Skip to main content

Emotion 365: The Land Becalmed, the Capitol Compassion

Becalmed stretches along a ridge above the sea. In rosy light, pink blossoms fill its meadows. Denizens walk peacefully from place to place. Bunnies nibble grasses between twitching whiskers. They lift their heads to look at passersby, but do not run. A hedgehog crosses the meadow. A sparrow alights on a cherry tree. A possum walks through clover. Sometimes on a summer evening thunder breaks, lightning flashes, and a storm begins. Everyone stays indoors in their cottages and reads under a warm blanket. The ocean crashes on the rocks below the cliff, but in the land of Becalmed it sounds soft — lush, wush, hush. Faint sea scent mingles with lavender and heather.

“The air is so fresh,” says Miss Emeline Traveler. "But it has soporific qualities."

She brings some famed Becalmed tea back to her spaceship, the S.S. Emeline.

Becalmed exports tea renowned for soothing and soporific qualities.

"Visitors come for a Becalmed vacation, but rarely stay long unless they are already peaceful sorts," says the Guide.

Many little temples along the coast make up the capitol Compassion beside the Becalmed Sea. Monks tend to each tiny place and welcome travelers offering their soothing and soporific teas and beside them sweet cookies and cakes (added once upon a time at a visitor's suggestion).

“Please tell me your story," they say and will listen as long as you like to talk.

Miss Emeline Traveler, Miss Doe Friend, and Amma-Pom wrote their names in Compassion's Guest Book, a stone tablet beside the sea.

"We welcome visitors' suggestions," says a Monk of Compassion. "Any reasonable request is honored. We live one life and ought to make it as delightful as possible."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What is Solarpunk? Good question, great answers from our community

What is solarpunk? My fellow Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers authors Commando Jugendstil and Tales from The EV Studio put together this video for the Turin International Book Fair . It features editors and authors from the solarpunk community sharing their thoughts. Together we're imagining optimistic futures based on renewable energy. My soundbite was: "Solarpunk futures are — green spaces with clean water that are pedestrian, collective, feminist, creative communities. And they include non-human animals. " Mary "solarpunk" Shelley cat did a great job (at 6:15) helping from her rather ridiculous cat tree which she absolutely loves. And what better time to wear this solar-colored "Veganism is Feminism" tee from The Herbivore Clothing Company . Seriously. I'm holding a stack of solarpunk books: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers  edited by Sarena Ulibarri which includes my story "Watch Out, Red Crusher!".  Wings of R...

Springy story review: "State Change" by Ken Liu

Why it springs to mind:  You'll never look at an ice cube the same way again. Where read: In the 2014 Hugo award-winning Lightspeed Magazine , August. Length: 5,194 words Summary: A woman has an ice cube for a soul. Memorable: How the story invites us to think about the shape of our soul, how it (or our perception of it) influences us and how it changes. What ordinary every day object would your soul be? A silver spoon, a beech stick? A great party conversation starter, this. Quote:  “All life is an experiment." Notable:  The protagonist Rina is an avid reader (always a good choice). Pairs well with: T.S. Elliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay Origin:  The story was written in 24 hours based on a writing prompt. (See Author Spotlight: Ken Liu ) About the author: Ken Liu’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings , the first in a fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, is due out from Saga Press ( a new Simon & Schuster imprint ) in 2015.

Springy story review: "Torching the Dusties" by Margaret Atwood

Why it springs to mind: Relevant thoughts about how we view aging and how we treat the aged in our society. In this story, young people protest the existence of old people in an assisted living facility for taking up resources. Not far from the callous viewpoint of people sometimes expressed in the national news. Where read: The last story in  Stone Mattress: Nine Tales   (2014) a collection by Margaret Atwood Summary: Wilma and her boyfriend Tobias escape an assisted living facility, Ambrosia Manor, that has come under attack by protestors carrying signs that say "Time to Go" and "Our Turn" who think the old people are just taking up space and resources. Memorable: the delightful use of Charles Bonnet Syndrome as a character trait for Wilma Quotes:  "We have to be kind to one another in here, she tells herself. We're all we have left."   "According to Tobias, women hang around longer because they're less capable of indignation and...