– What happened?

I don’t exactly know… It happened so fast. I am not entirely sure what led up to it. I guess I exposed myself, maybe too much…

– Why did you expose yourself?

I have… had… a lot to offer, but I did not think they would see it as that kind of invitation. To be honest, in the beginning I did not think much of it… it wouldn’t make too much of a difference. I mean…

– So you didn’t tell them to stop?

No. I mean… I did not expect it to go that far, that quickly. Surely, that is not the first thing that should come to mind in those situations..? At least, it wasn’t for me.

– Continue… what happened?

They…uhm… they were making a fire. It was pretty and I guess they were proud. I think the experience made them hungry for more. They were pretty out of it.

– Out if it?

Yeah… they quickly became obsessed about burning stuff. And they became really erratic. It was like time couldn’t go fast enough.

– What were you doing?

I was just there. Maybe I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. I didn’t think much of it…

– What happened then?

I don’t know… they became preoccupied with acquiring things. Accumulating. They started taking things from the others. And they had this strange look in their eyes. Like everything was acquirable. They started looking at me differently.

– What do you mean?

I…I felt objectified. That was when I became scared. I should have reacted…

– What were you wearing?

What do you mean? I was wearing this. Well, more of it, but this!

– It is quite an attractive outfit…

What?

– I mean, wearing so much oil and minerals…

Are you saying that I asked for this?

– No.. of course not. I just want you to think about this in a nuanced way. Maybe they didn’t know that they couldn’t take it. I mean, you just told me; you didn’t explicitly try to stop them.

I can’t believe this.

– Did you at any point say no to them?

I did try to stop them. But they wouldn’t. They didn’t listen. They told me to stop screaming and to stop being dramatic. That I was overheating for nothing.

– So you didn’t say no?


– Can you please state your name again, for the report.

I am…Gaia.

Let me know what you think of this piece! Email me on chaloujen@gmail.com