THE STORY OF A LOSS SOUL

By Angela Mitchelle Nyangan

It was tranquillity. The morning sun
slowly broke through the clouds.
Animals were already up and
nowhere to be seen. Dew sparkled
on every twig and leaf and the
insects were emotionally composing
their symphonic song. From a
distance , the world looked blue and
green , and the streams gurgled
along, fresh and clear.
On the hillside, there was a big tree
which stood at 4.5 metres. It was the
tallest tree. Its massive roots
grasped the earth firmly while its
branches and leaves formed the
forest canopy. Meanwhile , at the
beach , I could enjoy the tenderness
of the constant breeze which always
suited my mood perfectly. Life was
indeed happy and wonderful at that
time.
However the streak of blessing that I
hoped will last for eternity did not
come true. Corrupted by greed , the
irresponsible human race had ruined
Mother Nature. Mass destruction of
nature in the name of development
had affected the whole ecosystem
badly.
Pollution came in. Pollution had
caused many undesirable changes in
the characteristics of the natural
environment. Emission of harmful
gasses such as carbon monoxide ,
sulphur dioxide and oxides of
nitrogen from the exhaust of the
vehicles and chimneys of the
factories had caused some health
problems to mankind. Some of the
pollutants had even resulted in coma
and death.

Some of these harmful gasses , such

as carbon monoxide and oxides of
nitrogen , when combined with water
vapour in the atmosphere would fall
to Earth as acid rain. This made the
soil very acidic and unsuitable for
cultivation of crops as well as
increased the acidity in aquatic
ecosystems , killing phytoplankton
which would change the food chain.
The presence of certain gasses ,
called the greenhouse gasses in the
atmosphere , resulted in the
greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide ,
chorofluorocarbons , methane and
nitrous oxides made up the
greenhouse gasses. The atmospheric
concentration of carbon dioxide ,
methane and nitrous oxides had
more than doubled since the last
century and this made the
greenhouse effect more pronounced.
There had also been a steady rise in
the temperature over the past
years . this phenomenon was known
as the global warming. The rise in
temperature melted the polar
icecaps and glaciers , causing flood
to occur more frequently. Global
warming also led to changes in wind
direction , distribution of rainfall ,
and weather patterns. This , too, had
led to the extinction of species in
certain regions.
Besides , it was reported that the
ozone layer over the Antarctic had
declined. The atmosphere in this
area had very low ozone
concentrations , resulting in the
formation of ozone hole not only
above the Antarctic , but the Arctic
as well. Consequently, ultraviolet
radiation had risen in both the
northern and southern hemispheres.
Prolonged exposure to this radiation

led to skin cancer , cataracts and

sunburns.
According to the people who called
themselves scientist , the place we
were living in was in great danger
because of this serious problems of
pollution , greenhouse effect ,global
warming and depletion of the ozone
layer. I never put my trust on them.
From time to time they asked people
to save the planet , but how many
actually did so? The only thing i knew
was life was not easy for me.
The last time i went to the hillside
the tallest tree which used to be
there was nowhere to be seen . it
had been cut down by the loggers
and excavators to clear the land to
make way for industry and

development. Standing at the beach

i could how polluted the water was.
Also gone were the days i could feel
the the cold breeze blowing against
my back.
I grasped for breath. Above me the
sky loomed in a dark , creepy shade
of gray. My body was weary and my
mind was screaming for me to just
give up. The pollutants greyed the
sky. This was the end of my life. In a
few minutes i would not be able to
see this world. Taking a glimpse of
this miserable planet i narrate the
story of a loss soul and right after i
penned the final word of my story i
fall.