Withering roses by the wall

There was this dystopian world where plants and animals lived together with hardly any conflict.

In the center of it all was the Wall. People called it that because, well, it was this massive wall that had some kind of power.

Some thought it was divine, others said it was magic. But really, nobody knew why it was there. The folks in this place would just sit there in front of the Wall, trying to figure stuff out. What was interesting about them was this: they all had a rose on top of their heads that showed how old they were and once the rose wilted human that owned it would die.

A bunch of these people were totally fixated on their roses, and that’s what the Wall let them see. The ones who only cared about their rose did everything to keep it looking fresh and not wilted. But others could tell that the rose was faked or manipulated. That awareness of losing charm always held them back but made them chase after this idea of perfection they never quite got to. And just like any other living being eventually the rose would wilt.

Then there were those who wanted to stand out, be treated like they were something special. The Wall would give them hints on how to make that happen. Problem was, once they got what they wanted, they lost their zest for life and got sad. The Wall didn’t clue them in on what their life was all about. So, after reaching their goals, they’d just drift away from the Wall, only to realize too late that their rose had died.

Kids in this world? They were super curious, but everyone kind of ignored them because all the older folks were glued to the Wall.

These kids had to fend for themselves, and some even got jumped by the local predators, but nobody cared in that world. Once they got a glimpse of the Wall, just like the adults they’d end up in front of it, staring at it without eating or sleeping, and their roses never fully bloomed but started to wilt.

It was like the life happening around the Wall was invisible to people. They all worshipped it, some thinking it’d keep them safe, but the world beyond was left unexplored and just sort of faded away on its own.