The world is ending tomorrow. That is what everyone was told.
We panicked, of course. Looted stores, got into accidents, went to confession, got drunk.
Some lay in bed with their loved ones, spouses, children, parents, pets.
Others climbed the tallest buildings they could find.
They wanted the last thing they saw to be a good view.
Then the next day, we were told the same thing.
The world is ending tomorrow.
There was confusion, frustration.
Some people went to work, wrote it off as a hoax. Or maybe they wanted to forget about the future (or the lack of it).
Some people tried to travel, to finally take that trip they’d been putting off.
They took out their savings, retirement funds.
But the banks refused to give them their money. All the flights were booked.
Some booked private planes, some drove, some took trains, some walked.
Children ran wild; no one saw the point in disciplining kids who would never grow up.
Scholars discussed the philosophical path laid before them; if their fate is to die tomorrow, then every action they take will put them further down that path.
The bigots blamed the gays, the immigrants, God’s wrath.
The liberals blamed climate change, capitalism, corruption.
America blamed China. China blamed Russia. Russia blamed America.
By the third day, people started to question if the world was really ending.
But then, a city went missing.
A big black hole where 150,000 people had once lived.
That made people take it seriously again.
Maybe that was what the warning meant. Tomorrow is someone’s last day.
Best be prepared for if it’s yours.
It’s happening still. There’s no rhyme or reason to it; one day a city or town will be there and the next day, it won’t be.
People still go to work.
Some have stopped paying their debts, stopped saving for retirement. For many, it’s not a choice so much as their only path. They don’t make enough to dream about tomorrow, so they just focus on making themselves happy in the here and now.
Some people are still planning for the future. They’re saving for homes, vacations, holidays, higher education. Training for marathons or championships.
There are still people planting apple trees.
And there always will be.