"Please pass the ketchup," I asked aloud while gaping down at the steaming plate of french fries before me. If there was one thing I loved most in this world, it was french fries. My eyes shifted to that of my mother who I found grimacing at my plate of food. I knew she wanted so badly to say something about my healthy dinner option. She probably hated that there was no color to my plate.
"Here," my father muttered. He placed a bottle of ketchup within my reach. I took the bottle within my hands and slathered the fries in ketchup.
"You're disgusting."
I paid my younger sister no mind as I tossed a fry in my mouth and smiled in between bites.
My family and I dug into our dinner with silence now falling amongst us. I was oblivious to the group of workers darting for our table with a candle-lit cake in tow. It wasn't until they were a few feet away singing the birthday song off-key did I look up from my plate. I cursed myself for not seeing this coming.
"Happy birthday to Jessica!" They sang, standing at the edge of our table. A frown set into my features. I glanced around the table at the grins plastered on my family's faces while they joined in on the song. I prayed to whatever God was listening for this moment to end, only it did and abruptly.
The singing silenced as the cake left the hands of the woman grasping it to inevitably fall to the floor. Her hands dematerialized into ash with the small particles drifting to the ground where she stood. The woman's figure quickly followed in suit until her entire being disappeared before our eyes. Gasps of surprise were heard around the now quiet room as we gaped at where the woman was standing. I was unable to make out the event that just unfolded but stared in hopes the woman would rematerialize. She didn't and more followed behind her.
The diner quickly filled with shouts of sorrow as other family members fell to the same fate. All around us, people disappeared to nothing and ash littered the air. My heart beat madly in my chest at the events. What once was a quaint restaurant with families filling the tables indulging themselves in quiet conversation, was now riddled in chaos with those shouting the names of the ones they lost. Some ran about the diner in search of their loved ones. A sinking feeling was felt in my chest as I was unable to tear myself away from the scene.
"Mom?!" Jordyn's voice came out in a shout of fear. Mother pulled her to her chest and shielded her eyes from witnessing any more of the events taking place.
"We have to leave," my father instructed. He shifted in his seat and prepared to rise to his feet. I noticed his arm moving behind him frantically to find my own. I took his hand and as a family, we pulled away from the dining table and walked in haste towards the entrance door. We passed sobbing families clutching at the ash left behind by their loved ones. My vision began to blur as my eyes welled with tears. I wiped my eyes with my free hand and at the same time, the other left my father's. I stopped to look and found my hand fading away.
"Dad?" I whimpered, a lump forming in my throat. My family turned on their heels and I gaped at them in absolute fear. I lost feeling in my legs and then I knew my time was quickly running out.
"I love y-." My words were cut short. The stunned faces of my family were the last thing I saw before I disappeared into nothing.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
