It was announced at 5:34 am today that the world would end at 2:01 pm later that day. Scientists had realized a large piece of debris would be entering the atmosphere, causing mass combustion of the worlds oxygen supply.
I walk into the kitchen to see my mother weeping into my father's arms. I nodded to my father and silently understood their need to be along; their need to spend these last hours together. I stepped out into the street to see people in a state of emergency; people burning their houses, women running from slavering men and crying babies left in gutters. Had I seen this at another time, it might've disturbed me, but once you face the mortality of an entire planet, things like this seem trivial.
The phones didn't work; I would have to walk a few blocks through this cacophony of savage impulsion, all the while resisting the urge to join in on the mob of savage indulgence. The entire populace reduced to dogs backed into a corner, killing, fucking and maiming in a desperate and vain attempt to prolong their time in this world.
I made it to Silvia's house at about 6: 57 am. She was a very close friend of mine; we grew up together on the very streets that are now in flames. Our mothers both worked at the same publishing company uptown. I remember how I met her, she was building a castle. She wanted to be a princess. I look back on that now and remember how I used a toy dinosaur to knock over her castle causing her to give me a black eye. She grew up to be a beautiful tan skinned girl with jet black hair and ice blue eyes. She was the Honor Student and I was the burnout in the band. She was a devout Christian, never straying from faith, and I was the kid dedicated to science and Darwinian law. We were in two completely different worlds but today I decided "both of our worlds are going to end today, so why not tell her". Tell her… how I feel, tell her how I haven't had eyes for anyone but her, tell her that if this world was still around after 2:01 I'd like to spend the rest of my life with her.
She opened the door, I could hear her parents yelling in the background but there stood Silvia-calm and collected as ever, a testament to beauty in the face of Ragnarรถk. She smiled, she always smiled, I loved that, and she took me by the hand "I knew you'd come for me"; the voice of a siren that echoed over distant car alarms and ringing gunshots. I told her I had something special planned, she followed obligingly and together we walked in the streets that ran red with the blood of diamond diggers and oil tycoons. Together we walked on the black top streets of a dying suburb.
It was 7:34 am by the time we got to the zoo. The gates were wide open but no people could be seen, we hadn't seen a single person since we entered the parking lot. When we got in we let loose all the animals, letting them enjoy their final day. The elephants trumpeted and made their way down Main Street while the buffalos went on their way, back to the fields. The lions lounged on the tops of abandoned cars while all the birds in the aviary flew as one flock across the sun, Macaws, Cockatoos, Spoonbills and countless other species gracing the sky as one wing, one feather; one massive bird. The Rhinos made their way to the garden beds, grateful looks in their sullen brown eyes; the giraffes close behind. Then last, the Polar Bears passed, mothers nudging cubs. You could tell they all knew what was coming but they knew it had to be, they somehow saw it in the stars on some cold autumn night hundreds of years ago. Something deep within me wished that they would survive this and live to see that cub take down an elk in the crumbling streets of New York City.
At about 9:42 am we went to our old baseball field. This is where we spent our childhood together; this is where I taught her my secret swing that got her a college scholarship. I can see the night, it was her 15th birthday and we had snuck away from her friends at the party. We stood on home plate, my hands over hers. "Spread your feet like this" I said, as I showed her a proper stance. "Now bring your arms back and pretend you're building up tension in your arms" and I stood there, my body pressed up against hers and my hands guiding hers through the motions. "And then what?" she asked in that sweet little voice. I laughed; a common nervous response that plagued me when I was around her "Swing for the fences" and I moved our arms through one powerful, wide swing. The secret about that secret swing was… I didn't have a secret swing.
We spent that afternoon talking about anything and everything. Talking about school, about our 4th grade field trip to the dairy farm, about old cartoons, and it seemed like the rest of the world just melted away during the few hours we spent talking. Drops in an endless sea of time; saline crystals in a vein of salt. And then…she started crying. She cried and squeezed my hand and I did my best to comfort her. I pulled her into my arms and just let her cry. I let her get it out and I would give her all the time (left) in the world if need be. I hated seeing her sad, it's like watching the Mona Lisa being torn to pieces; it's heartbreaking. She's always been an extremely strong person, so seeing her like this was a rare sight for me and it's something I'll never get used to.
I sat there with her for what seemed like eternity, I didn't mind, as long as I was with her. The clock flashed 12:14 pm, a little less than two hours left. Suddenly it hit me; I took her hand and lead her to the athletic shed by the field. I opened the door and grabbed a batter ol' Louisville Slugger from the rack and made my way towards the big hill that overlooked the field. Power lines wove back and forth 'neath the flower covered mound. A single willow stood behind us, its trunk encased in a fragile tapestry of orchids. This was perfect; the air was filled with the crisp smell of pollen and dew. Then I looked at her, tears were now replaced with bewilderment. "What are we doing up here?" she asked, her voice still cracking from her little episode earlier. "You'll see, I promise, it'll be good". "It better be, it'd be awfully lame of you to bore a lady to death for the last few hours she's got left". Only she could be so concise when faced with her own end. Then…she kissed me, my knees buckled…and brought us tumbling into the flowers where we laid. My head was spinning still when she delivered the knockout-punch… "I love you" she said, burying her face in my chest. "I…I…love you too". Sadly, we were interrupted by my beeping watch, the numbers 1:58 flashing on the screen. Had we really spent so much time staring off of the hill? How long did we stand there holding hands looking into the eyes of a dying town? How long did she glance over at me and smile that wry little smile that I knew so well? My heart sank, but I knew I had to make those last few moments worth it.
I stood up with the bat and ran to the edge of the hill, she followed right behind. I handed her the bat as the sun was blocked out. "What am I supposed to do with this?" I took her in my arms and positioned her. "Keep your eye on the ball" the massive rock was tearing through the clouds, burning them up into zephyrs of steam in its wake. "Keep your legs apart, keep your shoulders back". It was closer now, the heat was almost unbearable.
"Now Swing for the Fences"
And we burnt up with our little planet. We burst into flames with the willow and its orchids. We caught fire together as that last swing hit. Then… deafening silence as space set in where there was once life.
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