Afterlife: Reincarnation

9

May 24

LANE

The laughter rang out steadily, mixed in with various conversation, the clinking of bottles, and the sounds of the night beyond the fences. The night air was still hot, a heavy dampness clinging around us as the cooler air tried to mix with the remaining heat of the day. No matter the time here, it was always hot. Your clothes were always damp with perspiration, your hair always sticking to the back of your neck. But you got use to it.

Leaning back into my seat, I laughed at the spectacle in front of me. Erin and Rob had been challenged to some local game by Chet and Ariel, involving three concentric squares drawn into the sand, with stones used as pieces. They had been playing for quite some time, since before the sun had even set, and I still hadn't been able to figure out exactly what the rules were. It was some sort of chess/checkers sort of concept, about trying to get your stones in a line. So far, no one was winning, but I think that had more to do with the fact they were still struggling to understand the rules of play just as I was.

The day had been long, hot, and tiring. Although, looking back at it now, I wasn't sure exactly why. The quiet that I had noted with Neil the day before had remained through the night and into today. We had had the usual amount of patients come in, none of which had been overly concerning. The lack of suspense had allowed me time to take my first venture outside the camp, going on a 'run' with Smith, Ariel and Clayton. Their purpose was to pick up a few necessities from the nearest 'town', while my own had been of a more selfish nature.

This would be my first real venture through the country side, and my first real experience of the daily lives of the locals. The town we came across was only a town in the technical sense, as it had several small huts clustered together, with no definitive road, or reason. Children ran through the surrounding terrain, chasing a deflated soccer ball as if it was the most ingenious invention on earth.

I was completely taken by the scenes, and my camera rarely left my eye. I wanted to show the daily lives, the routines and the realities, and not just those things that caused impact and dramatic effect. To me, these simple features of their home construction, the foods they ate, and the things they cherished, was just as important as any live changing event that may befall them.

The trip out was short, but I had taken over a hundred stills. Not uncommon, especially when I found subjects that gave me so much variety so easily. I was smiling the entire ride back to the camp, holding tightly onto the bar over my head as the dust clouded around in our wake.

The rest of my day had been spent helping out in the clinic, putting away the supplies we had collected in town, restocking, organizing, and cleaning. All the little things that I never thought we would do, but found a sense of calm in. I loved simple, menial tasks, ones that let me be active without having to engage much thought. It was a nice change from my usually constantly turning mind.

After dinner, we had gathered outside the foot hut, a normal occurrence each evening, talking, laughing and visiting. This was when the challenge had started between Erin, Rob, Chet and Ariel, the game taking place and continuing much longer than I thought it was supposed to. Surely, it didn't take three hours to play one round?

I leaned my head back, looking up to the stars overhead. It had been years since I had seen the stars to clearly. Living in New York, they were a sight usually drowned out by the overwhelming lights of the city. After a while, you almost forget their existence, and the fact that they are always shining down on you. Now, here in the middle of nowhere, they were large, bright, and alive. The sky was so clear, no a cloud in sight, the moon casting a pale white glow on everything below.

It was almost midnight, and I was tired. Even though I hadn't really done anything today, I was still feeling the effects of a long days work. Maybe I should just go to bed now?