There are no clean ways to kill a carcass while nude, ankle-deep in mud, surrounded by flies, with no tools. I will not try to dress up the occasion. I’ve dragged the carcass up the hill to a flatter plain with thicker mud. I lay down fronds of the nearby barrel-shaped plants, along with some […]
It looks like a thinner-skinned cousin to a crocodile, though it’s only the size of a dog. Its eyes are on the top of its head, unshielded by thick skin. It reminds me also of a salamander, but somewhat larger. Its jaw is rounded like an alligator, though its teeth are small. It emerges from […]
The sun’s finished rising. The air is thick with humidity, stale from the excesses of CO2. As I wander down the decline, I see conifer trees through the mist. I tread over pine cones the size of my hand. There are short, stumpy trees, barrel-like in the trunk with fronds of evergreen leaves. The trees […]
A cool night has given way to the humidity of a tropical day. I feel the air thicken with humidity and insects as the sky breaks from a star-struck black to a warm azure. As I lay there on my back I mark the gradients of darkness. There is a noticeable distinction between the sky […]
The stars are bright as diamonds. I cannot say it any other way. As my eyes open, all I can see is stars. There is no great canopy near to hide them. There is no artificial light to drown them out. There is only their shining brightness illuminating the night. Off to the periphery of […]
Travel down the decline was as expected, at least at first. I had not accounted for the mud being so slippery, for the absence of visual cues, and the changing consistency of the mud. I accordingly fell to my current position after losing my footing some ten or so meters into my journey. The ferns […]
I press on. The first true landmark I encounter is a large gray boulder approximately twice my height. It is climbable, and I climb it swiftly. From an elevated position I can see my cave. I have traveled approximately half a kilometer, by my estimate. My path is invisible through the shrubs. This is not […]
There is no path but the path that I make. I therefore pay it special attention as I proceed. My surroundings are an untended garden of greenery. There is little more to say of it than this. Their height is nearly two meters on average. They are of different specie, but homogeneous in that no […]
I feel a particular kinship with the light now. The sun does more than hang overhead. It is without distractions. It is the only source of energy. It is the only source of life. All motive force descends from what is above. I fear that I’m becoming philosophical. It’s the lack of urgency in the […]
I am in a cave. The cave is shallow, no more than 5 meters from mouth to rear. Its inside is worn smooth by wind and water. There are animal droppings of various sizes. It’s sweltering hot, even in the dark. I sit up and let the heat and light absorb me. The light arrives […]