FRONTIERS - Five Prose Sketches

Frontiers
- Daniel Emerson Aldridge -

1. "Frontiers of Human Existance"

Imagine a barbed wire, or a wall; some obstacle that seems to be insurmountable. On the one side, there is the boy, on the other side the girl - they are in love.
A guardian soldier appears in a coloured uniform with many golden cords and a winged cap. He tears the frontier down, with an axe or something else - it depends on the nature of the frontier.

The boy and the girl run to each other and fall into each other's arms.
Finally, they are united and happy.

The border guard looks at them with a knowing, pain-inflicted smile - and far behind them, a large fire blooms like a beautiful unknown flower.

2. "D A R K R O O M"

In a dark small prison in some pre-atomic age school, there is a boy who sits on the floor. The only thin beam of light that falls in meets his wild, loving eyes.
He tries to scratch flowers into the walls with his fingernails. Within himself, he is a naked being, and he tries to break out. He wants to tear down the walls and he hammers against them with his small hurt fingers.

Suddenly, the walls burst. Thousands of flowers are whirling around him which are like shining thoughts and feelings and ideas.

Then, a hollow slamming of the door pulls him back into reality. Before him stands the School servant, opening the door.

There are no flowers behind it.

3. "I learned that there are frontiers, and I have overcome them."

A young prince, or maybe a student, leans against a wall with his hand. "I have grown beyond my own self, learned more about myself, and it never stops."
In the distance, there are the big skyscrapers of Metropolis, ages old, corroded steel skeletons - a network of roses climbing higher and higher around them.

Who takes care of them?

4.

Imagine a mountain of paper which grows and grows.
Imagine the writer who can't be fast enough to write, so much paper is gathering itself around his writing desk.

On every piece of paper, there is something written on.
The letters are being led in his handwriting.

"I am building myself new frontiers."

5.

Stars are in the sky, neverendingly far away from each other, infinitely continuing into eternity, away from her.
"My thoughts are like spaceships made of fire or ice. And they encounter frontiers. Their frontiers."

Flowers are also in the Sky.

Berlin 2001