Who has been the best leader of your country, past or present (e.g., president, royalty, prime minister, etc.)?
Few people in this world have ever loomed half as large as my late grandmother, the Last Empress of Esmil. Sylmare Zibella had been a fair ruler, widely respected for her sense of judgement and overwhelming patience. She was not quick to anger, but she had a stern face that always made me feel guilty as a child, like I had done something to make her mad. Perhaps that is why she always came out on top in negotiations of state.
Ma ‘Mare was the one who abolished the monarchy, after all. “If you want to rule the country so bad, convince the people to let you,” she had ordered her children as they squabbled over their right to succession. She believed a nation was not a plaything for parents to bequeath to their children. Governing demanded more attention than one privileged child with a coterie of advisors could manage sufficiently.
She wanted her family to be free to choose how to live their lives, not tied to the throne of a tiny nation at the end of the world. She had spent her life working towards that goal. It wasn’t easy, and she wasn’t perfect. Tensions and conflicts rose during her reign that might have been avoided, but in the end, she set us all up for success.
Because for Ma ‘Mare, Esmil was more than just a nation of people to govern. Esmiles were her family, and she wanted all of her family to be free. To have the opportunity to grow and learn and teach and be whoever we want to be. In that spirit, I hereby dedicate this cultural center to the greatest leader our small country has ever known. May we all strive to be as dedicated to one another as Sylmare Zibella, Last Empress of Esmil was to all of us, her people, her family.
Note: I am not nearly well-versed enough in politics or history or political history to have an informed opinion as to who the best leader of our country was. And honestly I’m probably not really qualified to write even a fake great leader for the same reasons. But that’s part of being a writer, learning and growing to create more believable characters and settings. I did not really do that tonight because I am swimming with a head cold and just wanted to write some words tonight before I crash early. Like last night’s fluff post, sometimes it’s nice to just write an idealized fantasy world.
I hope I can still get to sleep tonight. I got home from work and slept for almost two hours before dinner. Here’s hoping this bug runs its course and I’m feeling better tomorrow. Getting to bed at a reasonable hour should help to facilitate that. And chugging more Sambucol. Mmm dat elderberry extract. Anyway. Have a great night! I’ll see you tomorrow!
PS-Like these prompts? Like the short stories I write based on these prompts? Want to show your support? Give the blog a follow! Leave a comment! Buy me a coffee! I put a lot of time and effort into these posts and your support means the world to me! Ok, now go out there and write!
Closet Full of Notebooks 