Emotion 365: The Land of Failure. the Ghost Town Defeat, the Defeated Saloon

Difficult to traverse, the rocky spires of Failure pierce the sky. Photographers point lenses at the blurred wings of vultures and hawks diving through the sky. Overexposed pictures show gleaming orange and gold sunsets upon rocks. Failurites live on dry plains in feeble houses which they rebuild after windstorms. They wear strips of torn clothing which fill with dust and bits of rock by days’ end. Visitors arrive on the River Failure which runs through Failure Canyon. They are awed and horrified by the ancient rocks of Failure. 

The ghost town Defeat lines the top of the cavern. Rafters purchase supplies there and ride away on helicopters, getting a beautiful view of the river canyon below. From above, the rock spires are grand. Ghosts make their homes in shanties and empty mine shafts. They pour stiff drinks in the Defeated Saloon. There’s an old school house and a mansion where someone wealthy and peevish once lived. Most visitors arrive for the curiosity, but some with nowhere better to go live on the streets among the ghosts. They beg visitors for coins, bread, and bottles of cheap beer. 

“Miss Emeline Traveler talked a few of these poor souls out of their sullen state and they flew away with us on the helicopter. She’s wise and generous, as you know. Most people just pass by the homeless Defeated,” says Miss Doe Friend. “It takes a long time to coax people out of Defeat.” 

“More often, lost souls wander off into the canyon Failure or stay in Defeat and become ghosts,” says the Guide.

What is this? Why I started, The Emotion 365 Project: Every day a new emotion, on Jan. 1, 2020.