It was a strange feeling, knowing that the world was going to end. Strange counting down to the exact date when everything you know would cease to exist, strange knowing that all you could do was sit there and watch it happen. There weren’t many days left now, each one gradually crossed out. The calendar felt heavy with the weight of its wasted days. Everything was so hot. And bright. Little could be done to darken the sky outside. All anyone had left was not enough time. The days felt too long and too short. Alex wasn’t sure if he wanted more or less of them. What to do with all this time? So he sat. And he moped. And he wasted more days until there were hardly any left. Too many wasted days. And what was there to do? Everyone had been advised long ago not to go outside. All he could do was sit and wait and watch the world burn. Daniel hated seeing Alex like this. Even before all of this was happening, he hated seeing Alex sit around and mope out of pure helplessness. Of course, that’s what they were. That’s all that everyone left was. No one was coming to save them. There was no salvation, no rescue — there were no miracles. Before all this happened, Daniel would stand in the doorway and muse at Alex as he got lost in the streets below, peering at the world moving from their bedroom window. Now, the orange in the sky only grew brighter with each passing day. Not a soul in the world touched those streets anymore. No one rushed to their cars because they were running late for work. No one walked their dogs on early mornings before the sun rose and burned the white sidewalks. Daniel moved from his usual spot in the doorway and sat next to Alex on their bed. The air was thick and heavy all around them. They sat quietly for a while; neither could tell how long. The earth still turned and the sun still set, allowing them a few hours of peaceful night before returning to the burning light. All they had were candles to lessen the darkness. Alex remembered the candles, the ones that sat on the rim of the bathtub for when he had a long day, the ones that sat on the nightstand in the bedroom for anniversary celebrations, the ones that sat on the coffee table in the living room for when they just wanted something a little softer than their normal lights. The different scents mixed together into an overwhelming 58
Wasted Hours (Before We Knew) | Madison Cox
