Wherever You Are
The sun is setting with pastel pinks bleeding into deeper purples without any clouds to tarnish the beauty. In the distance the sirens song of the ice cream truck plays and on my block, chubby toddlers and their sibling laugh manically as they run through the sprinkler set up in the street. Everything about today is beautiful and carefree, except it’s all a mirage. The laugher covers a blanket of thick anxiety among adults listening intently to portable radios crackling with static because despite today being a gorgeous day, it’s December 17th in New York. As I walk into the yard, the radio on my phone begins giving a forecast: “In other news, the heatwave hitting the Northern continents has turned into an ice wave in the Southern continents. Scientists are working diligently to understand the root of the issue but have warned us to expect the warm weather….” By the time I go to bed it’s 9pm and the sunset is still happening.