The Day of Destiny

Slam!

The sound rang out throughout the complex, the whining of sirens leaking through her closed bedroom window. Homework, devastating amounts of it, lay blown across her desk. Dark clouds loomed outside her window while people scattered in the streets, floors below the apartment. Why is everyone running? she thought. Her family, a simple family, was gone. Her parents and brother told her they’d be back and that she should stay and finish her homework. She watched them race down the street minutes later, going to buy groceries.

She turned her attention back to her homework. 4x8. Solemnly, she tapped her pencil against her cheek. Her right hand clutched her pencil, and it only took moments for her to become too frustrated to continue. She put her pencil down and pushed off against her desk, her wheeled chair spinning in the middle of her room. She laughed, dizzy. She loved it when everyone else went out on errands, it meant she had the apartment to herself. Jumping on her bed, she grabbed Mister Snuggles, her most beloved companion and teddy bear. “What do you think we’re having for dinner tonight, Mister Snuggles?” I don’t know Rose, she spoke for the bear in a low-pitched voice, can we have some cake and ice cream? “If Mummy and Daddy aren’t home by dinner, let’s have some!” She responded to the bear, laughing. She held Mister Snuggles and laid on her back, her eyes tracing the swirls and dents in her ceiling. “Mister Snuggles, I hate math homework.” Let’s ask Daddy for help when he gets home, Rose. She nodded. “Good idea, Mister Snuggles. Daddy is really really super good at math.” She suddenly jumped off her bed and made her way to her small closet with Mister Snuggles in tow. “Let’s have a tea party, Mister Snuggles!” But Rose, isn’t it too hot for tea today? Mister Snuggles said. Rose nodded. “Okay, Mister Snuggles. What do you think we should do?” Let’s watch the people outside, Rosey. Said Mister Snuggles. She picked up the bear and sat back on her chair. The street seemed to be clearing out, sirens still blazing. “There must be a big fire somewhere.” She said, silent. She held Mister Snuggles close, nuzzling the lower half of her face into his so she could still look outside. Shop windows were broken, garbage lined the streets, and a few people scampered around. “I thought Daddy said only the bad parts of New York were like this. What do you think, Mister Snuggles?” She turned Mister Snuggles around and looked into his black, beady eyes. Maybe Daddy got confused. Mister Snuggles replied. She nodded, agreeing. “Daddy gets confused a lot.”

Time passed and the minutes almost seemed like hours. “I hope Brandon doesn’t forget to bring back the chips he promised me, Mister Snuggles.” She felt the sudden atomic power of a curtain of sadness wash over her. “I feel really sad, Mister Snuggles.” You’re scared too, aren’t you Rose? Mister Snuggles said. “I guess a little. Those sirens are really loud.” “Why don’t we go somewhere else, Rose? Maybe we can find Mummy and Daddy and Brandon.” Rose sat on her chair, the street empty. A voice came out over the street. “5-minute warning, I repeat, 5-minute warning.” The voice sounded mechanical and Rose sniffled. “Mister Snuggles, where is everyone?” The empty street chilled her. Never before had she seen a street in Brooklyn so silent. A plastic bag flew through the street, swiftly dancing on gravel, the wind whispering a final lullaby. She stood silent, her body shaking. In the distance, a boom screamed through the desolate wasteland. As smoke poured through the street, the heart-shaped locket that she received from her mother for her birthday dangled around her neck and began to flutter. The glass from her window shattered into millions of pieces, covering her desk, the wind so strong it nearly blew her off balance. She clutched Mister Snuggles, positively petrified. Then came the heat, a heat so sudden and growing that she couldn’t even scream before her whole world suddenly turned black.