What a Grotesque Thing a Rose Is

The light was peaking over the mountain as the first sun was coming in that morning. It was still quite dark. The trees rustled in the wind and animals called out. This woke Micau from his sleep. He felt the hard ground below him and the branch from a tree resting on his back that fell in the night. He opened his eyes and saw the dirt his face had laid on while he slept. It smelled different than he was used to. The air felt different to him also; it had heaviness to it.  He waved his arm through the air, still lying on his stomach, and felt the dissimilarity. He pushed himself up with his right arm and sat. As he looked around, he saw nothing familiar to him. The trees were very tall and had massive thick leaves. There was no grass, just dirt all around him. He turned around and saw the soaring mountain behind him and the dark orange sun coming up just behind it.

The sun looked as it never had. It appeared smaller and darker than ever before. Micau presumed this was a result of the enormous mountain that had been hiding it before. It wasn’t as bright to the eye either. He stared at it for some time, studying it, until he finally stood up from his resting spot in the forest and gazed at everything else around him. There was no sign of life, no man-made objects to be found. He picked up a rock. It was dark with a pattern he was not used to seeing on such an object. He walked over to a tree. The bark was thick like that of a tree from a rainforest but the environment was not wet, the ground was very compact and dry. The air was warm but not hot, a comfortable temperature, and the breeze came only so often but was refreshing for Micau when it did.

It was starting to get lighter out and he was able to see more and more. He noticed strange looking animals. He wasn’t getting enough time to get a good look at them so he just assumed they were one thing or another. He continued to walk around in the direction of the mountain but was still about 300 yards from it when he came to a large hill in a clearing of trees. Even the hill was absent of any grass. He decided he would climb to the top to get a better look and maybe figure out where he was. As he made his way up, all the while facing the mountain and the sun, he looked out and saw the top of some of the lofty trees. Others were still taller than he was. Micau gasped when he turned around and saw something shocking. In the sky there was an orange circular object coming out from behind the trees. It was as if he had seen a twin of a friend he never knew about. A second sun. He quickly turned back to the mountain and sure enough the sun he had known was still just above the peak. He blinked rapidly and once again turned around. The twin was still in the sky. He made quick movements of his head back in forth to look in both directions until he finally stopped and nervously said “What?”

Author's Note

This was written for a contest in which the story had to begin with "The light was peaking over the mountain as the first sun was coming in that morning." I played on the use of "first sun" and used it for the purpose of the plot. I may continue on with the story if there are good reviews.

Reviews

[Zakk Keller]

at first i was confused as to why everything seemed dying. the whole not being any grass thing made me think at first that maybe it was about deforestation or something like that. it was definitely a huge twist at the end and i loved it. good job!

[LesLee]

I like this approach. I enjoyed reading it though you leave me wondering what happens next.
Good job!

[C Gilliam]

Thank you for your comment. I'm very glad you liked it and I always appreciate feedback on my writing. Like I said in the Author's note, I might keep writing if I get more reviews and comments. I do plan on it though.