2022 CE
Earth, Milky Way. It is with deep sorrow that we mourn the passing of 2022, CE.
2022 arrived full of hope and anticipation, excited to see what people would accomplish with the gift she provided: a new beginning. Every day for 365 days, she offered the chance to be. To become. To do. To do more. To do better.
Some grasped opportunity with both hands to improve, to march steadily if slowly towards a goal, a dream, a life well-lived. Perhaps, to ease another's pain and suffering. To foster, cultivate another's development towards their best self.
A few sought to fullfull a fleeting sense of power, celebrity, dominance, rather than seek to do good for themselves or others. Frequently, their actions spawned evil, harm.
Others were passive observers of their own lives due to fear, laziness, or a mere lack of motivation or ambition.
By the end, 2022's expectations had withered on the vine of hope.
2022 CE leaves behind a population of over 7.8 billion along with innumerable species, some proliferating, others sliding towards extinction. She is survived by her newborn sibling, 2023 CE, to whom she wished godspeed as she joined all those who preceded her into oblivion.