A Letter to an Empty City
Author: Lili
It's rare to see a city like this, empty, utterly empty.
A few passersby, wearing masks, hurried past. Shops and businesses closed their doors one by one. Only a wisp of wind roamed, like a wandering soul, innocently gliding across the deserted street, whistling a mournful tune. Or a layer of gray mist arrived, stepping like a crouching cat, bending low, quietly surveying, this city, utterly different from the norm, moved and walked in silence.
A small bird perched on a pine branch, chirping. Without knowing why, it suddenly straightened up, flying like an arrow into the distance, its song fading into the haze. Looking up, the daylight was pale, this late winter/early spring was like this bleak landscape. The usual bustling Spring Festival was gone. Only silence swayed in the branches. The sounds of the market were scarce, and there was a sense of panic on the road.
Wearing a KN95 mask with a breathing valve, you walked alone through this empty city, your shoes kicking a discarded tin can, for a few seconds, it rolled, empty and cold, wobbled, stopped, under the stifling sky. When there weren't many people around, you felt your complete existence more intensely. You were no longer the numb animal swept up in the city's hustle and bustle.
Yes, work was postponed, school was indefinitely suspended, you had put down the busy work, you said goodbye to the noisy dinners, you felt a newfound clarity in your body. You looked around and saw the vast earth, the river flowing. You saw forests and fields growing beyond the city, you saw time breaking away from this moment, traversing mountains and buildings, running forward, and also awakening the past.
You saw humanity progressing step by step, but with the expansion of industrialization and urbanization, rainforests were destroyed, oceans were acidified, air pollution, and species extinction, the most original habitats were developed, and the oldest glaciers were melting. Surrounding this powerful primate species, how many other primates, mammals, vertebrates, invertebrates, and single-celled organisms, full of resentment, with bright, determined eyes, waiting for an opportunity, they barked, screamed, howled wildly, and climbed frantically. The evolution of unknown life forms, parasites, and microbes triggered by industrial pollution, humanity was being cast into a state of no protection and no roots, and the uncertain future composed of black holes.
Unknown for how long can nature tolerate the destruction caused by humans?
