and the prompt is "Revolution".

Sunday Scribblings

I took the earth-goes-around-sun definition of "revolution", and here's a little fantasy nugget:

image by 2753productions on deviantart


The other world revolved around the sun in exactly 12 hours, and we looked at the people there and pitied them.

There were six hours for sleep and six hours for work, and no time for leisure. There were no dogs on leashes being walked by its owners and no galleries full of art connoisseurs blabbering about symmetry and surrealism. There were no parties that went on till the morning and no time to learn the names of the constellations. Once they had beautiful names and shone with the majesty of their mythology, but now they were just stars in an unordered cosmos. There were no beautiful ponds of koi fish as there was no time to admire them, and birthday cakes were simple things with no butter-cream or chocolate. Weddings were quick affairs and dreams often had to be cut short for the sake of life. Books were short and had to be read at the workplace or in quick snatches just before sleep. Dads had no time to play ball with their sons and Moms had no time to knit. Girls never learned how to slow waltz and boys knew only to peck, not kiss. Library books caught dust and the librarian didn’t have enough time to dust them. There were no serenades and no gondolas under the moon, no opera or acid-tossing rock concerts. There was no time to dance with gypsies or run through the waves, no circus elephants dressed in red or festivals that celebrated only mangoes. There were no long walks through foggy parks or stolen moments under gas lamps. Friends didn’t meet for pizza and old men didn’t meet to discuss the affairs of the world.


The other world revolved around the sun in exactly 12 hours and the people there were adapted to it. They didn’t miss what we had because they never had them, but still we looked at them and pitied them because their lives had no magic.


The other world revolved around the sun in exactly 12 hours, and those 12 hours were the gap between “existing” and “living”.

Comments

  1. Jae RoseSeptember 9, 2012 at 10:27 AM

    What a dark world that is..living is always the lighter side of the moon..I hope we all taste it a little..lovely write..and your site is brilliant..Jae

    ReplyDelete
  2. AltonianSeptember 9, 2012 at 11:55 AM

    Et in Arcadia, Ego.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Josie Two ShoesSeptember 9, 2012 at 2:03 PM

    I love the wisdom presented in this tale, the difference between living and existing so clearly depicted. People often dwell that way in this world too, more sadly, they often fail to notice. A very enticing read!

    ReplyDelete
  4. joanneSeptember 9, 2012 at 2:21 PM

    love this scary tale of a possible future......belongs in the annals on the shelf between Soylent Green and Twilight Zone....fabulous....you must be a sci-fi fan too....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Old EggSeptember 9, 2012 at 4:50 PM

    Curiously I didn't share your conception, as you applied earth's reasoning to a planet that would develop their own answer to a shorter day, 4 hours work, 4 hours play and 4 hours sleep perhaps? Perhaps their lives are fuller, pleasure and pain quickly over and dealt with but with the pleasurable parts coming back sooner! Perhaps there were no fat people on that planet there would less time to stuff themselves with surplus calories (oops! kilojoules). I imagine young lovers parting, whispering to each other "Not long now and we will see each other again tomorrow and that is twice as quick as on earth! Aren't we lucky!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 30, 2012 at 10:22 AM

      Wow, what a great comment. It's not that I didn't think of doing it positively, the fact that the people may learn to exist beautifully in 12 hours did occur to me. But the thing about speculative fantasy is that you choose one version. So I stuck to the version that would make the people on earth appreciate their lives more. You'd think after so many years, Rowling's wizards would develop a more comfy means of transport than broomsticks. But then that's the beauty of fantasy.

      Delete
  6. DMSSeptember 16, 2012 at 9:41 AM

    Loved the picture that went along with the post. A fascinating idea of a planet with a different revolution. I also liked hearing what Oldegg had to say about the positive spin on a revolution that was 12 hours. Lots to think about!
    ~Jess

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 30, 2012 at 10:25 AM

      Thanks, Jess. And thanks to OldEgg again for the comment- it fits in so beautifully with the post.

      Delete

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