Challenge Submission Once Upon An August

[Lore N. Fables]

The days had been long and over warm and according to the weathermen on every national and global channel, it was the hottest summer in decades. One could believe it when stepping outside meant a brisk brush with Death as the very air was stolen from one's lungs upon entering the outside. The sofas had managed to acquire the all familiar indent of one's backside from the constant sitting one did thanks to it being too warm to even venture far from a resting stoop. "Why is it so bloody hot in here?! Turn the AC down more!" Those had been the more commonly communicated sentences over the last couple of months. No names were needed as everyone knew the air was as low as it could go.

Scorching heat seemed to seep from the very pores of every part of the rooms. Fans turned to high while waiting for the water in the freezer to become the much-needed but not near enough ice to cool one's rising bodily temperatures. A summer so warm that even the once frolicking squirrels and squawking birds seemed to seek respite from the blistery over-saturation of the sunshine our star provided. Could it have been the ever-feared and often pushed media of Climate Change? Was it Gaya screaming to the occupants of her very flesh, to take a moment and slow down to enjoy the world she provided for them? Was the Rapture finally upon us as the religious zealots protested while screaming at traffic on their daily commute?

No one had any answers and at that point, the worldwide heat wave had reared its ugly head in mankind's direction, every mortal on earth had been too panicked with 'Getting Cool Quick!' Some new propaganda to get the consumer to purchase something extra with their hard-earned and underpaid wages. The heat had made those of the living world miserable, all manner of species alike, from the northernmost mammals of polar bears and penguins, down to the tiniest ant at the equator. No one had been safe from the rising temperatures.

The same could be said for the opposite side of the third rock from the sun. The southern hemisphere suffered in chilled silence whilst the northern part of the orb suffered in stifling heat waves. The constant battle between up and down, left and right, in comfort or without. The world had been turned into chaos as the temperatures rose and fell on different sides, tipping the balance between the Climate question.

Threats of moves, installing more fans or air conditioning units seemed to be all the buzz on one side of the globe, while the others were finding ways to keep the heat inside as to not freeze with the elements on the outside. Alas... the new solar panels had been delivered and the new internet cables had been scheduled to be laid and the neighbourhood had taken its mind off of the heat for a moment to enjoy the new electrical conveniences that came at the suffering of someone else's sweat.

As the days pass the temps remain sweltering until that one day that is so easily forgotten... That one break in the heat when the air hits just right with a breeze that isn't taking part of your skin and breath with it. The cool tickle that holds that sweet promise of autumn hiding just around the corner. The tiniest glimmer of a season that blows past in a whirl of pumpkin spice and overly smutty Halloween costume. A time almost everyone loves when the weather is the kind you can just... live in. The promise of Fall is what gets the hopes up and gets those who hate the heat through. It's only a couple of months... We're almost there...



Sidenote: I honestly don't know where I was going with this. I just wanted to get the badge for this month. I love the stories that have been entered and truly cannae compete with the likes of the wonderfully talented individuals that have entered this month... Good luck to everyone who wrote something and I hope to see you all in the next challenge as well! <3