30 Seconds

If you knew the world was going to end, where would you be 30 seconds before it happens?

30 seconds ‘till world’s end. Everyone just sits there looking at the clocks. In a small apartment in Dallas, a young couple sits on their navy blue love seat, soaking in one final embrace. In a pub outside of Dublin, a large group of men and women sing their last verse and enjoy a final drink “on the house.”

In an airport in New York City, a woman is greeted by her husband and children as she runs from the terminal, a man who could not catch a plain home says “I love you” as he waves goodbye to his family on his laptop camera, men and women of all ages use their cell-phones to have their last conversations with those they deemed special enough to share this final moment, while a man holding his wife in his arms sacrifices his phone to a young lady who’s all alone so she can tell her mom “I love you” one last time.

A millionaire sits all alone in the fading glory he has created, while a homeless man basks in his family’s love. A 43-year old woman calls her mother for the first time since she stormed out of the house at 18.

Never has so much love filled the earth �" a swan song for the capacities of human emotion. One final burst before it’s gone, forgotten. Nothing really matters anymore. People hold on to those they love the most. Those whose lives have been about getting the most “stuff,” now try their hardest to get as much out of their love as they can in these final 30 seconds that the world is here.

Then it happens �" a silence that pierces the ears. One last kiss from lovers’ lips. One last note to stir the spirits. Then the bang. In a moment all are consumed. All of creation and creation’s creation disintegrates.

Author's Note

This is an old piece, and it's extremely short. I decided to polish it a little but keep it mostly as is. It seemed like a good place to start as I've recently decided to pick up writing again as a more serious hobby.