Lotus

A short story by @kikiavicenna

This young lady often asked me about myself. About the lonely blue speckle at the edge of seemingly infinite universe.

When she was younger, she used to meet me by the shores of a murky bay, where the weird smell of trash hid the fragrance of the sea winds. She used to stare at the sky of gold and blue through the windows of high buildings, or near a crowded airport when no one seemed to care too much about how time flies.

Then she flew to a land where all the people gathered, searching for diamonds and hoping to be rich and famous. There, she used to meet me in the rain, on the balcony of the class or through the square glass windows.

On sunny days she would stand as the breeze blew through, or sip her coffee and read under a big mango tree.

She could see that I've changed, and I could see how she's changed too.

She's grown up now, but her questions seem not to stop, not even decrease in frequency.

And here she stands in front of me, on the vast green plains near the swamp filled with pink and white water lilies, as the gentle wind begins to blow.

"Dear Nature, I had seen what's going on over there. In the land where I once lived, where all the people gathered; in a town which no one here seems to care about; and on the island where the seas are beautiful. One of your favorite places in this blue speckle. What happened?"

I just can't give her an answer. Humans say it's a sign of The Last Day*, or consequence of people living in islands**, or it is purely for my anger.

I can be angry too. But that isn't really what I meant.

"Is it beyond seismic and vulcanic phenomenon? And the distant land -- is it because of we humans*** too?"

I still can't give her an exact answer.

"Alright," she walks away in sadness as golden sunlight rays showers down, "I can't speculate. But I'll wait for the answer to come."

Ah, Lotus, I can't give you an answer, because humans may say anything about what happens in me, there across the seas from where you live. Even humans use it as a chance for certain intentions, I think you've known it.

I know you believe in God, Lotus. And this is my only answer:

"I follow God's will. There must be a reason behind why everything happens in me, bringing suffering and damage on humans like you. But as we're both only creatures of God, the answer remain a mystery. Only God Himself knows the exact reason."

So upon hearing my answer, Lotus turns back to me with her sad smile before she finally leaves me and goes back home.

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Notes:

* Rumors spread about the date 26 as a disastrous date and many people try to link it with a Holy Qur'an verse, also numbered 26 (but I forgot on which chapter) which tells about disasters

** This refers to a statement by a member of Indonesian House of Representatives after the Mentawai tsunami

*** The flash flood at Wasior is probably caused by illegal logging too