RISE AND FALL RISE AND FALL RISE AND FALL

Animals don’t exactly have any idea what time is. The sun rises and falls every so often, which means that it’s time to sleep. They lay down and think of nothing but what their stomach tells them. Minds struggling to fall asleep are nonexistent when thoughts are only of the present. The sun rises and falls and once more it is time to walk and explore and eat, nothing more, nothing less. Months and seasons can pass by. Leaves in a swift current.

Soon the cycle starts from its beginning, but also its end. An old animal falls, a new animal rises. Curious, how time, ever present, was only named by thought. Thought that animals surely don’t have. The sun falls, which means it's time for sleep again.

No matter how it’s perceived, this place is strange. Although you would never notice at first glance, these symmetrical halls and rooms are a collection of only the most bizarre. Although I struggle to believe it, everyone here used to be normal, or at least, they seemed it. From the winged weasel to his brittle kindred, everything was once as expected. But, to my chagrin, time affected them, turning them anomalous. No, perhaps that isn’t it, perhaps they became more truthful, less shrouded in pomp and circumstance. As they change, I find myself increasingly annoyed with them, like biting into an apple and tasting an orange. Perhaps they are not the only ones. Perhaps I am strange myself.

I have no thoughts I hear no noise

But nothing is something which means I can hear something

I don’t know what color my last piece of gum is and my glue sticks have rhythm but rhythm isn’t spelled how it looks

Math is red and 7 is yellow and science is green and English is blue

5 is blue and 3x5 is blue but 7x9 is orange

I don’t like math or even Spanish but I’m writing nothing important Nothing is still something

The world was quiet, save for the occasional gust of wind and the rhythmic rise and fall of a set of solitary footsteps. A lone wanderer moved through the ruined remains of the city, the crumbling buildings and overgrown greenery a stark contrast to how the city existed in his memory. He listened for threats, human or otherwise, over the noise of the wind.

"I barely made it away from those raiders; I can’t risk another close call," he thought to himself.

Low on ammunition, his next fight could be his last. To make matters worse during his last firefight, he had lost his Geiger counter and his gasmask had been destroyed. If he accidently wandered into a radiation hot zone, there would be no hope for survival. I just need to get lucky and find a peaceful settlement. As he continued his march, he passed building after building, all in the same state of disrepair, occasionally stopping to search for any supplies. He did not find any.

He saw something in the distance; a glowing yellow light that stood out more and more as the darkness of night arrived. It seemed suspended in the air, the ominous glow making the wanderer wary of approaching too quickly. He moved towards it slowly, eyes scanning his surroundings. As he neared, he saw a building, clean and perfectly preserved, fluorescent light spilling out of the windows.

“What the actual hell?” he said, out loud for the first time in a long time.

The yellow glow he saw before came from a sign, with text, which caused him more surprise and confusion than even a nuclear apocalypse and mutated creatures. The sign read: Waffle House. And then he smelled it: freshly cooked sausage, waffles, and coffee. It filled him with nostalgia, thoughts of his life before the war. Losing himself and his instincts in the rush of memory, he pushed the door open. A bell rang overhead as he entered. The interior looked as if the war had never happened. Tables and chairs as clean as they were going to get, fluorescent lighting overhead, and a waitress standing behind the counter.

"Hello! Welcome to Waffle House!” she greeted. “Please feel free to take a seat anywhere you’d like. I’ll be over with a menu in a moment.”

“Um, thank you?”

He looked at the menu she placed in front of him. It looked exactly as it would have looked before everything happened.

“I’ll take two waffles, some eggs and sausages, I guess. And some coffee too please,” he ordered, still not sure if he was dreaming or not.

She wrote down the order on a notepad. “Perfect. That’ll be out in a few minutes.” She went through a door behind the counter to what he assumed was the kitchen.

He picked at his meal when it arrived, trying to determine if the sausage was actually human meat, but it appeared to be in order.

“How do I pay?” He asked the waitress.

“Oh, we trade for supplies. A few bullets should do.” He dropped the last of his bullets on the table, and walked out the door.

I’m the creator of all life

Left untapped, I flow free dangerous and unknowable as a knife a mirror of the world you see the world you fill with debris so carefree, browning my blue beauty ignoring your duty

One day soon, I'll glisten and gleam a mutiny of sea and stream

But for now, it seems, you prefer me unclean