After the World Ended
A short story
The world around Ana was misty, obstructing her view like an opaque wall. It smelled of grime and rot, but faintly, she caught the scent of the crisp morning air. It was the most pleasant smell. If only the world was not showered with debris, rubble and dust, she would have bathed in the aroma as if it were her last day on earth.
Frankly, she knew she would not.
Every morning, she would step out of her front door with weariness clinging onto her eyelids. Ana’s eyes would fall on her dog, Maximus, and a wave of dread would wash over her. Dull, she would ponder, as she began sauntering down the too-familiar path with her companion. It had become such a chore that she wished for it to somehow walk itself instead. Ana would never have even noticed the enticing fragrance of the smell around her. She had disregarded the lovely aroma of the vivid lavenders, swaying in a silence dance alongside wind, for as long as she could remember.
Her only desire would be returning to bed and shutting her eyes.
Now, as the smoky air carried a burnt odour, she fought to keep her eyes open.
It felt like a few moments ago, everything was normal. How did things come to this?
Maximus would cheerily bark as the vivid butterflies soared the sky with wings more fragile than glass. Ana had heard it so many times that she did not find it adorable anymore.
Yet now, all she wanted was to hear him again. She did not care if it was a whine or the wail she found infuriating. She would give anything to hear him one last time.
She remembered the sight of her neighbour’s cottage and the smell of toasted waffles that wafted from the windows of her kitchen. Ana would greet them and allow their son to give Maximus a pat on the head.
He’s so soft, remarked the child once, wonder lighting his eyes like lanterns would in the dark.
Ana wondered how such little things grasped her attention as if it held all the significance in the world. The child’s flushed face was engraved in her memory like carvings on a stone. On any other day, she would dismiss the thoughts as easily as she disregarded her dog’s snores.
Now, after the world ended, she grasped onto the image with a deadly grip.
She waved her hand, attempting to rid the air of smoke. She was breathing in too much dust, but did it matter?
She had nothing. Truly nothing.
Before today, she thought she had nothing too. No significant other, no children, no family.
She did not realise that what she thought as nothing would mean everything one day.
Ana had not truly delved into the thought; had not truly known what nothing felt like. She had Maximus, a dog she spent half a decade caring for. The thought of him had plunged a dagger in her chest, causing a wound deeper than any she had experienced. Her mind did not cease in the visual images — his caramel fur, appearing golden under the scintillating sun; his wagging tail after every dashing compliment; his little canines, which he bore every time Ana had a visitor from work.
Maximus was family. She learnt that now, five years too late.
The thought of everything she had taken for granted pained her. One day after the world ended, she discovered that she had family, friends, a home and a wonderful environment.
An environment that now resembled paper after flames leapt onto it.
The garden a few minutes from her home was magnificent, too. Every morning, as she walked Maximus, she would ignore the bustling of the vegetation around her as the gentle wind grazed them with a phantom hand. She would ignore the sound of wildlife, and she flicked away the insect on her arm as though it were nothing at all. She had seethed at the buzzing of bees without knowing that one day, she would miss it.
She missed it all.
She wanted them back.
She wished for Maximus, for the colleagues she had formed a bond with, her neighbours, her home, the sound of wildlife and wind. She wanted so badly to see everything she had taken for granted. If she was given another chance, she would take it and cherish it. She would live a life with opened eyes, knowing that every day was another blessing. She would treasure everything that she once thought of as nothing.
On any other day, she would hesitate to wake up.
Now, she wanted nothing more than to do so.
She stumbled, legs buckling. She could not carry on. Ana had woken up a day after the earthquake struck — a day after the world ended — just to realise she had nothing left.
Tears ran in rivulets down her face, carrying the gloomy-coloured dust that engulfed her skin. The world was gone, stealing everything Ana once had. She prayed to whatever and whoever was listening to wake her up from the nightmare she lived.
Nothing happened.
Pain seared her lungs and rough bricks brushed her skin, enough to call upon a stream of profuse crimson.
If she could have everything back, she would cherish it. Please, she begged the universe silently. I did not have nothing. I had everything. I want it back.
The world had made its decision. It remained broken, just like the window Maximus had shattered a few weeks ago.
A pained sob escaped her lips as she fell onto the merciless ground. There, beside her, laid a familiar creature: Maximus. His eyes were sealed shut, body covered with filth. The dog no longer had a heartbeat and its body had hardened.
Ana was an empty shell. Grief had stolen her soul like a thief in daylight.
“Come back,” she croaked. She touched her dogs fur with a grimy hand and felt its softness. “Don’t leave me.” Ana convinced herself that Maximus was asleep, deep into a world of fantasy. He would open his eyes, and all would return to how it was.
He was not dead.
“It’s lonely here. The world is filthy and ugly. If you return, I’d give you anything you want — treats, love, hugs. Anything. Just come back.”
He was not dead, she repeated once again in her mind. Ana swallowed the bile in her throat.
“The world will be a little brighter if you join me,” Ana continued, refusing to believe the truth. “We’ll venture out somewhere, just as you always wanted. We’ll explore the world and find someplace to continue living.” She inhaled deeply, and immediately regretted it. Dust swarmed in her lungs, threatening her life. She did not budge. She would not go anywhere without Maximus.
The world seemed darker now, and she knew it was a matter of time before death consumed her.
“Wake up,” Ana mumbled, holding up her dog’s fluffy paw. “Please. You’re all I have left.”
Still, the dog remained still. Dead.
A burst of anguish enveloped her as she called out to the only family she had left over and over again. She called out to Maximus even as she lost her voice.
She called out to him even as darkness swallowed her whole.
