Longing For a Different World
Love and adventure underground
The tribe Anadi was part of lived underground in caverns. It had been many years since the people had been outside of the caverns; not since cataclysmic events first drove the people into the caverns; events retold by the people to keep the memory alive.
But Anadi was born inside the caverns and had never been outside. When she reached adulthood, there was talk among her peers that the old stories were not really true. Many spoke of trying to find a way out of the caverns and seeing if this other world really existed. This talk excited Anadi. Many, though, also considered talk of an outside world as foolish. The people had a wonderful and safe world all to themselves. Large strides were made in unifying the people and creating a social fabric that allowed for true peace. Why would anyone want to go to that other place?
But it is the other world that Anadi fantasized about. According to the older folks, the other world contained something known as a sky. Anadi tried to imagine what that was like, but she had no reference for it in her life. Still, she had a feeling for it: perhaps a memory from a past-life there. In her mind, Anadi created a paradise with a sky and clouds and birds and trees and hills and animals and lots of light and color. Surely, this outside world must coincide with her…
