I have unplugged, to put it one way. The current direction of the world we live is not thrilling me, and I feel ultimately powerless to do anything about it. People around me are apathetic, though I realize now that they are likely doing the same as me: indulging in the ignorance of the atrocities around us and simply working to get by. It’s horrifying to be aware of this.

Thus I escape further into my bubble, diving into my books and filling my mind with stories of worlds that do not exist. My genre of choice is epic fantasy, and I marvel at the worlds created and the characters who inhabit them. But not long ago, I had the realization that what I have been reading is not exactly fantasy; the parallels between that world and ours are unsettling and the moral of the stories is always warning against the apathy I observe and passively express each day.

And so, with another opportunity to write, I chose to adopt a storyline of abandoning life in search of something ‘better,' only to realize that what was once ‘better’ is something else entirely. It is a story of which we have not yet seen the conclusion, of places we once thought were safe and are no longer, and of people looking for more in life and are willing to undergo tremendous hardships for their chance to achieve it.

It is incomplete, this story. But if the parallels are any indication, my hope is that there will be something wonderful for those who journey when they reach the end.