21st May 2035

12/C Carbon Apartment

CFC Road

Kolkata-700001

Woke up. All windows and doors closed. Air purifier and AC is on. I wore an air purification mask. Got out of the room. All doors and windows of the house are closed. Got out of the house. Paid 100 rupees for water and 100 rupees for electricity (it’s for BPL, for APL it’s double, 10% refund for SC/ST). Went to the washroom. Used water judiciously. Else I will be charged double for extra. Now machines are invented for cleaning nose, ear and eyes every day just like our mouth. We need to clear them twice. 

Took water from a water purifier and boiled it. And again put it in the advanced water purifier. It’s drinking water. Now it’s time to cook. Vegetables are also purified through machines. I cooked following a diet chart as well as the health chart. It’s time to go out. I wore the advanced air purification mask and anti-smog glasses. Wore the anti Hazard suit. Now I’m ready. If it’s the rainy season I should be more careful. Not a single drop of rainwater should touch me. It’s very dangerous. If it’s summer I must not expose any part of my body in the sun. The fatal uv ray can cause cancer. 

Asthma is now common like the common cold. The number of holidays reduced as one cannot go on a trip. There are no beautiful places( tourist spots) left on the earth. Snow and Glaciers have melted. Coastal areas are underwater. Water bodies are full of plastics. My home is the only place I long for. Dogs and cats are now being preserved. Birds have become extinct. There are microphones in your face mask. I can’t speak loudly. I have a throat infection. 6G has come up. Still, the speed is 200 kbps. Operators are available in the middle of the oceans and mountains but it’s unavailable in your bedroom.

Interacting with neighbours (I mean the persons whose house is nearby our house geographically. The definition of the neighbour has changed.) is only through WhatsApp or Messenger groups. Brides and bridegrooms are categorized according to their immune system towards the exposed climate. Relationships do not last longer these days. Stress and anxiety level of people are always high.

The themes of creative works have changed. Artists no longer draw pictures of nature or write poems praising the natural beauty. Actually, there is no beauty left on this planet. We have destroyed it. More nuclear power plants are developed. Fossil fuels are totally used up. Buildings and vehicles are specially designed to resist polluted air and water. Bikes are no longer used as transport. Cars don’t have windows any more. Even public transport has closed the windows with fibres and plywood. GPS is now more advanced and more intense.

Government has made an anti-pollution body. As usual, it is headed by someone who knows nothing about the environment. They are more interested in taking photographs rather than contributing efforts to help revive the climatic change. 

I have a grudge upon my previous generations. It is their fault that we are suffering now. They could have revived the climatic change. It was in their hands. Now it is out of control. They never took any action against climate change. We had tried to convince them. They ignored us as we were children then. They wanted us to focus on our studies. They said, “Make a brilliant academic record. Your future will be bright.” 

Is this the bright future they were promising us? How can they be so selfish? 

All their thoughts, aims and actions were about money. They have ignored the environment. We never imagined our future to be like this. Suffering has become a daily routine. It is too late now. 

The world is no longer a place to cherish. Nothing can be made perfect again. We can only reduce pollution, that too very slowly. But surprisingly it’s increasing gradually. Everyone has lost all hopes. Our house is the whole world for us. The birth rate is increasing. I feel ashamed. It feels like we are cursing the newly born babies. Will the babies feel proud or regret taking birth on this planet? Did they take birth to be tortured in this polluted world? We are ruined! We are doomed! We are nothing!

It’s my birthday today! I turned 35.

(This is a work of fiction by the author)

(The views expressed in the article are the author’s own. Let Me Breathe neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)