The Sky is Orange: A feel of the Apocalypse world

It was a Wednesday. Just another ordinary day in the week, inching towards the much-awaited weekend. Yet September 9th turned out to be anything but ordinary. I didn’t wake up to daylight as I normally did. When I stepped out of the door for a run, it felt like having landed into a scene from The Blade Runner movie. 

 

Instead of the pristine blue sky that I was usually accustomed to seeing, it portrayed an unusual shade of orange. The trees were dark. So were the flowers. I blinked wondering if it was a dream. I pinched myself and winced. It was as real as it could get. The sun seemed to have disappeared, leaving us wondering if aliens had overtaken Planet Earth. I gazed at the surroundings. It was surreal yet in an eerie sort of way. It was beautiful yet disturbing. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it felt like being on another planet. Mars perhaps. Is this how Planet Mars looked like? Well I sure did save a trip via Nasa. An attempt at this feeble joke dispelled the bouts of confusion albeit just for a short while. 

 

California had been blazing with the infamous fires for days. Millions of acres and several homes were destroyed and people were forced to evacuate.  These fires were an annual affair and it had worsened this year. The flames from the forest had spread to such an extent that it had clasped the bountiful skies under its deadly spell. I stood on the porch gazing at the orange sheet above. The air was heavy and it felt as though I was smoking a packet of cigarettes. The leaves of the palm trees were droopy and so were my eyes. I coughed and rushed indoors.  Yet I continued gazing at the world from the window. I switched on the lights to dispel the darkness that had engulfed my home and in my mind. Haunted with the images outside, I was unable to get myself into the normal routine. 

 

Just the day before, I was complaining about the lack of excitement in my life and longed for some adventure. Here I was with a view of the world from a different lens. I had often heard the saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” At that moment, I couldn’t help but wish that things were back to normal. Yes normal. A word that I usually associated with boredom. At the moment, I felt I’d do anything to be able to see blue and sunny skies again. A lot had changed since the pandemic. There were numerous connotations for the ‘new normal’.

 

A week later, the darkness has dissipated. California sees blue and sunny skies. The air quality is better and people have returned to their homes.  The fires seemed controlled. I heaved a sigh of relief. I was glad that this sudden feel of the apocalypse world that I got a glimpse of, wasn’t another new normal.