Margeaux
Created | Updated Apr 13, 2024
Margeaux
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Nobody knew how long the girl at the riverbank had been crying. No one really cared why her tears fell. Why she wept was of no concern to the crowds that had gathered.
They just wanted little Margeaux to stop.
News crews from all over the planet jostled on the bank and nearby bridge. TV station helicopters and drones buzzed and thundered over the swollen river.
Groups of people, separated by religion but brought together by faith this day, circled the child, praying to their gods for protection. Offering useless rituals even as the waters rose around their knees.
Little Margeaux knelt on a small hillock, the tides already covering the mound. Salt water lapping warmly at her legs, unnoticed by the grieving girl.
For twenty-one days and twenty nights now, Margeaux�s tears had fed the river. The water levels growing with each tiny droplet.
The miraculous flood breaching the banks, the river of tears inexorably creeping towards the nearby buildings, threatening homes and commerce.
Inch by inch, day by day, Margeaux�s tears changed the landscape.
The local Mayor had begged the police, the army, the government, to intervene. But none were willing to forcibly remove the crying child. The President had finally declared a state of emergency in the area.
Scores of military vehicles were deployed. Hundreds of soldiers toiled with thousands of sand-bags in the summer heat. Flood defences slowly covered and breached as the child continued her sorrow.
The Pope addressed the world, declaring the tears of Margeaux to be a miraculous event, a sign from God. The Flood re-imagined, humanity had turned their collective backs on the Divine. The Child that Wept would show God was still amongst us, warning the planet to repent, to change.
Scientists scoffed. Scratched their heads. Surely there was a rational explanation. Something that could be proven with equations and calculations?
Politicians described the Margeaux Incident as a deep fake. A hoax instigated by malign foreign actors. Eco warriors disrupting the day to day lives of honest, hard-working voters again. AI gone mad. A ruse to disrupt and divide. Calls for more stringent laws about fake media content. Endless debates around the scourge of the wokerati damaging their chances of re-election.
The crowds grew, the water levels expanded, the world watched.
Margeaux cried.
