History (free day) (1p England & 2p England)
It always surprises Oliver when he knows what countries go through, even if he is one of them himself.
But he is a recent country, unlike Wang Yao, who lived for thousands of years. No, that was too extreme for an example. Oliver shakes his head. Arthur would be more of an appropriate example, since he is his mirror image, after all.
Still, Arthur has lived longer than him by a few hundred years. Short for a country, yet long enough for humans. They come and go, while the countries stay on, not even altering their appearance. They are the witnesses of history.
He would listen, enthralled, as Arthur recalls the days of Knights, dragons, clashes of roses, Pirates, witchcraft... They came from another era, yet they were told by a witness. A true witness.
Oliver himself gets muddled with time, but he remembers everything that he saw. The city of fog. London, the city he knows best, becomes a maze within the swirly, pea-soup. The poor struggling. The cries of the trains. The heaving of the machines. The monstrous beings slumped on beds, smoking opium.
Arthur sees these sights with him. They never forget. They remember.
Now is the present. The past still clings to their heels, but it is the past. It could not hurt.
Life goes on. The countries live on. They are witnesses of the past. They are onlookers of the present.
Arthur and Oliver are one and the same. They could not be separated. And they would bring their hands together to look forward to the future, unflinching, as they did so in the past.
Me: The last day done! It is a rather strange piece of writing... Enjoyed toying with ideas for this free day though. Hope to join in this event next year! @aph-mirror-week
