I tug my hat down deeper. My eyes water in the scorching desert under the red giant. Orange sand shimmers like it's on fire. My steps are soft. Steam rises from the footprints, then freezes. A turtle surfs across the landscape riding the crest of a rolling dune. I try to speak to it, but my dry throat only croaks. I cough. My teeth strike lightning. Sounds shake the growing, developing, soon-to-crumble, doomed ant colonies around me.
Sand beneath my feet drains through the world. It trickles into the gaping maw of time. I step onto the bridge exposed below. It leads to the end of existence, disappearing into a black hole piercing the horizon. I’m alone.
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Voices circle around me, gently touching my face. It’s dark, but I close my eyes. Unknown words carry a scent of greenery, freshness, dew. They rise and fall, swirl in the air, tickle my ears. Beneath and behind their symphony follows the rhythm of harder syllables, tighter consonants. I don't understand, but everything is clear.
Light shimmers through my lids. I open my eyes. Universe paints the future in front of me. Straight lines twist into spirals, stars hurtle toward each other, towards a point that's everywhere. Cosmos turns into brightness, explodes and cools down. A portal opens.
Dark, small figure steps out behind the corner of nothingness. My hand reaches out. It responds with warm squeeze. I turn and tumble over the edge of obscurity into a purple mist. A wasp buzzes around me with metallic wings, stings my side warmly and kindly.
Back in the desert. Sand warms my back, sun is gentle. Caravan carries time in straw sacks. I get up, two smiles save the future. Everything returns to where it began: the leather seat, in front of a white screen filled with strange words. I close my eyes and doze off for a moment.
- Pearl
So, are you: