Alone Together

It's been this way for a while now.

If I focus my thoughts, I can remember how things used to be...

...before everyone left.

The days melt into weeks. The weeks melt into months and the months into years. I can’t say how long I’ve been on my own.

Every day is the exact same. The darkness of night is raptured by the sun, signifying the start of a new day. Buildings and vehicles sit idly, awaiting the return of humanity like a dog waiting by their owner's grave. However, no one will come for them. I'm the only one who watches their decay.

I ended up in what used to be New York City. The city that never sleeps. At least that's what they used to call it.

I always wanted to visit this place.

I had hoped that my days here would be filled with the sights and noises one expected from this once lively hub. But what else am I supposed to do with my days here on this barren planet? I feel like that was the only question I asked myself lately.

"Hellooooo!" I yelled. As I stood in between the many tall, overgrown buildings. The echo from the unoccupied city scape was loud. It made me feel as though I wasn't so alone. Even if only for a moment.

I walked through the streets looking for anything that could pique my interest. It didn’t seem likely.

All the windows were covered in dust and foliage which made the views from the street more desolate than it already was.

I decided to call the street I was on 33rd street, since I knew that’s how streets were marked when this place was alive. At the end of 33rd, where it met the street I creatively named Robinson Road, there was a large pile of ash and debris.

Then I saw it.

In the rubble of an old living space, a glimmering light shone through the bleak pile of rocks and building material.

It was gold.

It wasn't that this once precious metal had any value now, but it was a sight that elicited a specific emotion. Even more specifically, an emotion connected to a string of memories.

My girls.

We never had much money. It felt like perfect irony that when this world was thriving, our lives were slowly being drained, and now that this world is silent, I find myself pulled towards the places I once dreamed of being.

I was a writer who wanted to inspire the world. Only one of my pieces was published, but the magazine was prestigious, and the pay was nice. I should have paid off debt or invested the money, but I couldn’t. I needed my girls to have something nice. Nicer than anything we’d ever had before. I went to the best jewelry store in town and bought them each a golden bracelet. Those bracelets were practically attached to their arms. When they vanished along with the rest, I remember thinking, “That was money well spent."

They were the only memory I held onto for dear life. But in this new world, even the strongest connections to my past had begun to fade.

A thin chain had fought its way to the top of the pile almost as if it needed to be seen one last time. I pulled on the delicate loops and a tiny heart-shaped locket was released from the dusty prison.

I dug my chipped and rugged fingernails into the crevice of the heart and pried it open. Once opened, the trinket contained two images on either side. On the left was a young woman with straight, brown hair just covering her ears. Her eyes were green, and even though the image was tiny, her eyes still provided a warmth that my soul hadn't felt since being abandoned. The image on the right showed the same woman kneeling next to a young girl who looked identical to the woman on the left but younger.

To anyone who lived on this planet before the rapture, this golden, heart-shaped locket would probably mean very little.

But for me...

I finally had someone to be alone with.