Work Text:
I live in a volcano.
No, I shouldn’t say it like that. It’ll give you the wrong impression.
My house is warm and dry. My bed is comfortable, and my fridge has plenty of food. When I step outside, the view is beautiful. My house sits on a cliff overlooking a quietly churning sea of red and black. When it’s not erupting, the lava is wonderful to look at. I can sit and think for hours in peace. Most days are normal.
The volcano doesn’t erupt every day. In fact, it almost never does. These eruptions, such rare occurrences, don’t give you a fair view of the situation. Most days are normal.
I’ve left before, but I always come back. Here is familiar and nostalgic. This is where my home has always been, and there’s no reason to change that now. Other places aren’t as quiet. When it’s not erupting, this is the most silent place I’ve ever known. I love the silence.
Most days are normal, but the eruptions were disorienting at first. The lava is scorching, flying past my windows and raining down around me. I’ve been burned before. Rocks fall, some smaller, some bigger. It’s best to stay inside when that happens; I’ve been cut and bruised before. Afterward, the ash settles in a thick layer on every surface, suffocating. I’m only complaining; I hope you don’t judge my whole life based on this. You didn’t get the full story. Most days really are normal.
After the eruption, I repair and rebuild. Clearing the ash is laborious, but it has to be done. I find stray rocks and toss them back into the lava. Sometimes my house is damaged, and I fix it. And do the eruptions stop? What a silly question. You may as well ask if the volcano apologizes.
Besides, does it matter? Most days are normal.
I’m sorry for taking so much of your time with my monologuing. You must have real problems to worry about, definitely something more important than this. I hope you don’t hate the volcano. No place to live is perfect. I wish I could describe the quiet and the calm as deeply as I described the eruptions. Most days are normal. They really are.
I live in a volcano. My house is warm and dry, and most days are normal. I will not leave. This is what I deserve and where I belong.