Gaia's utopia

Rumi

“You must awaken now, from your perpetual slumber…” a serene voice echoed as I took a walk in the afterlife. I could feel myself being sucked out of this halcyon place, clinging onto the trees in trepidation. I was immersed in various whispering chants. I slipped into a trance-like state. A near-life experience. I could distinctly hear my heartbeat as the world began to spiral into kaleidoscopic patterns; I was leaving the heavenly abode into the unknown, bracing myself for the worst.

The thrilled clamour around me was now vivid. “Welcome to C-AT929,” the same voice spoke. With bated breath, I opened my eyes once again, as dust turned to breath, only to be in a brutalist concrete block. The small throng of people ogled at me, mind boggled. The person who seemingly conducted the séance was awed by his own success.  

Afraid and confounded, I quickly observed my features in the mirrored surface in front of me. I was brought into the body of a petite young woman: brown hair, blue almond eyes, rosy lips. Everything I had dreamt of. My gaze then shifted towards the crowd. My daughter was greying, and my grandchildren were all grown up. Their eyes trickled with tears, happy ones. As if they brought back a loved one.

I slowly got up on my feet to explore this labyrinth-seeming concrete jungle. Its forbidding walls frankly scared me, as if it were a prison. Was this the future architectural trend? I saw paintings, which were forged by artificial intelligence as I trudged through the hallways. It was a long walk, until I stumbled across something majestic.

It was a thriving miniature biome. Lush green waves set against the ‘sunlight’ ebbed gently with the wind. There was a myriad of flowers arranged from deep red to chrome yellow, each with an intoxicating saccharine scent. The sycamore trees stood mighty and tall whilst the shoots swayed back and forth. The birds tweeted in a symphony with the distant calls of other creatures.

The Sun was glee, spreading its light throughout. Through every life it touched. An abandoned white piano a few meters from me began to tinkle with the chilly wind’s caress. I sang to the tune of the piano, rushing towards each end of the biome. I wanted this paradise to soak in. The waterfalls cascaded into pristine aquamarine pools, hosting the tropical fishes. Maybe, this is what heaven on earth feels like. 

Tired after frolicking, I lay on the grass, viewing the multihued canvas, a gradient of orange, pink, violet, with fleecy white clouds painted on. I considered myself fortunate to experience this, to experience Eden.