My visit to Earth
By: Aishwarya Sapkota
Tags: Storytelling, Earth, Covid 19, Médium, Tall Tales

Standing at the edge of the red cliff, I took a deep breath. I did not want to jump but life had left me no choice. 7 Days ago, I was normal and everything was fine. I was heading toward earth to meet my grandparents. I wanted their blessing before it was too late. The ravishing beauty of Tamghas and the tall trees of Resunga, the place I was born welcomed me to “Gulmi”.

Earth was not the same anymore after the Covid-19 pandemic. The lockdown was never lifted. The politicians fed us false hope. After 5 years of struggle, our planet was declared not safe to live anymore in 2025. I was completely petrified and scared. Me wanting to live a little longer decided to go far distant from the earth.

In 2030, I had moved to planet Kepler to complete my Master’s degree. Sincere gratitude to Elon Musk who helped me with such an affordable spaceflight. My parents also had left earth to live on Kepler. But my grandparents did not want to leave earth despite several appeals. They wanted to live on this planet which looked like a Blue marble with white swirls. Many people left earth, only a few stayed, my grandparents were some of them.

After all these years, I was about to visit back to my planet Earth where I was born and brought up. I was looking forward to seeing the changes and major throwbacks along my memory lane. I was excited to meet my grandparents. After a few days, I finally made it to their house. As soon as I got inside I could hear a voice which was longing for my arrival. The voice said “ Welcome back home, Aishwarya. I have been waiting for you for years.

I was terrified and started shivering. As I turned around, I saw a man.

I was scared but soon those enchanting brown eyes hypnotized me with an irresistible charm. Curiously, I asked him “Are you looking for someone?” He then replied, “Yes, It’s you.”

The intensity in his voice, made me feel as if it was written on stars that we would meet on this fateful day. I again asked him “But, Do I know you?” He smiled and replied, “ I am Samuel.”

Then, I saw my grandparents. I ran towards them and gave them a big hug. It appears after Coronavirus outbreak, conditions of living were no longer suitable in Europe and was no longer considered safe. That’s why People started to migrate to Nepal and Sameul was one of those migrants.

He used to help my grandparents and in return, they treated him like a son and sometimes told stories about me and my parents. It seemed like he knew every bits and piece of my childhood.

Samuel was a tall, young, and handsome gentleman. The creamy brown skin and the luscious eyes seemed much captivative about him.

Later that night I could not sleep. I thought to myself. Life on earth is not bad. Maybe I should stay back.

Next morning, I woke up and saw the reality of things: Earth had healed itself from the pollution. The air was fresh and therapeutic, Rivers were flowing with pristine water. The trees had outgrown the big corporations, greener had prevailed over concrete.

Half of the glaciers had melted; half of Nepal was submerged underwater. I took a boat ride with Samuel and went scuba diving together. He was my sweetest treasure and I was his other half. Everything seemed surreal and tranquil.

Meanwhile, I could hear a tone something like “tu-du-dun-dung ”(Iphone’s default ringtone). It went on and on for a few minutes. I ignored it. Then again, I could also hear a voice from the distant. It said “Chito uthnu chaina. 11 baje samma sutya sutyai cha”

Yes, my fellow readers! It was my mom and she seemed pretty annoyed. Nervousness kicked me out of my bed and guess what? It was still year 2020.

P.S. Special thanks to Prashant Shrestha for his amazing mentorship.