The calm after the storm

I knew it. From the moment I woke up I knew. At first, it was a scary thought, the end of humanity. I felt the anxiety begin to course through my veins, I thought of all the things I had planned, the trip to see my uncle that I was scheduled to go on in a month, the show in two weeks that would never be performed. Everything that I would never get to do. The people who I would never see again. It all seemed so sad. But then, the anxiety eased. Maybe it wasn't so bad. Nothing mattered now. I could do whatever I wanted. I could punch him. I could quit softball, I could tell my parents to get off my back, I could tell my brother that he was the one who ruined my life, not the boy. I could tell Lilly that I loved her. I could do anything and in seven days it would all be over.

It is true that over seven days I felt a strange pressure. It seemed so insane that no one else realized. I wanted so badly to make these seven days the best seven days. But I got no satisfaction out of skipping rehearsal, not doing my homework, or quitting softball. My friends became of the utmost importance, especially Lilly. Everything I said to her was in an attempt to tell her everything I wanted from her.

After five days she got the message. Our first and last kiss was the day the world ended. She didn't know. I didn't tell anyone. I didn't try to stop it. Who was I to end something so inevitable? And for that moment, it was just me and Lilly. And I forgot about the world. It was the last time I could forget. Everything else about that day was horrible. It seemed cruel for them to let me suffer like that. I had just kissed the girl I loved, but there was never going to be another time like that. I spent the day crying. I was nervous, of course, for what the end of humanity would look like, but more, I was upset. I hated that I wasn't able to let myself forget.

That night, I went to sleep. And when I woke up the next morning, I was alone. It was only me. There was no Lilly, my brother and the boy weren't there. My parents were gone. Humanity had ended, and I was okay.