Work Text:
Rory Meke woke up every morning at 1 a.m. He always went to the local coffee shop, Mary’s Coffee and Donuts, and ordered a black coffee and a blueberry muffin. He always took the backroads on the way to work. He was a simple man.
Rory shuffled through satellite and radar data. Looking at the clock, he straightened his tie. 4:10. In ten minutes he was going to make his very first appearance on air.
“Good morning, Burgess! Today it is looking sunny, about 60 degrees.” He pointed somewhere on the green screen. In the screen, he was pointing to the right thing.
“It is currently 5:00 am, and the weather is looking calm today. In the afternoon it will reach about 68 degrees.” He continued on his rehearsed speech, adding in traffic and the rest of the week forecast.
“Good thing the weather is predictable these days!”
It was 10:00 a.m. and Rory Meke stepped out of the camera’s line of sight. He knew that it was on him currently, but it wouldn’t kill to be careful. His coworkers patted on his back as he made his way to the door. Stepping into his car, he took the backroads to his house.
Stepping out of his car, he breathed in the chilly spring air. He was glad that he didn’t get hired in winter, or else the joke about the weather wouldn’t have landed on anyone but the kids. They were so good at predicting winter weather, while everyone else was left scratching their heads in confusion. It was 11:30, and he was finally home. He planned to get to bed early. Waking up at 3:00 a.m. made him very tired.
He felt a raindrop on his nose.
“What?” He didn’t see rain on the radar or satellite data. He poured over it for so long. It couldn’t be raining!
Emily Jane walked up to the weatherman. He couldn’t see her, but he was standing in the rain with a confused face.
“I am not predictable, Rory Meke.” Calling his name drew in ancient magic, and Meke flinched.
Rory ran into his house. He didn’t know what happened back there. It started raining, and then he felt a shiver down his back. He spent 2 minutes outside, and he was soaked. He tore off his tie and pulled off his shoes.
At 4 p.m. he made dinner. It was still raining. Hasn’t stopped once. What happened to clear skies? He tried to let it go. The data could’ve been wrong. It was fine. But something about it bothered him so much.
It was 1 a.m. and Rory wanted hit to the snooze button. He didn’t, and he got up and got ready for work. He drove to work and sipped his coffee. Rory was very tired, and hoped the coffee would kick in soon.
Driving into the parking lot made his jaw drop. Snow? The lot was covered in snow, but it was the only place snow was. How? He had to park on the other side of the road, and grumpily trodded to the door. He finally got on the shoveled pavement, where someone was shoveling.
“Hey, the snowplow company said that they’ll send a plow over to us at 8:00,” They said, and Rory nodded.
He pointed to the green screen.
“Today we have hot weather, about 78 degrees right now.” Rory knew that their building was the only thing that was even slightly cold in town. “And the high for today is 81.”
As he stepped down, his coworkers gossiped.
“People started noticing the snow, what do we say?” A coworker said, running her hands through her hair.
“The kids love the myth of Jack Frost,” another coworker said with a laugh. “Let’s say it was him!” Rory checked his watch. 10:02. His parking pass was going to expire soon, and he had to make his way down to his car.
Mother Nature watched with a smile as Rory Meke ran around his car. She never liked cars anyway. Too noisy and gassy. It was covered in snow. A snicker sounded off behind her.
“Do shut up, Frost.” Jack giggled at that.
“Oh, you love me,” he said. “I didn’t know you were so petty.” Mother Nature glared at him, and he backed up.
“Don’t you have a snow day to give?” Jack nodded.
“Meet you tomorrow?” Jack asked, smirking.
“Where are you off to?” Mother Nature turned to the winter spirit. Jack tilted his head and fidgeted with his staff.
“Oh, Bunny wanted us to help out with Easter this year. He’s starting to prepare for it. But between you and me, I think it’s an excuse for him to judge our painting skills.” Jack laughed. Mother Nature nodded.
“Tell Sanderson I said hello.” Jack paused at a softness in her voice.
“Will do.”
“While yesterday was hot and everyone went down to the pool, today school is canceled because of a freak blizzard! It is 23 degrees right now.” Rory pointed at the green screen. “This week the weather is acting out, it’s almost like it heard my joke from a couple days ago and made it a challenge.” He frowned a little. “But I’m sure in no time that the weather will be back to normal in a few days.”
Everyday the day the weather did something weird, something that was never being caught on his data. Rory almost got fired, but wasn’t when Rory offered his boss the data from the past couple of days. It drastically changed everyday. The weekly forecast was entirely messed up, each day had its own weather. And what was weirdest, something impossible happened near the building. They were getting news about it, even though Rory would’ve preferred to keep quiet about it. He checked his watch. 12:00 p.m. His stomach rumbled.
Getting up from his chair, he made his way to the door. He was planning to make lunch at home, but maybe eating out wouldn’t be so bad. Suddenly, Rory paused. He sniffed the air a couple times. He smelt a kind of… fruity smell. Like he walked in a fruit market on a rainy day.
“Rory Meke!” Thunder shook the building. He jumped and saw a bear run towards him. He screamed and fell over.
The bear disappeared, but so did the floor. He felt dirt and grass beneath his hands. He stood up cautiously.
Rory breathed in fresh garden air. It was full of pollen and fruit and dirt. He heard birds and water and fire. He saw things he could never describe. Animals of all kinds running around him and plants moving with the wind. And in the center of it all, a woman. She was tall, with long curly black hair. She wore a gown that changed colors with the weather. She was beautiful, in the way that hurricanes were. Deadly. Ethereal. Ruthless. Breathtaking. She held herself like She was royalty. But, by god, Rory knew that She was more than that.
She was the Earth. Mother Nature. Rory gasped and fell to his knees.
“Please, Mother Nature. Forgive me. I know now that you aren’t predictable, you are as wild-“
“I like it when men beg, but your flattery is pathetic.” Her voice was deep, a velvety thing like the waves of a tsunami. Fear rose up in Rory.
“Stand up, Rory Meke.” A shiver ran through Rory’s spine. Rory stood, and looked down. He couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eyes.
“You know that you are not the only human I have to deal with,” She said. “There are those far worse than you. However, they aren’t as petty as you. They are more primal, sacrificing everything else for their own gain.” She circled Rory, Her golden eyes following him like a predator about to attack its prey.
“What do you want with me? Shouldn’t you be doing this to them?” She laughed. “They would never listen. No, something far worse will meet those who hurt the ground they walk upon. But you, I know the smallest thing will shake you.”
She gestured to Rory.
“You, with all your ignorance and bluster, are nothing more than a little speck in the universe. But I know humans like you. They live in the moment, depending on others to tell them what to do. Depending on times, numbers, and endless routines. You don’t really live.”
Rory met her eyes, and they stood like that for a moment.
“What do you want me to do? I can’t change the world. I can’t stop playing the game!”
Mother Nature hummed.
“You humans and your limited mindsets. Change is inevitable. Life will pass you by and your Earth will burn.”
Rory woke up on the floor of the room, covered in sweat.
“Hey, Rory, you good?” Rory made an inhuman squeak. The people gathered around him in a circle looked at each other. Rory tried sitting up.
“Does anyone have a snack I can eat? I think my blood sugar went crazy just then,” He said, rubbing his temples and steading himself with his hands. Was that all a crazy dream? How long was he passed out for? It couldn’t been more than a few seconds.
Someone helped him up. Rory looked over at the window. Mother Nature was standing there. He nodded at Her, and he made a mental note to go to an environment protest…or something. His coworker, Amy, handed him some crackers. Rory ate one.
“Thanks.”
He looked back at the window to find She disappeared. Rory took a deep breath.
“Hey, I think I’m going to go home early,” he said.
He stood in his home. Mother Nature was right. He didn’t really live. He had no hobbies outside of his work, he had no photos of loved ones one his walls. Not even a collection of random things. His house looked ready to sell.
Numbly moving through the kitchen, he noted that he was the only one he knew. He was new to his job, so he didn’t have any friends. He had no partner or close friends. He had his parents, but he didn’t talk to them a lot.
He pulled out his phone and searched through non-profits for the environment. Save the sea-turtles. Save the rainforests. No matter what their goal was, Rory knew that The Earth Herself would be watching them. He switched over to the phone app. He had to fix things. Rory called his mom.
Rory Meke woke up every morning just in time for his job. He always biked to the local coffee shop, Mary’s Coffee and Donuts, and ordered a black coffee and a blueberry muffin. He would bike to work. After work, he would visit his parents, riding the city bus to go to their house. Sometimes he would invite his coworkers to his home, which looks a lot more comfortable than it was. Sometimes he would volunteer to teach about the environment and the things they could do to save it to the nearby schools. He was no longer a simple man.