Earth Day

Year, 2070

I stared at the ceiling as I lay in bed. Dread and anxiety had my heart pounding against my chest. It was 7:00 am Monday morning and today was the day the truth would finally come out. “What are the people going to say now? Now that proof of our worst fears is overwhelmingly evident. Will they finally demand action? Will there be war over which solutions to implement? Hell, with how bad things got why not go through them all. Any one of these solutions might bring us back from a mass extinction.” I pondered over reactions and next moves the world might make a little more. Hoping that when I get up I hear of humanity finally changing history instead of sinking into denial. 20 years ago after graduating at the top of my class for Environmental Science I was approached by government officials and offered an opportunity I just couldn’t refuse. To be paid close to a fortune to study our glorious planet and the humans effect on it was a dream come true. I was to come forth with my findings on this 100th Earth Day Celebration. Just days before I had sent in all of my data and research. Today the Houston Chronicle would be printing out the story of how we are killing the planet and speeding to our unfortunate demise, but before I let myself drown in despair from the gloominess of it all I decided a little celebratory breakfast would really help. I mean now that the whole world can see with there very own eyes what’s really going on I have faith that our efforts from here on can still save us and this planet. A mimosa and pancakes is just what I need to take the edge off and prepare for the day. I rolled over and slipped into my favorite black fuzzy bunny shaped slippers along with my matching black robe and made my way into the kitchen. Although I had a taste for the finer things in life I tried my best to always be humble. I made plenty of money to buy a huge mansion but I settled for a simple three bedroom two bathroom home. I did require a lot of land though to be able to maintain my farm sanctuary and to keep my three beautiful pit bulls happy. After learning about how much damage our excessive meat consumption was having on the planet and the cruelty that was happening behind the scenes in slaughterhouses I had completely went vegetarian and turned my back yard into a sanctuary for animals that were no longer wanted, needed, or were lucky enough to escape from their horrendous fate. My front yard held a garden that I was proud and very fond of. I grew my own food and planted the most beautiful flowers and trees. I made my home as environmentally friendly as possible and had it running completely on 100% renewable energy. The smell of sweet pancakes filled the air as I sipped on my mimosa. I had downed the last of my drink as I served myself. It was quiet without my young adult boys lounging about but it was around that time where every little birdie flaps it’s wings and leaves the nest so I reveled in the peace. As I shoved the last piece of pancake down my gullet I decided one more mimosa before reading the paper would be okay. I was already slightly feeling the effects of the first one as I poured one more. Then I made my way to the front door where I knew the newspaper would be. Placed neatly on my welcome mat. With the paper in my hands I didn’t dare look at it until I made my way back to my table to read. I placed the cup up to my lips ready for another sip as I opened it up. In big bold letters it stated “ Happy 100th Earth Day! Come out today to celebrate this day with us!” Um okay a slightly too positive way to inform humanity of impending doom but alright maybe a positive approach can nudge people in the right direction. I continued to read down the article and choked on my mimosa. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I finished it and read it over and over again. My heart sank and anger swirled in my stomach. Nowhere in the article did I find a hint of my data. My analysis, my research, and conclusions were absent! There wasn’t even a hint of the facts I had unearthed or the solutions I had worked so hard to come up with. The article was nothing but about the fun the festival had planned for everyone and utter malarkey! Not only did they completely dismiss my work the biggest slap of all to the face was the whole two paragraphs dedicated to congratulating everyone on doing such a good job on keeping Earth maintained. They thanked the Environmental Protection Agency for making sure emissions didn’t exceed the breaking point which according to my research we did, keeping our air clean and breathable, our soil prosperous, and our waters clean. There was even a thanks to all the evil leaders of this world for making our planet a safe place for everyone to live in. Complete Bull! I chugged the last of my drink, slammed my cup down and crumpled the newspaper article tossing it into my waste basket. I reached for my cell phone and called a close friend that worked as one of the reporters at the Houston Chronicle. Sahara and I had basically grown up together and I knew she was a honest hardworking reporter who lived to stand up for the little guys. She picked up the phone right away and with a defeated tone“ I was expecting a call from you.. I’m assuming you just read the paper?” I responded with “ You mean the garbage I just tossed out? What is the meaning of this? My boss assured me that the editor was going to post my work not this completely crazy story!” “ I know I just came in not too long ago and heard about the whole thing. Your boss came in yesterday and had a talk with the editor for awhile and then left. I don’t know what was discussed but I’m guessing your actual research did not come up. I’ll try to find out more and let you know okay?” I sighed in relief “Thanks Sahara keep me updated. I’m going to have a little chat with my boss now.” I pressed the end button and pulled up my boss’s number. I’m normally very professional and level headed but this wrong doing demanded justice and a mildly outraged tone. Mr. Holloman picked up after awhile and answered with a pleasant tone. “Goodmorning Ms. Martinez how are you today?” Annoyed that he could be so pleasant I replied “ Cut the crap sir you know why I’m calling and I’m demanding to know why or how you could even do this. Why bother paying me so much money just to bury the truth that I uncovered? This makes no sense and the humans of this world need to know the truth!” There was a slight pause before he responded with “ Your task was for research purposes only and you did a splendid job. You were rightly compensated I believe and I see that you have saved up quite a lot. Now that you have completed your work why don’t you take a nice vacation? Just disappear for awhile hmm?” “ I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere anytime soon sir I still have work to do here.” I seethed. “ I would take advantage of this opportunity and wouldn’t do anything to mess it up. And Ms. Martinez? We will no longer be requiring your services.” Click. I didn’t bother to call back. Somewhere deep inside I knew this world was corrupted. I knew the damage being caused to Mother Earth was on purpose but after being assigned to this role I had hope that maybe I was wrong. Maybe we could do the right thing after all before it was too late. As I pondered over this my phone rang. I glanced at the screen half hoping my boss would be calling to tell me this was one big sick joke and of course things were going to get better but it wasn’t him. I was slightly surprised to see who was calling though. The father of my child, Daniel. We hardly spoke after we had split and our boy had grown. I picked up kind of happy to hear from him we had used to be so close. “Hey Lez goodmorning… Have you read the paper? This doesn’t sound like you at all.” “Because it wasn’t me. Apparently my boss decided to sweep my whole life’s work under the rug.” I replied annoyed again just thinking about our conversation. “You knew this was a possibility. But Hey Don’t beat yourself up about it how about I pick up a champagne bottle and stop by.?” Daniel knew I loved champagne and after glancing at my almost empty bottle I decided why not. “Sure. Maybe you can help me?” I could hear the smile in his voice as he replied “Sounds like you have a plan.” “If they think I was going to give up that easily they completely underestimated me.” I replied a little smugly. “I knew you wouldn’t give up… Your passion towards this planet was what I loved about you most. I’m on my way. See ya soon.” I was glad he wasn’t there to see the blush I felt warming up my cheeks. I smiled. I’m not alone on this. Completely rejuvenated and still buzzed a little I hopped in the shower and got dressed. After brushing my teeth I heard my front door open and close. I had left it unlocked for his arrival. I entered the kitchen as he started to pour us a glass. “Cheers?” He said. “Cheers to?” I asked. “To not giving up” he spoke seriously as his dark brown eyes bore into mine. We cheered and I took a sip before putting my glass down to send a quick checkup text to Sahara. While waiting on her reply I explained my plan to Daniel. He sat down and listened tentatively. I was smart enough to make a copy of everything before handing my research over. I had every data entry logged down since day one and I was ready to share it with the world. Sahara replied just a couple minutes later stating that the editor had no idea of the real results of my work. He was told that everything was in complete order and that the planet was fine. I knew it I thought showing Daniel the text. He shook his head and frowned. “ Now what? Now that he knows what will happen?” He asked me. “Let’s see if I can convince him to join the cause.” I replied typing a message to Sahara asking her to set up a meeting with the editor. “Lez.. you know stirring all this up will come with risks? The government doesn’t play when it comes to having their plans foiled. Are you sure your ready for this?” Staring into his eyes I knew this was what I was meant to do. I couldn’t let this slide. This planet, the people and animals I cared for were far too important to me. “I can do this. I’m not going to look the other way while these greedy pigs continue to benefit from the Earths demise.” He smiled and nodded “Let’s get to it than.” I stood up and walked to the other room and brought out two laptops for us to be able to work on. In my years of traveling to gain as much knowledge as possible about the planet I had met and gained many friends. All of the people I have ever came into contact with along with the groups created on social media for talking about the injustice being done to Mother Earth would hear from me today. Daniel would be informing everyone he knew and asking them to inform others. By the end of the day at least half the world would know of the injustice of what’s going on. A little while later and a thumbs up with a time from Sahara let me know that the meeting was set up. I check the time and noticed we had some time till then. I smoothly grabbed Daniel’s glass and put mines in the fridge. “Sorry but maybe it be better if we show up to this meeting not smelling like alcohol.” I said jokingly. He grinned and said “Your definitely right.” We continued to work in silence. I had my data stored in both laptops so it was easy for Daniel to be able to post and share it as much as possible. I emailed it to colleagues and people I knew I could trust to spread the word. We encouraged everyone to go public with everything. I wanted everyone to hear this news. No rock left unturned. We were still hard at work whenever it got closer to the time for us to go to the meeting.  Daniel drove us to to The Houston Chronicle headquarters and we walked in determined to have them on our side. Sahara joined in the meeting and together we pleaded our case. It wasn’t hard to sway the editor over which I was very grateful for. He was a smart man and knew this was huge. He wasn’t too happy about what he was risking but knew it had to be done. He agreed to publish my work. They were going to get on it right away. He would even set up an interview for a news that was produced world wide. He knew people and could definitely get us in. I was ecstatic with the turn of events and how quickly everything was going. All it took was 10 minutes and the editor stepped out of his office to tell us we were gonna be on the air tonight. I could see the excitement in Sahara and Daniel’s eyes as I told the editor “Perfect we will be ready!” Sahara and the editor got to work on the new paper and Daniel and I went back to my place to get ready. I was so nervous but I hid it. This is it Lezly I thought to myself I can do this. Forget my overwhelming stage fright. This needs to be done. Boy do I hope everyone in the world will be paying attention to the news tonight. After today nothing will be the same. “What are you thinking?” Daniel asked studying my expression. He was always good at reading me like a book. “Just mentally preparing myself for tonight. You?” He stared straight ahead.” Im proud of you. You made it so far even when pushed down your still willing to fight and be heard.” Butterflies flew in my stomach and I blushed. “Thanks Daniel. I appreciate you being here and doing this with me.” I responded shyly. I wasn’t good at expressing myself and tried not to very often but opening up to Daniel was almost as easy as breathing. We made it to my house and got ready quickly the news station for the interview was quite the drive and we had a lot of material to go over. I brought everything I would need and dressed up for the first time in a woman’s power suit. I felt confident. As we entered the news station though I could feel that confidence draining away. Even after we rehearsed over and over and went through the interview questions I was still a little nervous. We were about to go on any minute now and I tried my best to shake away the nerves. Not sure why I thought it would help if I peeked out into the audience but I did anyways. It was almost full and the two men in shades and dressed in black in the front row stood out like a sore thumb. I froze. What if no one listens to me? What if the government takes me out in a middle of a sentence? Will they try to stop me? Cause a scene infront of hundreds of people? What if I stutter! Daniel standing beside me must have sensed my unease. He wrapped his hand around mine and squeezed gently giving me a smile that made my heart skip a beat. His hand was strong, warm, and comforting. I smiled back and than glared ahead at the two man infront. With Daniel by my side I felt like I could conquer the world. There was my que to go on. I took a deep breath and we stepped out. This was war