Following Amelia dot Calm
An eBook on Radical Social Evolution
Written by: Jos van Poederooyen
‘Our World doesn’t need ‘fixing’,
it needs a chance to become the best it can be’ Amelia
Chapter 1
A Glass World
An eternal sense of hope radiates from the sphere as it hangs lush and radiant, romancing its domain, this gorgeous garden in a glass globe flirting with its place in space. As beautiful as Earth’s little sister might be, it waits patiently for sunbeams to showcase its splendor in the wood-paneled corner of the awakening room. A magnificent world this terrarium is, full of life and living large in Amelia’s bedroom.
The entire room is in relation to that artistic piece of living love; it has the room’s purpose in mind and is the only real life there, except for, of course, Amelia; she’s there too, sleeping in her bed. Together, they are the room’s reason for being, they are its conscience and its life.
The glass garden is the size of a beachball and has Earths blue marble clouds and oceans painted on its lower half while healthy green vegetation proliferates inside, thriving against the top half of the clear glass that beckons all available light in the room. The tiny world’s orbit is sustained by an artfully crafted gracefully curved wooden stand which arches out from the corner so that the terrarium just clears the corner walls, allowing it to revolve effortlessly on its swivel, eye high to a teenager. A soft light sifts from behind the sphere, shimmering the wood wall while glowing the garden growing inside, like a hue of glistening love.
A dew of moisture is lingering inside the glass above the soil line where the painted oceans end and the flourishing greenery inside rises. It is alive, this beautiful little world, and well thought out to be naturally harmonious and complete. Amelia’s living art is a testament to her that life prefers and requires balance. It’s wondrous to look at; healthy and vibrant and it seems to float out from the corner like a planet in the cosmos…a wonderfully flourishing ecosystem, so joyously full of life balanced unto itself.
Amelia, the room’s steward, is 15 years old and intends on making a difference. Amelia is a composite of typical everything, blended harmoniously into beautiful, if there is such a thing. Her thick auburn locks lounge along her shoulders, framing her youthful happy face. Her bright eyes are sharp and clear, inquisitive and aware. Her strength is her character, and it possesses her face and lithe body whenever she expresses her passions and ideas for benefitting nature and saving the planet from greed and control, or even worse.
Her purpose is to be a fierce advocate for social evolution: Creating Social Conscience, Enacting Environmental Stewardship, and Moving Beyond Poverty and War. She sees all the world’s challenges as connected and they absorb most of her thinking time. The evil players at the helm of destructive global systems are her adversaries and she is certain that purposeful change is essential and possible. Her Gramps taught her that we are all responsible for how we live and interact with the planet; ‘it’s our duty’, he would say.
‘Forget about fighting for it, conflict breeds conflict,’ he’d state in one of his many rants, ‘we’re advanced enough to make decisions for the planet on a global democratic level; we have the technology. Let’s vote on things as the people of Earth, in unison. That’s global democracy, that’s progress; the people aren’t creating the wars, that’s for sure. Be aware together instead of divided up into competing nations; that costs us lives, freedom, and abundance. Leaders like division, in fact, they need it; without division, they wouldn’t have their jobs. It’s the old divide and conquer battle strategy to control the masses, but age-old systems of division don’t have a place in today’s global world; that’s a fact and our world has clearly become dysfunctional and dangerous.’
After all, Gramps had shown her many things to question; how to question, whom to question, and now, at least in her mind, there is no question about her being an advocate for change. She believes socially evolving is the solution to the ineffective, top-down leadership which is at the core of the global issues; she believes that change is required for the planet, for humanity’s sake, and for humanity’s conscience going forward. She’s certain about her purpose in life and it shows in her actions and in her room’s décor and declaration.
Her room is at the top of the stairs in their older country house and it is a statement of activism and awareness on the unity of all living things and the human races’ place amongst them. Posters of Earth, Vegan lifestyle, Peta for animal rights, pictures of Pamela Anderson and Steven Hawking, The Beatles ‘Love’ poster, and an old green ‘70’s bumper sticker stating in white block letters ‘Whirled Peas’ are all hanging proudly on the walls. Amelia’s library is held in a wooden bookcase filled with books and magazines promoting peace, community, natural products and philosophies of a peaceful world. On top of the bookcase is a ceramic sculpture of a white dove holding an olive branch. There are handwritten commitments of love, contribution, and community to the world signed by Amelia pasted here and there. The terrarium is the focal point and proof of balance which Amelia determinedly wants for the world she lives in, while the rest of the room pleads for environmental sanity and peaceful global contribution. We can do better on being human, for each other and the planet; that’s what Amelia’s space believes, and it says that clearly.
Gramps helped plant the lush ecosystem before sealing the glass terrarium and that same flora flourishes in it now, even though he passed more than three years ago. Amelia sees it as a validation of their beliefs and that Gramps and her are still somehow connected in the Universe.
Gramps taught Amelia to keep the government honest and to cherish quality and craftsmanship as honorable toward people and the planet.
‘Get things for life,’ he’d say. ‘If you have an electric drill made in the sixties, it’s probably still working and will most likely outlast drills that you buy today. Today, we’re going backward in quality and intentionally engineering failure, so things break down quickly creating consumerism to fake an economy to support the capital model that creates the class structure. Don’t play party to it; those ways don’t serve us anymore, they only serve those who are intent on selfish gains and not the well being of humanity, it’s that straightforward,’ he would say.
Although, right now, Amelia lies sleeping in the during the rising sun appearance until she tussles herself awake to start her greatest day ever.
“NO! Not Hawking! He’s not food.” she pleads while lurching up to reality. Amelia quickly turns to lovingly pull her Hawking off the wall shelf beside her bed and snuggle cuddles him before she swings her legs over the edge of her mattress to sit up and regroup her thoughts.
“I’d never let them harm you, Hawking . . . I’d save you, that’s what friends do” Amelia pledges to the teddy bear lamb in a fairy tale moment of loving friendship. She’s earnestly addressed Hawking as a person since she was a child, and occasionally, she still does, because she believes in friendship and love. Gramps gave him to her when she turned three and the love and connection just grew from there, never to be lost. Speaking to Hawking was, at times, like speaking to Gramps for Amelia.
Now fully awake and satisfied Hawking is safe, she places him on her pillow and slides from the bed placing her feet on the jade-green rug positioned on the wood floor beside her bed and she deftly slips into her handmade green slippers same as she’s done with slippers since she can remember.
Now ready to start her day, Amelia ambles over to the dresser where she keeps her 70s component stereo system turntable and begins her daily ritual from selecting to playing, to make music happen in her space. At the end of the routine the last step is to flick the lever to lower the tonearm to the LP, enjoying the ‘dwopsquish’ sound of the needle hitting the vinyl. She steps back as the needle finds the groove to rumble the sound of recorded silence until finally, the music begins to play on her speakers. It’s an old one, ‘All You Need is LOVE’ by ‘The Beatles’, given to her on her 10th birthday by her beloved Gramps. Amelia gleefully gyrates to the start of the song doing her patented, ‘it’s playing’ swivel swirl moves with her hips and arms gyrating and flailing about.
The Beatles were Gramps favorite band, and he made many references to them when he spoke about change and evolution, and how much better vinyl sounds ‘than today’s consumer crap,’ as he’d comment often enough.
She lets the song pick up her mood for a while before she stills herself in front of the turntable in deep thought. Then Amelia begins her swirl dancing in earnest using all of her sanctuary, alone at first, but after a few turns she picks up Hawking and sings, “Love! Love! Love!” along with The Beatles.
She holds Hawking tight as she declares,
“We can share the world with Love, Hawking,” as she spins, “When Love’s the main ingredient, society will be a fascinating smorgasbord. We’d be an amazing race,” she forecasts as she basks where the bright morning sun is now shining which in turn ignites the thought, “Technology, Love, and Contribution. Ya, that’s it, ‘TLC’ and that would equal paradise. ‘TLC’ for the win; Alex!” jokes Amelia.
Whirling to the space in front of the terrarium, Amelia quietens to speak directly to the little world before her as the song refrains its ending as Hawking listens in,
“Love, it really is all we need, caring for our planet and all Life on it. Stewardship; Right, Gramps?”
She smiles up to where he might be, then returns to the turntable and flips the tonearm up before the next song on the album plays. Her eyes rise to the Earth poster above the stereo, and she imagines all of humanity in love with Earth and each other.
Her thought is broken with her clashing awareness as she imagines the differing countries of the world, and she says,
“Power stirring greed is just a bad recipe for humankind, and we know it. We know better; it all leads to pain and corruption. Humans instinctively build family and community through contribution but the way the world is run now, it stresses us all out to the max, and most people act out on that stress, making a hot mess in most areas of society. If humanity could vote on it, we sure wouldn’t vote for the fear and corruption we are living under right now.”
Turning to the mirror beside the poster, Amelia questions herself,
“Holy Smokes! What’s up, Amelia?” she queries herself, “I sound like a rogue teacher preacher today. Is Ms. Petty rubbing off on me or what?” she giggles as she thinks about her schoolteacher always telling the doctrine of the curriculum which doesn’t fit with Amelia’s line of thought much at all.
She puts her fingers to her temples while bending her head down and squeezes her eyes shut to make a wish,
“Oh, I wish I could change the system to love! I wish I wish; I wish I could.”
Amelia opens her eyes slowly, feeling determined. She takes three deep breaths with purpose: closing her eyes inhaling and opening them on exhale. Relaxed and reinvigorated, she starts humming ‘Love’ again and enthusiastically says,
“It’s so true. With our level of technology and knowledge, the whole world could easily be happy if that’s what we set our minds to,” but shaking her head she adds remorsefully, “It’s pretty obvious they don’t think love is the answer; I wonder what they really do think is the answer or if they are even looking for an answer, maybe they’re just all selfishly looking out for themselves while posing as our leaders?”
She turns to give the terrarium another gentle caress, adoring it thoughtfully. It turns leisurely from the touch of her fingers, and she admires that too. Then, she hears her mom faintly from downstairs,
“Amelia, please come down, time to eat and get ready for school, honey,” calls her mom in a singsong voice from the kitchen.
“Oh great, time to do what they say; eat this, learn that and don’t question anything, be a good quiet follower.” She sighs before sarcastically saying, “Time to get straight ‘A’s’ so I can become a successful monster and proudly help destroy the world in the name of their idea of progress. Yuck!”
She glides her hand over the terrarium one last time and offers,
“I love you. It’s so obvious that we could steward paradise, just like you Terra, if we worked with love and caring instead of profit, control and class structure.”
Amelia goes to the bathroom and comes out dressed in jeans, sneakers, and her favorite blue t-shirt. It has the blue marble Earth on the front with the words, ‘Everybody’s Home’ below it and it makes her feel optimistic about another day.
She walks over to the dormer window and wonders about the world while looking at the field in the distance that has the trees, the stream, and the cows.
She whimsically shares to the serene scene in general by saying,
“Oh well, time to go downstairs, might as well make the best of it. After all, Life is what you make it,” she states positively preparing to leave her sanctuary. Amelia twirls once more before leaving the room lighthearted and optimistic, once again humming ‘Love’ happily.
At the top of the stairway, she hears the TV news anchor state that the top three things that citizens are most concerned about this election are the economy, corporate corruption and war.
‘Not if you took a real poll,’ she reasons in her mind, then she states out loud,
“We’d say we want enough food and shelter, protection from calamities and disease, we want time with family, we want peace and freedom so we can live out our passions anywhere in this world. Duh!” she mutters while descending down the stairs into her mother’s world.
Chapter Two
The Kitchen Gauntlet
Amelia walks down the hallway marveling that her mom believes the spin the newscast offers and muses sadly,
“Sheesh, Mom thinks it’s OK for us to be hooked on news and advertising; as if it didn’t tell us opinions to own, what to desire, who to believe, how to be normal. Yikes.”
As Amelia walks into the bright white and yellow country kitchen, Mom raises her head up from the pot on the stove to say, “Good morning, honey,” but doesn’t turn around. Mom is tall and slender; her brown hair falls casually simple to just above her shoulders; she looks stylishly country in her blue summer dress adorned with white polka dots.
Amelia replies, “Morning, Mom,” while surveying the tables offerings. The table has milk, ham and eggs, with bread and fruit all neatly arranged on plates on the red and white checkered tablecloth. Feeling insulted, she says,
“Oh Mom, you know I’ve made up my mind and I won’t eat animals anymore. And these old school offerings aren’t enticing me; I’m not a hard-core carnivore at all anymore,” she says, then adds, “OK, please?” for good measure, scratching on some leftover irritation from her morning nightmare.
Mom’s face is etched in worry after Amelia’s remark, and she stays turned away from Amelia.
A moment passes before Mom responds, initially talking toward the stove,
“I wish you never got interested in this whole ‘Save the World’ thing. Your Gramps should have kept his views to himself. Vegan this and PETA that and then question everything and everybody else. Everything! You seem to think most of what society does is wrong and that’s not right.”
Mom turns around to add, “You’ll never enjoy life that way, honey.”
“Do you enjoy life, Mom?” she asks looking straight into her mom’s eyes, “Always working, stressing about money, hardly having time to see Dad or me, always worried about the politics, wars, and crime and economy. When Dad gets home, he’s more interested in the news than you until it’s over, and then all he does is talk about it. Most adults are so stressed or depressed they’re frustrated and angry; it’s true, right?”
Amelia hears herself and wonders if her rebellion is part of growing up, still, she asks acidly,
“Am I right, Mom?”
Her Mom is visibly shaken with her daughter’s accusation and can only muster,
“Amelia, please eat something.”
“I’m not eating something that was tortured and killed in front of its friends and family, treated like a villain by humans for being alive and worth more dead in a store . . . that’s not my style, Mom. I’ll take the fruit, thanks.”
Mom responds with terse confidence,
“Amelia, I’ve told you, you have nice ideas, but they’ll never work. It’s not a simple world. There will always be war, poverty and slaughterhouses, it’s just the way people are, and you can’t change that, honey. Money makes the world go round and that’s the way it works. Your ideas don’t work in this world’s economy and that is our only option to choose.
“Your Gramps had too much time on his hands and this whole internet thing affected him, and now it’s affecting you. It’s nice you care but you can’t let it destroy your life. Really honey, I love you. Let it go. The world doesn’t need saving; not by you anyway.” Mom turns and smiles at Amelia, lovingly.
“Mom, I know you believe what you’re saying to me, but I don’t think you know what you’re saying because none of that’s true at all,” and she looks pleadingly at her mom before she adds, “I don’t believe something because some government told me this is the way it is or this is the way it has to be, and neither should you. In a democracy, you should value your voice, not just go along with what they want you to go along with.”
Amelia tries to calm down her voice, but fails,
“It’s up to the people to be ‘We the people!’ Real change comes from within, from ‘real people’ that really care about their future.” Amelia peaks with, “Our world needs people that believe in stewardship, and it’s being led by people intent on ownership!”
Amelia’s voice begins to tremble near the end of her speech, and she just wants to get out now, to get away. Amelia feels angry about Mom’s belief that change can’t happen and it frustrates and irritates Amelia that her own family members are so intentionally docile toward making the world a better place.
“I’ll never believe we have to torture life to be civilized or that greed is something to aspire to!” she blurts out, “Never! It’s Neanderthal. It’s all a lie to stifle societal evolution! Propaganda blinds us to buy into the horror so a few people can make money and control the masses of people; they covet being in charge. I believe in love and caring and nurturing things; I don’t believe chasing money serves a purpose anymore! We can create positive change to the betterment of all and money and greed get in the way of that.”
Her Mom stays turned away, now simply staring into the sink. Mom obsessively thinks Amelia has lost her way and Amelia senses this.
“Mom,” she stammers, eyes wide, “Mom, can’t you see change is desperately necessary? Evolution is a normal part of all life.”
Mom just shakes her head quietly sad, fidgeting over the drain, ‘what does that even mean?’ Mom thinks dispassionately.
Amelia feels unheard, trivialized and she spins toward the door, cross that her eyes are tearing up against her will. After all, Mom has never discussed Amelia’s beliefs with her; Mom only tells her it won’t work, it can’t happen and it’s a waste of time and effort. Despondent, she feels completely let down by her mom and she just wants to get out.
Amelia storms out of the kitchen with the screen door noisily slapping against the metal frame behind her. She escapes to the dirt lane that leads to the school and away from home. The green weed lined lane runs along a fence that borders the large pasture her dormer looks out on to; the one with the stream and trees near the middle, the one with the cows.
After a short while, Amelia slows down to a reflective walk thinking about discrimination, poverty, and money; and how people are okay with just leasing a life they don’t have a right to own anymore. Close to the school, she stops at the entry gate to the field. Bright dandelions and tall weeds adorn the post that hinges to the gate. She loves the view with the tree so far in the distance, beside the lazy stream. ‘It would be so beautiful to be there right now,’ relishes Amelia while absorbing the scene, aching for its peaceful serenity.
In a few moments, her mood begins to soften as the field of beautiful life on the other side of the fence works its magic on her. She knows her only choice is to go to school and begins to walk on again, but happier and more relaxed than she was.
Chapter 3
The Telling Machine Gets Told
Inside the classroom, ‘Societal Needs’ and ‘Supply System’ are the only two phrases written on the blackboard, with a line pointing from each to a large circle below the words.
Amelia gazes out the window to the field as the teacher, Ms. Petty, begins teaching by telling, or as Amelia likes to think of it, the Petty Preacher Teacher Program.
“So, in this lesson, I will teach you how modern systems and science feeds our world and protects our health; please take notes because this will be on the test.” she suggests as she scans the class engagingly to begin, “Without modern systems for agriculture and food processing, people couldn’t survive due to overpopulation. Corporate systems make our cities livable by transporting food and all other necessities and services to the people living there. Science helps us maximize livestock and agriculture yields, and science also protects us from disease and premature death. The system is complex, and we are completely dependent on it; thank god for that!”
Still looking out at the field, Amelia shakes her head and grunts, giving in to the frustration that’s been welling inside her all morning. The teacher notices but continues,
“Our system of …”
Amelia whispers into her fingers, finishing Ms. Petty’s sentence with her own thoughts,
“Greedy, creepy, cruelly inhumane profit centers,” and she shakes her head low and close to the desk.
“Something to say, Amelia?” asks Ms. Petty who is no stranger to Amelia’s save-the-planet beliefs.
Feeling feisty, Amelia jumps up and responds with,
“Ya, OK! They are not modern supply chains, they’re archaic money makers, we’ve evolved enough to be better than that now on multiple fronts. We’re inhumane. We’re barbaric. And all cruelty comes from weakness, a weakness to the addiction of power, or greed, or a weakness of mind. Wise use of technology can do so much better without the cruelty, imbalance, or destructive actions. It’s kept like this for profit and control of the class structure. That! And … that’s exactly why I grunted!”
“OK, I understand your empathy, Amelia, but how would you feed the world?” Ms. Petty questions, then slyly adds while opening her arms wide to the class, “Or should we starve so that animals can live?”
“That’s right, you know it too, animals would live fabulously if we didn’t exist. I know it and you know it; although, we could all live together well, sharing the planet, the flora and fauna, and us humans, but that depends on humans because right now, we are the problem front and center. If only we live our lives with nature as our guide and use our intelligence to learn from nature instead of wealth seeking corporations creating and chasing unbalanced profits while making painful for humans, the planet, and all life in the process. Maybe 100 million people benefit while most of the world, the other 99 percent, suffer from the corporate business pyramid you call necessary during these technological times. It’s not necessary, it’s evil.”
The class sits spellbound by the early morning tug of war; Amelia’s really on it today as she continues,
“If we want a good life and a balanced world, we must do well for life and world! As the self-appointed masters of this planet, we are the ones empowered to promote balance by being in balance with it. Let’s do that! Let’s do well for everything since we’re in charge and that’s how nature works. That would make us evolved stewards, not the archaic short-sighted monsters the leaders are moving our world toward in their relentless pursuit of profit. Life doesn’t need profit, life requires balance, contribution and collaboration. That’s where paradise comes from, contribution to the whole. Do they even want paradise? To me it feels like they want more control than they have even now.”
The teacher feels Amelia’s power of belief surging and knows she must quell this new-found confidence the child is displaying in front of the others. It’s imperative to remain in control of the class while teaching the curriculum on the way it is, and how it must be, and what they must believe for it to continue as it is. She knows it is her responsibility to teach the students how they must think and what to believe in to keep things in order for the government to stay in control.
She replies calmly, logically and briefly,
“Well Amelia, profit creates our standard of living and lifestyle. This is how the world works and there’s no good reason to change it. It’s our system and it serves us, all of us, well.”
The teacher nods curtly, agreeing with herself certainly, showing the class her belief.
Amelia retorts,
“By all of us, I think you must be talking about upper-class Americans because I don’t think what you are saying applies to lesser Americans, Africa, South America, and many other parts of the world. Your coveted system is corrupt and self-serving; standard of living is how much you own, quality of life is how happy and fulfilled people are; there’s a massive difference between the two and for a loving happy world, only quality of life matters; a standard of living is bragging rights about wealth over others. Yes, we’re advancing our technology, but some things are so much worse because of how we manipulate our progress and humanity. We’re selling our souls and the planet for military and corporate control of everything; politics, food, healthcare, and the environment. This system totally disgraces our societal evolution, our humanity, our potential, our planet’s health, and humanities self respect.
“We were enhancing our society and knowledge for ages and ages, but now we’re going sideways and probably backwards; in this age we’re destroying our world and misusing technology to pursue mindless greed, power, and control. It’s almost authoritarian already, why can’t you see that? Money doesn’t make things better; it creates abusive competition amongst people. It creates greed and class structure by its very nature. Contribution facilitates growth in families and communities everywhere. Caring improves all things, grows things, enables abundance, and facilitates love. Love improves all things!”
The teacher feels like a lost cause so Amelia turns to the class and says,
“This system they say is essential for humans to follow is actually creating mass dependence on corporate offerings. It’s stealing the world away from average people and natural living from all humans so they can put the whole works into a stock market.”
Some of the kids chuckle quietly, but most remain wide-eyed at Amelia’s conviction today as she states her case.
She turns back to Ms. Petty to continue the assault,
“It’s all propaganda and indoctrination that you’ve bought into without question; and now you preach teach it to us! We fail in school if we don’t accept your single-minded approach to being citizens of the state. Instead, it is important that people and civilization continue evolving; these times are the 2020s; it’s not the Industrial Age of 1875 anymore. Your outdated societal model is like old steam trains being used in today’s world; sure, they can still sort of do what they were intended to do, but they’re outdated now and they no longer serve these times well, so it wouldn’t make sense to still use them and we don’t; but we’ve kept the outdated societal and governance model because it serves the upper class, it hasn’t evolved with the changing times; this is a global world now, not 250 years ago. It’s time to move on and evolve with our other advancements.”
“Well, most people seem to be getting along just fine, Amelia.”
“Not at all, most people are stressed, in debt, uncertain about where things are going. It’s because a capital social model based on countries today is impractical; it might still be barely functional, but it doesn’t serve these digital global times. Class structure is unnecessary today and it creates so much poverty and pain. It’s a crowded world today, countries only create competition between each other and that leads to wars; countries don’t advance humanity further, today they hinder it. Let’s reap the full benefits of our unified global race and it will end war to boot. Let’s make wisdom our global currency, not money, money leads to greed and war.”
She glances back at her friend Kevin for a moment, looking for support and he looks right back at her in proud agreement. He sits straighter in his seat, and he nods his head enthusiastically to Amelia before he stares harshly at Ms. Petty, still nodding, taunting the teacher, then back to Amelia, who, unable to process the frustration of the moment, begins to break down and wheels back to the teacher, glaring through tear-filled eyes.
Critical of the absolute faith the teacher is parading without considering any other options, she thinks, ‘the teacher is unwilling to question anything, she’s teaching the same narrative she was taught 30 years ago.’ Nevertheless, Amelia knows enough to draw the line.
Fuming, Amelia escapes through another door, the second one this hour. She bolts from the classroom, out the building, and runs across the schoolyard, scaling the wooden gate with the ‘Do Not Trespass’ sign on it to run far into the field that she was yearning for earlier. She stops running where the tree, the stream, and the cows are and stays there, tearfully panting, trying hard to get a grip on her emotions, her beliefs, and her alienation of it all.
When the teacher strides out the door toward the office to report the child’s behavior, her classmates all run to the windows watching Amelia, debating if she’s got a point or not.
“That’s Amelia for you, look, she’s hugging the cow,” smirks Debbie.
The class enjoys the thought of Amelia cow hugging and start voicing their real opinions without the teacher present; most think Amelia’s pretty bang-on with most of her beliefs. They all warily watch for the teacher and most of them are speaking in hushed tones.
“Man, Amelia’s got balls”, says Boomsie, probably the most popular kid in the school, “You’ve just got to respect her belief and conviction,” he assures as many nod and agree.
Kevin, Amelia’s most loyal friend and supporter says in earnest belief,
“We’re being programmed in school to buy into rule and system, and we’re taught to believe it without question, and that’s stupid. We should question everything because the world is changing all the time. Media programs us too. And so does the News. And, commercials affect us, that’s why companies and politicians pay huge money to run them, they influence our thinking. We need tools to continue to evolve with, not training to make us fit their needs. Give us math, sciences, and agriculture, and let us learn real-world solutions based on our sciences and wisdom. Don’t teach us political narratives, corporate opinions, or ideals to make us fit into their class structures.”
Feeling his oats, Kevin points his right hand with stretched index toward the blackboard with the words Societal Needs and Supply System to make his next point. He says,
“The powerful all pay to influence our opinions: politicians, corporations, industries; they know how propaganda works, and they pay up big time because propaganda has been made legal, in a fair world it would be illegal. They spend more money influencing our thinking than on solving the world’s problems and they make us kids agree and comply, or we fail in school, we must learn what they tell us, not what is real. In science, indoctrination would be considered lies.”
Kevin’s classmates fall silent thinking about what he said as they watch Amelia consoling herself in nature.
Chapter Four
House Call
The phone rings in Amelia’s house and her mother answers the call on the upstairs landing at the telephone table at the top of the stairs beside Amelia’s room. Mom listens intently while scanning Amelia’s room and finally says,
“Oh, I am sorry, Ms. Petty. She was a little wound up here this morning too.”
Mom meanders aimlessly into Amelia’s room noticing the various elements of her daughter’s statement of concern décor as she engages the conversation thoughtfully.
Eventually, Ms. Petty outlines her primary concern,
“She has nice intentions, but she can’t see how impossible her ideals are. They’re unattainable. Our world doesn’t work that way, and it never will.”
Nodding, her mom says,
“Well, she gets a lot of ideas from those books and websites online and she won’t stop verifying her beliefs. The ideals sound nice but yes, they are unattainable.”
As she speaks, she lovingly runs her hand over an old globe elegantly supported on a wooden stand on the desk,
“Normal people just want things to stay the same, same as they’ve always been,” she confirms absentmindedly as her fingers trace over the letters, U.S.S.R. She’s oblivious to the irony between her beliefs, her words, and her fingers.
“Well, no more outbursts because she can’t save the world, no matter how much she cares or thinks she can. Besides, it’s disruptive to the other students and gets in the way of the teaching. We need common ideas to keep this world the way we want it so that the governments can run it properly,” scolds Ms. Petty.
Mom spins the globe as she turns away frustrated with the idea that her daughter is a problem at school. She thinks of Amelia standing up to the teacher the way she did in the kitchen this morning and it disturbs and saddens Mom. She turns and drifts toward the terrarium her daughter loves so much. ‘It’s a perfect example of how balance in life does work’ Amelia would always claim. Mom marvels at ‘Terra’ while speaking to the teacher, sliding her fingers over the smooth surface, sensing the thriving life within the sealed ecosystem.
“She does believe in her ability to make a difference,” says Mom, idly wishing Amelia would simply grow up. “The world won’t change, not by her anyways; it’s a shame her beliefs are getting in the way of her schooling,” Mom agrees.
“It is,” the school lady confirms, “but the world doesn’t need saving, and certainly not by a child whose only solution is love.”
Mom laughs as she says,
“That’s my Amelia. She thinks love will fix everything in the world as she sees it. Where is she now?”
“In the field by the school,” says the teacher, “we’ll keep our eye on her. She appears to be talking to a cow. She’s fine for now.”
Mom ends the call by saying,
“Well, I hope the cow and her can find a solution together that works for everybody,” while still thoughtfully caressing the terrarium and looking out the dormer window to the faraway field her daughter is in, and then she almost sighs her signoff, “thanks, and goodbye, Ms. Petty.”
At school, the teacher shakes her head as she walks back down the hallway toward the disrupted class. The classmates immediately stop voicing their opinions when Ms. Petty enters. She knows they fear her hearing their real thoughts, and the control over them pleases the teacher, but today that control is waning, and she knows it. She approaches the windows and then together they all contemplate Amelia, so small and insignificant in the distance, hugging a cow.
“It’s too bad,” the teacher muses, “a waste of a good mind” she offers to the classroom.
Kevin shakes his head as he looks at Ms. Petty ruefully.
The class somberly stands staring at Amelia off in the distance. Most admire her and believe she’s on the right track; extensive change is necessary. The way it is isn’t working very well at all, all things considered, and they’re taught to consider very little in school. Amelia has been saying that a lot and it seems more and more people have been saying that change is necessary. It didn’t matter much what was working in other times, those days are passed, and the world has moved forward. It’s no longer working now so change does seem inevitable and necessary.
Kevin voices his support for Amelia with,
“Society has little to be proud of considering our negative impact on life on Earth and its people,” reflecting the class’s general mood, “and change will happen because of people like Amelia, people like her need our support; she’s fighting for us.”
Ms. Petty can sense her class’s overall sentiment and does not want it to incubate. ‘Trouble brews when people question too much; best to just want to fit in like everybody else,’ thinks the teacher narrowly, ‘that’s how we build patriotic citizens so that our government can stay powerful,’ she faithfully muses.
Chapter 5
Where Are Your Ears?
Hugging the cow, Amelia’s arms are stretched lovingly around its neck while her face is nuzzled deep into the soft furry folds of its graceful neck. The cow enjoys the attention and willingly sways soothingly with Amelia’s woes. The ducks in the lazy stream under the overhanging tree are comfortable enough with Amelia being as close as she is as she sobs and mutters her concerns. A gentle breeze whispers about the scents of spring flowers and the coming warmth of the day while birds and bees use the zephyr to earnestly go about their extensive business. Amelia feels the caress of the morn calling her joys out to play, though she remains in disarray because of her interactions so far today, so instead she resumes her muttering,
“It’s not right. It’s not fair. This isn’t learning, this is force-fed stooge training. They’re cruel, they just want control of people and more profit without conscience. Their way certainly isn’t the only way; I’m not theirs to mold and shape into what they want.”
She shudders and further laments to her newfound sanctuary in general,
“It’s inhuman,” she tells the cow, “I hate being human. I want to love and be love, love our planet, to love all life, and to be Free to Love; like you, littles duckies, and you, Mr. Tree, and you, you loveable cow,” assuring herself with her arms still around the cow’s neck. “I Love You. I Love Life! That’s who I am. Teach! Me! That!” she admonishes over her shoulder sternly toward Ms. Petty and as she looks scornfully to the schoolhouse and then back to her little utopia her eye spies Cawfwee in the stream and it scares her.
He’s rising upward and toward shore from underneath the water and is still neck-deep, though his head and hair are perfectly kept and not at all wet. Without ripples or splashing, he clumsily waddles out of the stream, at times grabbing the water with his hands as if it would hold him, though through it all, his clothes are dry as a bone. He mutters somewhat observantly, “Slippery slopes,” as he blunders up the bank barely keeping his balance. As he passes near the ducks, they watch him quietly unfazed, they seem to know instinctively he’s a friendly soul as they silently watch him stumble about, all the while intrigued with the chaos.
Cawfwee gingerly totters along the shoreline in his suit with his arms winging out to the sides for balance, and his fine shoes leave no prints on the smooth boulder shoreline. Accompanying him is a shiny round device, with a lens, that intuitively floats beside him as a helium balloon might if it were tied by a string to his shoulder.
Cawfwee is middle-aged with thick grey hair. He’s tall with a noble grace and a gentle, child-like demeanor; he looks almost human except he doesn’t have ears, and he introduces himself proudly once he’s nearer to Amelia.
“Hello, my name is Cawfwee, may I comfort you, assist you, help you in any way? You seem to be in a bit of a kerfuffle,” he begins genuinely in his cadenced speech. He speaks in a rhythmic prose of word groupings, and his choice of vocabulary tells of a well mastered, though second-language, proficiency.
A stiff white classic collar is paired with his finely tailored metallic blue suit made from gleaming fabrics that hangs elegantly from his powerful lean physique. His grey hair dignifies his sculpted facial features and Cawfwee looks, speaks, and moves like a spy novel’s intriguing foreign diplomat.
Amelia has a strong sense of his earnest nature though, and surprisingly, trusting her gut instinct, she timidly replies,
“Hi, my names Amelia . . .” and then, adding more boldly, cocking her head with teenage curiosity while studying him, “Hey, how did you do that? You’re not at all wet and you, you don’t even have ears!” She pauses a reflective moment before adding, “And how come there’s a camera, thingy, drone, floating above you, um, somehow!”
More determinedly, she asks,
“C’mon, what’s going on?” and examines him closely, warily.
Cawfwee replies quickly,
“I am sorry. I forgot to do my mirror check when I came upon you so flummoxed.”
He pulls a pocket mirror out of nowhere and eagerly smiles into it,
He looks proudly at himself in the mirror and then asks, “Better?” as his ears appear with a ‘ploop’ sound.
He waves them back and forth a couple of times while looking at Amelia and says,
“I like doing that with my ears.” He puts the mirror away and smiles mischievously at Amelia.
With ears, Cawfwee looks like a well-dressed avant-garde fellow to Amelia; although there is still something uncommon about him, she senses, something she cannot quite define, and it’s not only the fact that he can easily move his ears back and forth as a cat might.
Even so, Amelia is happily startled, and her youthful curiosity asks,
“Oh my! How . . . did you do that? Who are you? What are you?”
Her eyes bulge at him, trying to take it all in.
Cawfwee responds informatively while trying to be polite,
“The camera drone is a doohickey for a documentary I am doing on you Marauders … oh, I am sorry, I mean, you, uh, humans. It responds when I call it Cam, and it records whatever I require; it has intuitive intelligence. I will answer more of your questions if you tell me why you hate being human, and why you are crying, and why you appear to love the cow … and nature?”
“Wow, OK,” Amelia reasons. ‘Gramps always said everything happens for a reason, so let’s see what this is about,’ she muses to herself. She’s looking directly at Cawfwee and is eager to state her case to someone who has actually asked for her opinion today.
Besides, she believes that the Universe creates synchronicities, ‘and this is that’ she concludes certainly while wildly hoping she is right while trying to ignore that he may be an alien. Nonetheless, he asked, she reasons. She looks at Cam, then back to Cawfwee and purposefully begins,
“I’m crying because society is so cruel; we mistreat animals, people, and our planet. Plus, they’re trying to train me and all children to become like them, to accept their ways, that’s what schools are for, to normalize their horrible systems to us through indoctrination. The indoctrination continues until we’re about 18 years old, they teach us this is all normal, the killing, the wars, the addiction to money, and the necessary poverty until, in the end, most kids conform unquestioningly into their systems, and we give away our power of democracy. I don’t want to live like that. I want to live in harmony and love with all living things and especially our planet. All the signs of nature teach us the way, but our rulers are led by power and greed, and a global collaboration is unattainable as long as they control us and the media.”
Cawfwee is dumbfounded. His ears are twitching wildly, and his eyes are questioning Amelia while his intuition assures him that she is not being nefarious. His mind is racing with the possibility that the assessment was somehow flawed, incorrect, Bad Science. Perhaps the intelligence was skewed, or superficially interpreted. By performing long-distance data research, refusing contact, and perhaps being somewhat judgemental, they may have gotten the planetary data incorrect. This doesn’t sound at all like a Marauder child. ‘This could really suck’ he surmises correctly as he turns to gaze back at Amelia. Thunderstruck, he utters,
“I am gobsmacked; You care about the Life Force? We analyzed this to be a race of Marauders, but in listening to you, I have recalibrated my mind swiftly. Amelia, are there others like you? Do others have the same sense of the Life Force being ubiquitous to all life and planet as you?”
Amelia giggles at his choice of words and notices, ‘he doesn’t seem to use contractions at all when he speaks,’ she thinks pondering again that he may be an alien.
Cam moves back to capture the two of them in the shot, silently staying keenly intuitive to their actions and discussion.
Amelia tracks Cam’s positioning warily curious as she continues,
“Yes, there’s many more that think like I do but we are a small voice among the unquestioning masses. And, of course, I believe in Life Force! It’s … it’s how life works; everything supporting everything, everything sharing toward the whole! Energy always connected everywhere with everything, empowering and dancing with the love of a life purposefully lived; it’s the Life Force and we all naturally share it! Life Force is what enables everything to become and to be the best it can be. It’s Life!”
Cawfwee is taken aback; he asks probingly,
“However, humans are destroying this planet and the life on it; they are a barbaric society; humans behave as if they are Marauders; acrimonious, morbid, cruel, and destructive. If you are not Marauders and if you are aware of Life Force and disagree with how things are run, then why do you allow the global carnage and abuse? How can you live with yourself knowing that?”
Amelia senses a common bond with Cawfwee, trust and confidence swell in Amelia; she wants to answer these questions. Standing up straight she demonstratively puts her hands on her hips. ‘This’, she thinks, ‘is going somewhere’ and she replies,
“Poverty is just because class structure needs a class that nobody wants to be in. Money just allows the upper classes to have more than they require, money doesn’t go bad like food or other valuable items would. War details the need for militaries and militaries control citizens, either us or them, militaries don’t care and it doesn’t matter, it’s all about control; militaries control whomever militaries are told to control by the upper classes because that’s their job. What’s good for humanity or our planet is a distant concern to current leadership’s mandates around the world, their policies are based mostly on the ruling class, profits, and citizen control; all fueled by their addiction to money and control.”
Amelia looks trustfully toward Cawfwee and continues,
“We’re advancing technology and science as a race, but we’re held back by a lot of old concepts and by an industrial age political structure that doesn’t serve our world today, it only serves the social layer of politicians and upper classes. That’s why we don’t plan long-term for natural disasters even though we know they’re coming although the governments do plan and spend extensively for war; it’s crazy. We are taught in school to fear our enemies and our enemies’ students are taught that we’re the enemy and that’s just not right, or true, and it throws all the peoples of the world into unfriendly turmoil.”
Amelia looks at the cow who is still right beside her, quietly listening to her rhapsody of woes while still swaying her tail, and so is Cawfwee, and he’s transfixed with her story.
“We wouldn’t be able to provide food to cities if something drastic happened, like an earthquake; cities create mass dependence on corporate offerings. They started as family businesses but now they’ve become corporate which now is just another layer of tax the citizens must pay to the top levels of corporations. They’ve taken individuals out of the supply chain of life except for those serving the corporations. Corporations are frighteningly greedy, and they demand control, and they want to control our governments as well, it’s already happening and then individuals won’t have any further rights.
“In our digital world, cities don’t make sense anymore, they’re outdated, but they sure do serve corporations well. The cities serve the corporate vision and they and they have become dependent on the corporations and now they basically run the governments because money rules. Governments are supposed to be for the people and now they simply serve corporate interests. Food is one of our primary needs and the only plan they have is to maximize the profit made from controlling it. Can you believe it?” Amelia’s conviction shows as she scans for his reaction and with contempt, she continues,
“How do our governments even permit systems without contingency plans for food during emergencies, isn’t that their primary responsibility, ensuring the well being of the citizens, isn’t that why the people have governments, to serve the people? Why does corporate wealth come first? The answer is because of the addiction to money, that why. They don’t make the people their primary concern, in fact, the people are a problem to those wanting to own the world.”
Cawfwee gazes at Amelia while slowly shaking his head, hesitant to answer, let alone comprehend the truth or reason within her tower of exposé and real-life questions.
“It’s stupid and short-sighted considering our technological abilities, we’re misusing our intelligence to engage in greed and control for a few,” announces Amelia adamantly. “It’s mass dependency so governments and corporations can profit from the basic needs of people. They’ve turned life itself into a business and absolve themselves of wrongdoing. Our world has turned human life into a scam that everyone must be part of. It’s unbelievable,” she assures, dramatically stomping her foot on the sod underneath.
She looks at Cawfwee wide-eyed and certain,
“We have the technology and knowledge. Populate Mars? Of course they will use technology wisely. Here? Not so much. Maybe governments don’t want to get it right because they’ll be out of a job, a unified world would render leaders obsolete. The ruling class needs a division of people to continue their rule over countries, a unified world renders them gone. The fact is that people do not belong to someone else, or a country, people and all life belong to the fabric of the Universe.”
Amelia feels the load coming off her shoulders as she pontificates and Cawfwee listens intently, not breaking his gaze, which encourages her more.
“That’s why children are taught what we are taught; to normalize the societal class structure for the top eighty million people to have their lifestyle and control; those people make up the one percent, they are the ones the rest of the people hope, dream and wish themselves to be one day. They want us to accept inequality unquestioningly as children and spend the rest of our lives hoping to become one of that upper class. That’s called, Getting Ahead but in real life it is sinister.”
Bewildered, Cawfwee is distraught and perplexed taking it all in.
“But . . . the people are The Many. The leaders are so few. One percent? Why do you do their bidding? That is strange; your dogma is blatant gobbledygook. Humans have the technology to be a unified collaborative race who would steward and care this planet into exceptional brilliance for all Life on it; the responsibility of choice is the right of The Many on any developed world, at least once you reach this stage of global awareness and connection. An intentionally peaceful and abundant world will then be your home and paradise. Who cannot envision that? Who would not want that? How does war and greed of wealth benefit anybody in a self polluted garbage dump of a world? Kings presiding over landscapes of self developed wastelands?”
Amelia chuckles first at his impression of Earth, then nods in agreement while still smirking. Cawfwee considers the human plight, and he continues, speaking to the ducks, the cow, and Amelia,
“You have reached that stage of digital evolution where it is important to socially evolve in balance with your world to become all you can be. This could be humankinds’ moment, yet you distance yourselves far from it because of the blind greed and power within your governance and global systems of inequality. Most everybody is intelligent enough to know you are all one on this planet just like the many other civilizations on any of billions of planets. Maximize your knowledge, love, and technology to become custodians of your planet, she will always be a part of your future, no matter what your further aspirations are; Mother Earth must be revered and by doing that you will experience actualization and the peace and abundance that comes with it.
“That is the riddle of life human intelligence is meant to solve; how to live in harmony with life. An actualized race always yields the best outcome, everywhere in the Universe; always. It is obvious that peace and love nurture wellbeing. Why not be the best race your race can be? Being the best takes working together. It is the obvious next step for humanity. Individual gain means suffering for many always which is why personal gain falls away with other archaic traits as races evolve and actualize. Community, contribution, and collaboration are natures laws to yield abundance. Humanity’s next reasonable step is to become one, a unified collaborative planet, thereby empowering everything’s full potential. To become one race is the way of wisdom,” he reasons with a kind of disbelief for the lack of human common sense chattering about in his mind.
Amelia vigorously agrees by nodding her head followed by counting out each reason on her fingers as she states,
“Media. Advertising. Propaganda. Elite greed. History Training and Education. Government systems of indoctrination; all those activities normalize this brutal path of society and greed to the children, and we can’t question the normalization without intense opposition. They program us to accept a ruling class, politics, and inequality, then test us in school to ingrain this system into the students before we can pass to the next grade; passing in school is everything for kids; education is fundamental to keeping the status quo of a controlled population. Most people will swear education and propaganda don’t affect their opinions; try to believe that! They think their opinions are theirs, formed by them, and that the media just happens to think exactly as they do. Most lack critical thinking.”
Cawfwee’s ears flap back and forth while his jaw is slack and mouth slightly agape. Amelia jumps into the moment,
“Media’s been shaping most people for the past 200 years; they trust in the media like it’s a gospel. Most don’t even want to see it as propaganda, like it would be unpatriotic or something. They’ll tell you immediately that you’re a conspiracy theorist. They believe they hold their own opinions even though they only say the things the media have repeatedly told them to say, or what to believe, and what to be patriotic about.”
Amelia thumps her head with the heel of her hand and exclaims,
“I’m not making this up! The people behave like zombies that honor and idolize people that are intentionally stealing their liberties and disrespecting their planet. They’re perched on the edge of global war, poverty, pollution, and disease and they patriotically defend this lifestyle and disparity by saying, ‘It’s the way it is, and I choose to live with it as it is.’ They say it without further thought on how their lives are affected because of their blind devotion. Can you believe it? The media is controlled by the upper classes, and they easily distract and guide the citizens into foolish beliefs and wars. The truth is, the planet has more than enough resources to feed and house the poor, the planet doesn’t have enough resources to satisfy the wealthy.”
Amelia stares at Cawfwee and wraps up with,
“We’re easy I guess, easily led people; we’re sheeple. The governments and corporations control us worldwide; and now, for the first time in history, they can do it easily, with the very technology that was meant to free humanity as we developed it.” she finishes mournfully certain.
Visibly shaken, Cawfwee’s eyes are blinking and staring while his ears are swaying. He feels uncomfortable and a bit lonely which he recognizes is how humans feel an empathy toward other beings. He wonders how so many humans can ignore those feelings inside and realizes then how greed and power over others must conquer the space where empathy once existed; it is premeditated and those that do it must live with it, he thinks. Numbed in the horror of thinking of intentionally sending people to war, intentional poverty, the absolute cruelty of slaughterhouses and prisons, and it begins to fully sink in,
“Is, that truth?” he stammers out questioningly.
She nods ‘yes’ but since she’s emptied her frustration, she feels somewhat uncertain now. She’s been watching his ears and remembers that she feels there’s something odd about him. Her body language grows more tentative; Amelia takes a step back as Cawfwee says excitedly,
“Then we must act quickly, there is no time to lose. Will you come with me?” Cawfwee tries to look both urgent and calm and only achieves antsy awkwardness as he anxiously waits for her answer.
‘This is kind of weird,’ Amelia thinks and takes another step back. She folds her arms, looks up at the camera innocently floating off to the side, under the tree, above the ducks, and she uncertainly spews out,
“Hey, I told you about me, now you; how did you grow ears and not get wet coming out of the water. . . and Cam just floats somehow, well, I mean, um, . . . just what are you?”
Hurriedly, Cawfwee shares the truth and reasons with her,
“I am not from here, not from your solar system, or even your galaxy. Do you want to make a difference?” he asks, “Would you like to help evolve your world? In fact, would you like to help save your world? Well, maybe with some luck; actually, it will take a lot of luck, but anyway,” he adds hurriedly, “your world is in danger; grave danger. Will you please come with me? It is very important, in fact, it could be crucial for your world.”
He gives her the most earnest look he can imagine and while he does, he wonders if humans can adapt quickly or if they’re challenged that way.
Amelia thinks, ‘An alien; wow, that’s pretty cool for sure,’ however, she steps back yet another step, folds her arms tighter, then asks,
“To where? What do you mean, ‘grave danger, and crucial’?”
“Well, to my home away from home. Your world is under the scrutiny of The Universe at large. If you lock arms with me, we will be at my home in an instant, just like I grew ears. I am not of this world however my home away from home is safe,” he laughs aloud and reflects, “well, a lot safer than your world, I mean, this place is very scary, I mean wow, super scary. I know it is a lot to take in, or even believe, but you have helped already. Can you and will you please trust me? It could mean great change for your world.”
He’s certain she wants to, but Amelia hesitates, she must be careful, and he understands and respects that.
“Well, will I be safe? Can I come back when I want to? Can I really make a difference?”
“You will be safer there than here, Amelia, and that is the truth, I mean, just saying,” as he swings his arms out to suggest all of Earth is scary. Cawfwee snickers and shakes his head at his truth, then says, “Your word will be my command for your safe and immediate return. And yes, you can! Make a difference, that is, because your race is scheduled for termination.” Cawfwee finishes matter-of-factly, nodding affirmatively and he casually scans the horizon after he says it. Then he adds,
“I strongly suggest we skedaddle so we can get a few things straightened out from the salient shemozzle I see we are in; please, trust me, Amelia.”
Amelia takes a deep breath, closes her eyes for a moment, and says,
“This better not be a joke. How? Why terminate us?”
Cawfwee looks first at the cow then back to Amelia and replies,
“For the lack of Humanity exercised on this planet,” and he seems embarrassed to have said it and looks downward. “Mostly because of the barbaric violence and global slavery but there is also pollution and destruction of habitat, torture of animals, administration of class structure, globally administered inequality, and ownership of land. At this time your race is escalating your space activity, and nobody wants your type of vile virus spreading out there into the greater Universe. We fear your kind, your thoughts, your rituals, your behaviours; we thought you were Marauders, which is the worst insult to a living thing in all the Universe. Overall, humans behave in barbaric and disrespectful ways, and these kinds of shenanigans have never worked out well on developed planets. Your race indulges in activities that are universally over the top unlawful and disgraceful for your level of intellectual development. Humans are making a mess of a great world, but at least it is simply an orchestrated flaw in your development by your leaderships, and it is not because you are Marauders, so there is hope. You can educate yourselves out of your devious cultural deficiencies and these serious addictions to money and control.”
Amelia asks incredulously, “Everything? You’d wipe out the planet?” fearing complete annihilation.
“No, just humans. Essentially, we are protecting ourselves and The Universe from you,” Cawfwee finally asserts, thinking he’s being quite agreeable, honest, likable, and appropriate, “The Universal councils are spooked beyond reproach by your behavior; humans, to all us onlookers, appear to be intelligent, though an intentionally cruel, dangerous, and destructive species with no ability to rid themselves of their warring ways. Now, I believe there is another way, and I will require your help to set things straight so that termination is no longer required.”
‘I’m going to have to get used to this guy’s approach,’ thinks Amelia. She wonders at her predicament and thinks of Gramps, her terrarium, her classmates that she ran out on 30 minutes ago while standing up for real change and for her own thoughts of what the future of our world could look like, and, of course, of Ms. Petty. While Amelia assesses it all she’s looking at the cow who is taking it all in too while studying Amelia intently. The cow’s eyes convey something that resonates with Amelia’s entire being, a feeling, maybe a knowing, maybe a connection, and a powerful gut intuition hits, a belief so strong that she confidently states,
“OK, if I can make a difference, now’s the time to rock and roll. Let’s do this! Today has happened for a reason. This isn’t the time to be scared; anything worthwhile will always have risk involved. Let’s go, Cawfwee. I’ll do my part to save the world, just like they always ask us to do our part.”
Cawfwee chuckles first, then releases a sigh of relief, looks Amelia directly in the eye and hastily steps up to offer his arm which she boldly links with her arm, and they simply fade away. The cow nods her head at where they were, wisely grinning a lopsided grin of Universal awareness, while offering a melodic ‘moo’ to commemorate both Amelia and Cawfwee’s alliance and departure, so to pursue their quest to save the world and then help to make the world a better place.
‘The Universe craftily arranging people, places, and events at this time is,’ the cow muses, ‘very fortuitous for life on this planet.’