Wednesday's Words on a Friday

 

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over by a moveable feast of participants when Delores had computer troubles. Sadly, Delores has now closed her blog forever due to other problems.

The aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to mind.

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please let us know so we can come along to read it and add a few encouraging words.

This month the words/prompts are supplied by WiseWebWoman and  can be found here

This week's words/prompts are: 

1. withdrawal 

2. pollution 

3. embrace 

4. prosecution 

5. year 

6. represent 

7. cottage 

8. overwhelm 

and a picture, which I have included in the story.

Here is my story:

Centuries ago, a lawyer representing the prosecution, had won a case against a mining corporation, who finally admitted they had been wrong to dig such a huge pit, without correctly ascertaining the proper area. They had dug deep into the ground, ruining the stock-grazing groundcover and causing pollution of a nearby dam.

The withdrawal of the mining company had been cause for great joy, and over time the groundcover began to grow back and the dam was refreshed with new rainfalls. The owner of the property had been quite old, and died soon after, leaving no heirs, so the land was bought by the neighbouring farmer and compensation money from the mining company to the original owner was given to the township as per his will. Life went on as life does, in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere and the mine pit remained. No one knew what to do with it.

Time passed as it always does, people moved away and didn’t come back, the farms tried to hold on during several severe droughts, but eventually they too were gone. Year after year, the land slowly died, farmhouses and smaller cottages falling into disrepair and finally collapsing altogether. The land took over, covering everything with dust. People driving through on the nearby highway, were often overwhelmed at the silence and the emptiness, but forgot it again as soon as the cities came into view. They were glad to forget. There was nothing out there worth remembering. Not for them anyway.

Centuries rolled on, city populations increased, families were packed into highrise buildings, like sardines in cans once were. Of course there were no more sardines by now, barely any fish at all swam in the polluted oceans. Then the earthquakes began. Mighty shakings split the ground, toppled mountains, flattened cities, A fissure opened at the bottom of the old mining pit, which allowed underground water to flow in. The earthquakes were followed by flooding rains and far away from the cities, similar mining pits and old farming dams also began to fill with water.

Deep in the earth below them, dormant seeds and tubers began to sprout and grow. The edges of the dams and pits began to look green again, overflowing dams created new streams which eventually became rivers. No one knows which bird flying over dropped the first seed that became a new tree, but it happened and one day, a small family, fleeing their ruined city, chanced upon this tree, looked around and decided this might be a nice place to build a hut. And so life continues…