….walking…always walking…..the desire to rest from the relentless heat, finding cooling shadows is strong.  I want to discover what happened and how did I find myself in this place…the urge to seek compels me on.

The emergence from that primal ooze covered in sticky mud is now a distant memory…..but the transparent dome that covers this world is always there…a reminder of  the strangeness I feel.  The frustration at the dome’s seamlessness with the horizon…..I hoped the dome would touch the ground but it is always further away.

Sometimes I wished that I stayed near the cave…but the spaces that appeared were disconcerting, and, not wanting to be distracted by trivialities, I had to seek…..to where I know not.

Walking upwards on the slope towards those smudges streaked across the verdant mound drives me on…..the hard baked stony ground was changing, but not dramatically……occasionally I heard rocks shift….perhaps I am not alone in this strange world.

Remnants of what I think could have been vegetation or organic matter appeared between the rocky outcrops….dry and brittle…stooping, my fingers gingerly touched a small stick that seemed to be emerging from between some dusty scarlet rocks…rocks that looked like they were reclining on more rocks upon more rocks…..was there any soil deeper that may sustain vegetation?

The stick had small bumps where possibly leaves or buds once grew…suddenly the outer layer just crumbled at my touch. Underneath, the next part was hollow and it turned to dust when I pressed my fingers to the stick hoping to withdraw it from the ground….this part of this world is very different from where I commenced this confusion.

What was the purpose of this world that once possibly has a vegetative cover….that perhaps sustained some form of life?

The slope up the mound started to steepen…ahead I thought I saw a covering of green….almost level with my eyes so could be far or near….it was impossible to tell due to the steep incline…above that…the glint of light from the dome….above that was blue sky….I can’t remember when I last time I saw clouds.