Wish I was there…

This is a piece of flash fiction and not based on real events.

We were dying. Mostly of water deprivation, and dehydration is not the best of deaths. Firstly it hurts. Or maybe that was the starvation? I’m not certain. By the time we found it we were all hallucinating. I spent my time in my mind, surrounded by light and laughter. At times I danced in the light and laughed with the voices, but at other times I was laughed at and the light hurt, making feel as if it were burning my eyes from my head.

When we found the planet we thought it was paradise. There was plenty of food and water, and we laid waste to it. I should have known. With that first step the planet screamed at our presence. Not that we heard it.

Instead we trod across the surface with unsteady feet and with every step we drove swords into that planets heart. We were its death. We didn’t know at the time. But if you are reading this then I can tell you – sorry. The oasis is no more.

The dire truth is that we became the planet’s virus. Yet everything we drank and ate became ashes in our mouths. We left, finally, but I know we leave a wasteland, and for that I am truly sorry. We took a planet capable to keeping us forever and used it up so fast that it never had time to take a breath.

I always think that in terms of the planet, its death was swift and it shouldn’t have felt any pain, but I think this is wishful thinking. If you are reading this then I hope you are wise. If you wonder where we are, our valiant race of germs. Well, we are the dust that clings to your shoes. Because we only killed the planet for ourselves.

This is a peice of flash fiction inspired by the daily prompt – I was here.