Note: Originally published on FictionPress, June 4th 2014.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEd1TquaS1q
I don't remember when everyone disappeared, only that there was someone there in the first place. There's empty cities and empty towns everywhere I go. Everywhere stands empty houses, empty stores, empty buildings. Everywhere is empty. Wherever I look there is only my shadow. No people at all. Just silence everywhere.
Surely there was someone besides me here someday, right? All signs point towards it. I didn't build all these buildings and cars and technology. How could I build an airplane when I don't even know how they work? I break a window of a house to go in there and sleep and rest, and I see pictures of people who look alike. A family of a past? If I think far enough, then I think I might of had a family. I remember a bunch of nice people. Their faces are blurry though, and I can't tell if they're real or just a dream.
How long has it been like this? How long have I been exploring this abandoned land for? I don't remember. There's been so many days of this emptiness there's no point in keeping track. There's no point at all.
I kill animals to cook in an oven and I pick some of the overgrown plants. I drink water from lakes and rivers and when there's none of those nearby I count on what falls from the sky or what I can find in houses. I spend my days walking back and forth, up and down this land.
It's lonely here. It's boring here. There's nothing to do. I read books of the past a lot. The past was a scary thing. No one loved each other. There was a lot of people who fought each other. A lot of people died. But there was a lot of good things too. Some people were nice. I wonder, what would it be like to see another person? I've been alone here for a long long time now. So can't I be not alone for once? There has to be someone out there, right? Some of the books I read say there was once 7 billion people on Earth. 7 billion people? 7 billion of me? That's a lot. Where did they all go? There has to be one left, right? Right?
Which is why I am going to find someone. I've been a lot of places during the years. However, there's a big pool of water on both sides of this land. I've seen pictures of maps that show another land across of it. A land much bigger than the one I live on. It's sure to have new things on it. I'm sure a person lives there, one has to.
Which is why I am going to get a boat and cross it. It looks big but I'm certain I can make it.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWrEQ9pCDQ
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I'm scared. I'm somewhere in the middle of this pool of water right now and I want to get out. The water tastes funny and I can't eat it without getting sick. It's hot and I'm getting really thirsty. I only have a little of rainwater to drink. But what's worse is the scenery. Nothing but nothing to the east. Nothing but nothing to the west. Nothing but nothing to the north. Nothing but nothing to the south. Nothing but nothing wherever I look. Out here in the center of this ocean I'm more lonely than I ever was before. What if there's no one on the other side of it? Then it would all be for nothing.
There was another one of these things on the other side of my land. Perhaps the girl like me who lived on that land decided she was going to go to the other land and got her own boat. Or perhaps she's at another area of this ocean. Perhaps we just passed each other and neither of us noticed.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhNMKEmRqm
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It's raining now. It's raining really hard. This boat is going to break, I can feel it. What will I do then? I don't know how to swim. I'll drown and die. What happens once you die? Nothing? Even more nothing? I don't want to die here. I don't like it here. What does it feel like when you die? What is death? I've read there's two places you go to when you die. If you're a good person you get to go to a good place called heaven. If you're bad you go to a bad place called hell. That seems unfair to me. Living's tough enough, so why do we have to be punished for our life? I haven't done anything good or bad, so will I go to heaven or hell? Will they be other people in heaven and hell? If so, then I don't care which one I go to, as long as I get to see somebody.
The boat has turned over and I am now holding on to a piece of debris. It's cold. I'm going to have to let go soon. The clouds have gone away. I never noticed how many stars they were in the sky. They look so pretty. I'm sorry, other me. Looks like you will have to face this a little longer. I'm going to have to say my goodbye for now.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZhhvmoX2v
A Note From Your Author: This is my third story. It's my least favorite so far as I feel it's kind of pointless. My previous two were more or less chances for me to rant on my ideals of this world, but this one doesn't have enough story to make it plot-driven or enough themes to make it theme-driven. Ah well, I hope you'll still enjoy it. 716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UXgislLJ4
