Below, you will find a piece I wrote for Maybank's Empowering ASEAN Youth: Climate Change 2020 competiton. I didn't end up winning, but I thought it'd be a fun read (next to watching paint dry). This one's a real "intepret it as you may" kind of story, with carefully crafted details and hints as to who or what is going on. So, hope you enjoy! 

“That was the wind”.

“Has he manners?”

“It is not for him to have so”

“Then he is awful”

“My dear child, the wind has a heavy burden”

“Heavier than ours?”

“Yes. He carries the souls of lives from worlds beyond our reach so they are born anew. Through his ardent footsteps, he guides they who travel in our waters that they may reach their destinations”. The child wore a serious face, perhaps of newfound comprehension. Just then, he noticed the symphony of lights beneath them. It was sublime. Coral cities painted the seafloor, meticulously crafted to house a variety of residents. Some hid in tiny nooks, peeking from their sturdy structures. Others enjoyed the rush of being carried by swift currents as the world blurred past. The child almost leaped down with booming elation. “Isn’t it beautiful my child?’ asked the mother as she ran her tender hands through the silver linings of his hair. The child continued to marvel until a peculiar sight caught his eye. A mighty sea lion swimming with a trembling gait, away from the bustling city he had just seen. “Mama, where is she going?” Her expression changed. “In search of food” replied the mother. “There is no food here” he wondered. “There used to be” sighed the mother. “Then I will give her water” he proclaimed. Before the child could react, the mother held his hand with a firm grasp. “Do not worry” she assured. “She will find her way. It is you, who must drink here”. The child looked up with a curious expression, but noticed how the air began to differ. The sky was greeted with a harsh languor. Birds flew off-course, and just like the sea lion, many were scattered in multiple directions. Travellers with nothing but faith and instinct as nourishment. “My son” she warned. “You are to cling to me and not leave my side. Do you understand?” The child nodded without hesitation. He held his curiosity back, for mother’s words were more compelling. 

Hours passed. Perhaps days. Along the way, the mother gifted the world below with drops of solace. Curtains of her mercy showered countless regions, from a litter of cheeky lion cubs in the savannah to the palatial skyscrapers of New York. Not all were relieved by her presence. Some even cursed her. Eventually, they reached a city. The last one before they cross the ocean once more. The child woke up with a start as a cacophony of cars, machines, and factories rang from below. A grave tension struck his heart. “Hang on” said the mother. She swooped in with great speed, commanding the sky to bend around her presence. A stark darkness filled the sky, this time ominous and gloomy unlike the radiant colours of the night. Smoke pierced her sight, but she kept going. Without reaching the other side, they would not be able to complete their course. But was she even going the right way? She recalled the sea lion they had seen back then. “Did she manage to find a single mote of plankton?” she wondered. “Surely none are left after the burgeoning heat”. She snapped out. “I must not be clouded by such thoughts” she murmured to herself. She stared at her child who held her tight not for warmth, but from fear. The smoke grew harsher. It began to pierce her skin. “Mama?” She pressed on, ignoring the pain. But it was heavy. It continued to sear her very being. Just then, a glistening sight shone from afar. “The sea!” The mother rushed towards the glimmer of hope, but to her dismay was not met with freedom. Instead, she was lashed with a fiery lick of flame, erupting from a tower below! She winced in pain. However, the blow struck them so hard it launched them past the smoke. Finally, within sight, lay the soothing sea just a stone’s throw away. But in her arms, was a ghastly scene instead. Her son had also been scorched, gasping on the fringes of life. She took a long look, and let out a bittersweet smile. She was tired, but a mother never lets that stop her from nurturing life. She was only sad that she had to leave her son such a heavy burden. With all the life in her bones, she gave her son the very last of drop of water and pushed him in the direction of the sea. “Mama!” he cried. He rained, and the humans below were perplexed as it was sunny. “You were born with kindness, and kindness shall you bring them”. The child pleaded, but only grew further and further. The mother looked at her hands, as they began to fade. “I don’t want to! Mama!” The mother smiled. “Give to them, not because they deserve it my dear child. Give, that they may know kindness”. Her hands turned to mist. “Such as you-”. Her lips quelled to dust. “-who sees beauty”. Her eyes lulled to sleep. “-in the darkness of the night”.