Breathe Gently

An introduction to a world with no oxygen, and the survival and story of a boy.

Imagine a world full of nature; no big dirty factories, spewing smoke into the atmosphere. Only the sight of a swarm of birds waving from the skies. A sunshine that beams yellow rays across the glistening waters of the ocean. 100 men chopping trees for wood,  200 men planting seeds for good.

This is where the imagination comes to an end. This world will never exist, at least not in my lifetime. Unless something miraculous happens right now! The trees here don’t grow like they used to before. Spring used to be the most beautiful time of year, with the apple trees bearing green and red fruit, the blossom falling from the trees leaving pink and white petals, all over the pavement that wound its way up to the little rose garden before the vine covered wood cabin, that sat alone in the hillside.

The trees, now they look dead, just as they would in winter. Except, its summer, right in the peak, no petals on the trees it’s quite a dismal sight. It all started in the south, the crops were failing to harvest, year after year, then the trees stopped blooming in all parts of the world and the result of no trees, is no oxygen. The heat makes it harder, and the world has turned into something out of a Hollywood movie. 

The air is getting thinner, I have to do something soon or I’m going to suffocate. The hospitals have already been raided for the oxygen tanks. My mind is chaotic with thought, trying to find a solution to this problem and then I see a colour I haven’t seen in a while. Green!

In the distance the colours are blinding, could I have found somewhere not yet affected by, well whatever it is that has caused all this. I run in desperation to discover myself  in a small field with one thin tree, no ordinary tree. It’s bark a beautiful red, leaves orange and yellow, something strange about this tree I think to myself in distrust. As I step closer to it, the grass below my feet starts to grow and curl upwards, I step back a couple of times, but then realise I can breath. Such a satisfying feeling. 

I see a lake to my right, water smashing of the rocks creating enormous splashes, they get me soaked as I look up to see a huge waterfall. I decide it would be a good idea to try cool down while I am here. I squat on the ground by the lake and reach my hands into the crystal clear water. ARGGH! I jump up, pull my hand from the water and stare at it as it turns bright red, the water is hot, boiling hot. 

Half of the people that lived here, the stronger ones went out on a search to try and find a safe place to set up a new life, somewhere with plants and oxygen.The rest of us the weaker ones, were ordered by the militia to stay here and wait for someone to come back with information of a safe place to go. The problem with orders is that when people can’t breathe, they just don’t care. So most of the people that were left here have ran away. I’ll never know if they made it somewhere safe. This is my home and always will be, I always wanted to leave but now I’m going to die here, I’m glad I never left, and so I just hope they made it somewhere they can say the same. 

The moon rises up into the sky, the shadows of night cast over the land. The air chills quickly. I try the water again to wash, this time, ice cold fresh water, I splash it over my face, and back and I soak my scorched hand.

I decide to sleep by the tree, but realise that I’m going to need some warmth, because it’s bloody freezing!

Luckily, lots of dead trees means, lots of firewood. I grab my axe and start chopping down trees for firewood. You may be wandering why I have an axe with me, well it is for this exact reason. I’ve been doing this for nearly 4 months now, at least, I think that’s how long it’s been, sort of lose track of time when everyday is spent looking for a living tree to sleep next to. 

Every day there are less and less trees and there is less and less oxygen, I don’t know how many more days left I have, but I know it’s not many.

Author's Note

Ignore grammar problems, this is just a draft, would you read more?