Day 273: A Journey Through the Earth

One day I picked up a shovel and I started digging. I dug all day and into the night. The next day I continued my pursuit: somewhere underground was treasure — a load of wealth that would solve all my problems. With the centuries of life that existed on Earth, there must be something buried and hidden that would be worth the effort. So I dug.

I dug and dug. I bought new equipment to help me dig. Within a month or so I had dug a mile down. Still nothing. All I had found were some rocks, clay, and scattered bones. None of it was worth a fortune. None of it would solve my problems. So, I kept digging.

Even when I got to the center of the Earth, I had found nothing of value. Sure, there was a lot of lava, which was cool. I was the first person to dig to the center of the Earth. That’s no big deal. The scientists wanted to give me a medal, but I told them that I was too busy digging. They asked me what I was looking for. And I told them that I didn’t know, but when I found it I would finally be happy.

Nearing Australia, I stopped digging for a bit. I thought maybe that the whole pursuit was just a giant waste of time and effort. I had nearly dug through the entire Earth and I still hadn’t found anything. Not one nugget of gold or a field of diamonds. But, being persistent and stubborn, I knew that I had to keep going.

I didn’t want to stop now; the whole world was waiting for me to emerge on the other side. Word had gotten around that I had been digging for some time and having a rough go at. Some people offered to help me, but I declined. It was not that I minded sharing the wealth, but I felt it was something that I needed to do on my own. It was no one else’s burden to dig.

Finally, I popped my head out of the red sandy desert of Australia. There were camera crews and news anchors from all over the globe waiting for me to emerge. I stood up and waved and answered their questions. They asked if I had found anything. I told them that I didn’t. They said it was still an amazing accomplishment: the first person ever to journey through the Earth. I told them I was proud of the accomplishment, but I really didn’t feel anything about it one way or another. It was just something that I did. And I found nothing through the whole journey.

They asked me what I was going to do next. I shrugged and said I suppose I’ll walk home. They gasped at that statement too — always impressed by the mundane. The cameras followed me for a while but eventually got bored. I tried to tell them a long time ago that I wasn’t interesting, but they wouldn’t listen.

I was somewhere in northern Germany, walking through a forest. It was nice and quiet out there. Much more pleasant than the center of the Earth. There were a million trees, animals, and sunshine. At one point, I knocked my head on a low hanging branch. Surprisingly, an apple fell from the tree and landed right in front of me. I picked it up, wiped it off, and gave it a bite. I nodded, thinking that was the best thing to ever happen to me.