Two Possibilities
San Jose, CA
2020, Junior, Creative Writing
The busy streets of Washington, D.C. teem with excited tourists; the acrid smell of sweat, heat, and greasy food floats through the swollen air. The sun bears down richly upon the White House’s manicured lawns, the heat branding sunburns among the unsuspecting people. A lone figure sits by the worn sidewalk, a pile of flyers by her left, a handwritten sign resting by her feet.
Save the oceans. Stop climate change. It reads.
Alexandra Glenn, preferably Alex, stretches her cramped legs, numb from sitting for hours. It is noon, and the crowds are thick, yet not one person bothers to look her way. Alex looks dejectedly at her untouched pile of flyers, her heart heavy. She wanders out into the busy street for one last attempt to give them away.
“Would anyone like a flyer?” She calls.
No one replies.
A few fruitless minutes pass, and Alex grows disappointed.
Suddenly, she is aware of a good-natured looking man walking close by. Cautious hope ignites in her chest, and Alex grabs a flyer. She shoves it in the man’s hand as he passes her, with a “Please take this flyer on climate change awareness, sir!” and a smile.
He accepts the flyer.
Alex cheers exuberantly inside her mind.
The man turns and walks away, and her pile seems as light as a feather, though Alex knows only one was taken. She watches his retreating back. Her eyes follow the stranger, observing him until he is almost out of sight.
Then, with a furtive glance behind his back, he drops the flyer. It falls, drifting from left to right, slowly. Alex stares at it in horror, sighing as the wind claims the paper, and it is swept away.
And then it was gone, with her hope.
***
ONE:
Alex walks home dejectedly. Suddenly her dream to change the world seems so unreal.
No one wanted to change.
No one cared.
She throws her sign into the trash.
The next morning was dark and wet and dreary, filled with graphite clouds. By noon, the rain was falling steadily, raindrops splashing on the sidewalks where she once sat. The streets were littered with dirty plastic bottles, discarded and sneaking towards the gutters.
But Alex couldn’t bring herself to care.
So she dropped her plastic bottle onto the ground and hopped into her car. She drove for three hours, going nowhere.
Alex shut her ears and eyes, and soon she had forgotten about change. She was the match of a bonfire, never lit. With no one to inspire, no one made a move, not until 2030, when an irreversible chain reaction of events spiked the earth.
But by then it was too late.
A plastic sign lay broken on the charred and bloody ground.
Save the oceans. Stop climate change. It read.
Too late.
***
TWO:
Alex shuffles in her leather chair.
Across from her, a skinny lady with brown hair pulled tight into a bun beams at the camera with a chipper smile.
“Good morning, Alex,” she says, and stands up to shake Alex’s hand.
Alex receives the handshake and forces a smile to match the interviewer’s bright grin. “I’m really glad to be here,” she replies. The interviewer, Rebecca Hammerson, nods.
Rebecca turns to the audience. “As you may know, this is Alexandra Glenn, a 16-year-old girl who is already advocating for action to be taken against climate change. She has spoken with world leaders, starting out striking alone outside the White House, and is now the leader of a global organization.”
Alex smiles shyly as the audience claps.
“So, why did you decide to become an activist?” Rebecca inquires, once the applause has faded away.
Alex ponders the question, and her face breaks into a grin.
“It started with a strike…”
Alex tells them her story—every adventure, every hurdle, and every twist. In the midst of it all, the audience is silent and unmoving. When she is finished, the audience slowly starts to clap.
Softly at first, then loudly.
***
Ten years later:
Alex looks outside at the flourishing ocean, glittering waves stretching to the horizon. From her vantage, she can see the endless vibrant coral reefs, teeming with kaleidoscopic fish. She can hear the laughter of children splashing in the waves, children who would never have seen the ocean if no one had cared. If she hadn’t cared.
Alex sighs contentedly, and turns away.
The ocean is finally safe.
Reflection
Reflection
The theme “Climate Hope: Transforming Crisis” was a sort of alarm bell for me. It seemed to say there was hope for the earth to stop climate change, but only if we work towards transforming the crisis, now. That inspired my work because I wanted a story that highlighted what would happen if we gave up versus what would happen if we continued to transform. While writing this piece, I felt optimistic, but also sad, because the first possibility in my story seemed very likely. We can only hope and act towards the second one. I hope viewers of my artwork use this as an alarm to help, as it was for me. Now that I know about the problems we are facing, I will cut down on driving, recycle, and make waves in my community. One day, I hope we can look at the ocean the same way Alex did ten years later.