The Ignoramus

A Story by lepetitprince

ignoramus

/ˌignəˈrāməs/

Noun

An ignorant or stupid person.

Synonyms

know-nothing

I am staring at my laptop screen, with the word processor up and running and its cursor blinking, as if teasing me that I have absolutely nothing in my writing canvas. Thinking of ideas to try and develop into something more, I further stormed and racked my brain, trying to find something. And like a miner that struck something hard after digging endless hours in the unforgiving earth, I was very pleased with what I thought.

Without me knowing it, mysteries and rainbows and storms and wonders have already been filling my mind at an unusually fast pace, even faster than anyone could imagine. Characters so life-like and places conjured up out of thin air grazed the border of my imagination, begging to be welcomed into a dark chasm filled with nothing but incomplete ideas and self-undermined stories, all well from the heart.

I erased what I previously typed, all of it. Then stood up and paced nervously, thinking of other things to write about. Myself, others, fiction, truth? All of a sudden, the ground beneath me opened, and I saw one of the most terrifying things man could’ve ever seen: people burning in a lake of fire. All I could hear were their screaming for help and mercy. Slowly, the very ground where I am standing on started to crumble. Bit by bit, until all that’s left of me is a single ledge where both of my feet were tightly scrunched. When the final pieces of rock gave way, all I felt was falling.

In terror, I closed my eyes and hoped for the worse. Instead of boiling fire and brimstone, cool, calm waters enveloped me in a big bang. Looking around, I was in the middle of an ocean with the sun up above, warming me gently amidst the coolness of the ocean waters. Out of nowhere, a big bubble came from below and encased me, bringing me to depths I, and most people, have never seen before. Magnificent views of coral reefs, colorful fishes hiding about, and the amazing diversity of animals that you could see down under were presented in astonishing clarity: jellyfishes, clown fish, sea anemone, sea urchins, crabs, shrimps, and all those little critters. Hearing a rumble, I looked behind me and saw a great baleen whale that is humongous in size. Before I knew it, it opened its gigantic mouth and devoured me whole. The bubble popped and I heard the rush of the water from the whale’s mouth towards the throat and eventually the stomach. I held on for dear life at its big, slimy tongue, but I eventually slid down. I screamed with all my lungs out. I thought I would never see light again. But I was wrong.

I eventually woke up to a beautiful meadow. One side was adorned by wheat, while the other half was full of rows upon rows of lavender. And on the farthest corner of the field was a nice, big, green patch of grass. It didn’t make sense for all of these kinds of plants to be growing side by side, but it looked so magnificent that no one would even dare question Mother Nature’s reason for it. Behind me, I saw titanic trees, rising up above, as if almost to cover the ground from sunlight. I heard the wonderful, harmonious chirping of the birds and the cool, gentle breeze of Zephyr, almost making me giggle because of ticklish sensations. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I heard a rumble.

One by one, from the farthest distance my naked eye can cover, these once-gigantic, standing-proud trees went down one by one. Gradually, as I stepped away from the forest back into the meadow, I saw the trees go down one by one. One by one. One by one. Behind me, I saw the sheer amount of wheat bow down and dry up. The lavenders are slowly fading from their once-brilliant purple hue and turned into a somewhat grayish tint. The grass covering east to west slowly wilted. Second after second, the was-perfect meadow turned into a more familiar environment. From where the trees once proudly stood, I saw tiny structures being built. In no time, these structures grew, not only in height and build, but also in number. The colorful plain was replaced by a monochromatic scheme of black, white, and grey. It slowly turned into what and where I’ve been raised: a city. The ground me shifted and suddenly rose, like a pillar of a Roman amphitheater being built. The landscape slowly took its form. I saw roads rise from where the plants formerly grew, buildings from where the trees stood.

Until all of a sudden, I opened my eyes and realized I fell asleep on my table, with my laptop still on with my word processor and its ever-blinking cursor staring at me. I looked at my apartment window and saw that people were walking at a fast pace, wanting to go to work or home hurriedly, taking for granted the wonderful scientific and cultural advancement we have made for ourselves, and yet, it’s taking its toll on nature. Taxis and buses are polluting the streets. People smoking and drinking at the height of day. Is this what has become of mankind?

Everywhere, in the news, outside, or even in our home, ignorance remains. Be it from the law, not taking a moment to help others who need to be helped, or our way of living that needs to be seriously reconsidered. Man has forgotten to look back and cherish what he has achieved. He only strives to move forward and find new things and not be happy and content with what he already has now.

Maybe this is a good idea. This will be my starting point. Not many will like it, but it is an inconvenient truth.

ignoramus

/ˌignəˈrāməs/

Noun

An ignorant or stupid person.

Synonyms

know-nothing