MAAT'S THOUGHTS: Today is Thursday, around 9pm. Outside, the strong wind mixes with rain, a consequence of the intense heat waves that marked the day. I'm here, with freshly washed hair, giving off a great perfume, sitting and listening to the wonderful sound of the rain.

What if the Earth was, in fact, a living being, and we, the "animals", were bacteria? And when this living being decides to take an "antibacterial", will this be the beginning of our extinction?

(...) The silence between us was palpable, full of promise and something neither of us wanted to name. I could feel his heart beating as fast as mine, and there was a mix of hesitation and desire in the air. Our gazes remained locked, as if any word could break the spell that enveloped us. "I knew this would happen," he murmured, his voice husky, as his fingers gently slid down my arm. The touch was light, but the effect on me was overwhelming. Every movement he made seemed carefully calculated, and at the same time, completely surrendered to the moment. I smiled, unable to hide how involved I was with him. "You knew?" I asked, my voice also low, filled with a mix of curiosity and anticipation. He nodded, moving a little closer, until our foreheads were almost touching. "From the first glance... I felt there would be something more. Like we'd been waiting for this all along." My breathing became heavier. There was something irresistible in the way he spoke, as if each word he said was an unspoken promise. I lost myself for a moment in his eyes, feeling that silent connection grow between us. It was as if there were no barriers anymore, just the two of us, so close that it was impossible to know where one ended and the other began. "So what are we waiting for?" I whispered, without pulling away, my fingers brushing the back of his neck, feeling him shiver at my touch. He let out a soft laugh, and before I could process it, he pulled me into a kiss. But it wasn't a rushed or urgent kiss. It was deep, slow, as if he wanted to explore every detail of that moment, every sensation. I gave myself completely, feeling the heat rise through my body, every inch of me responding to his touch, to the way our breaths mingled. The kiss seemed to last forever and, at the same time, only a few seconds. When we separated, we were both panting, but smiling. There was something right about it all, something we both knew we couldn't ignore. "It's just you and me now," he said, his voice low and full of promise. "Nothing else matters."

I approached slowly, feeling the tension in the air between us grow with each step. My heart was beating faster, and it was as if time had stopped around us, leaving only the two of us standing there, so close. He was looking at me in a way that made everything else disappear, as if the world had been reduced to this moment. “If I touched you now…” I whispered, my voice low, almost like a challenge. His gaze met mine, and I could see the conflict in his eyes, the hesitation mixed with desire. A shiver ran through me, and instinctively, my fingers brushed against his shirt. The heat of his body was intoxicating, and the closeness between us left every movement full of unspoken meaning. “You wouldn’t resist,” I finished, a slight smile on my lips. He seemed to hold his breath, and for a second, I thought he was going to take a step back. But instead, he pulled me closer, as if there was no choice but to give in to what we were feeling. The touch of our bodies was like an electric current, coursing through my entire body. His scent, his heat, the intensity of it all took my breath away. I stared at him, my face so close to his that I could feel the heat of his breath against my skin. I didn't need to say anything else. In that moment, all that mattered was there, in the way he looked at me, in the way our bodies met, and in the silence filled with promise between us. (...)