Where did the humans go?

Where did the humans go?

When I woke up, everyone was just gone.

I wish I could remember what happened before I slept, but I could not even remember my name or my past.

The only clues I had were the pictures in the photo album and the journals that my “husband” kept. The entries were mostly useless since he had used the journal as an agenda for work or a grocery list.

During the first three years of this phenomenon, I searched for clues and bodies. I searched for another person because I would be damned if I was the last one on Earth.

However, I found no valuable answers. I haven't even found corpses. It was like humanity evaporated while I slept.

Then decades passed and nature had reclaimed the remains of society. I learned to get along with the beasts and the critters. I learned every human language through books when the internet and electricity had finally gone down.

I tried to speak as much as possible even to myself since I was afraid that I would lose the only thing that made me feel human.

However, as I lay on my back, looking up at the grey skies while the wild dogs napped beside me, I realized that no matter how much time had passed, I had not aged a day. I never fell ill and my injuries would heal within a day.

Sighing, I got up quietly and walked toward the cliff. The seawater violently splashed on the rocks, warning me of the oncoming storm.

If I were to dive now, I would hit my head on the rocks and drown. The current would be too strong for me to fight and humanity would be no more.

So, I did.

The wind whistled in my ears as I shut my eyes in acceptance. However, as my skull cracked against the rocks and as the sea tried to claim my body, I found myself swimming back to the shore with my injuries already healing, and the pain already subsiding.

Horrified, I walked back to my stone cabin as I planned multiple experiments to test my mortality.

At first, I tried deadly poisons. Just like in the textbooks, I would foam in my mouth, and feel the excruciating pain in my gut as my organs shut down. Then in what would feel like an eternity, I would lose consciousness.

Yet every time, I woke up healthy.

So I increased the brutality of my experiments. I have set myself on fire, dove in a tub of acid, maimed myself, and I have thrown myself in a pack of starving baboons.

I have also sailed during hurricanes to drown myself - only to wake up, unscathed, at the bottom of the ocean.

Nothing killed me.

My limbs grew back.

My body stitched itself up atom per atom.

And every time I tried something new, my body would adapt and learn.

I could not die. No matter how much I tried or prayed, I would wake up the next day alive and well.

Hopeless, I closed my eyes and accepted that I would be alone for eternity. Maybe all this time, humanity had not disappeared on its own.

Maybe, I had just slept for far too long and when I woke up, humanity had ceased to exist.

I could try and find answers to what had created me, but what was the point of that?

I was alone.

---

My eyes flew open when I heard a loud bang!

Sunlight streamed through the vines and leaves. The roof of the cabin was replaced by a canopy of leaves since an oak tree had sprouted up from the ground and devoured what used to be my home.

Roots had wrapped around my body, binding me to what used to be my bed. Wildflowers sprouted around my head and I inhaled deeply, appreciating their fragrance.

As if the tree had sensed my consciousness, its roots freed me and assisted me to sit up. I kept my mouth shut as I tried to process my surroundings and the new senses that flooded my brain.

I could feel the earth’s pulse underneath my feet. If I focus, I could understand every beast, critter, and plant around me.

However, what I heard was not as interesting as I thought it would be. They mostly complained about food, injuries, and circumstances that hindered their productivity.

Was it always like this? I could no longer remember.

Maybe I have died and have gone to an afterlife.

Or maybe, I was still asleep and was stuck in an endless loop of dreams.

Yet, my existential crisis halted when a hand gently touched my leg. The small creature had two dark orbs that served as its eyes, and it had dark long hair that cascaded down to its ankles. It wore a thin golden fabric and little horns protruded from its forehead.

It held up a book, and as best as it could, the creature read the text. “You are human?”

I stayed silent as my brain processed the language. Was that English?

However, no matter how long I pondered the creature’s question, it stayed patient and curious about my every movement.

Eventually, I responded with “I am not sure.”

Its big eyes lit up when it heard my voice. Ecstatically, the creature flipped through the pages of its book. Most of the stuff written in it was a language that I could not understand, so I found myself leaning in to see more.

When I got too close, the creature let out a small squeak and stepped back. Frantic, it pointed at its chest, “No human. Stars. Me.”

“You came from the stars?” I responded as I pointed upwards.

The creature nodded. “Stars.”

“How long ago was that?” I asked but the creature stared at me.

Instead of trying to explain what I meant, I smiled like an idiot.

Although the creature was not the human interaction I craved, having another being to converse with sent me a new sense of purpose.

And if I somehow had learned the languages that were spoken by the Earth's organisms while I slept, I knew that I would learn the creature’s language in no time.

Placing a palm on my chest, I spoke as gently as I could, “no human. God.”

The creature’s eyes lit up once again.

I was unsure if my response was accurate. But if there was one thing I truly accepted: I was not human. Maybe one day, the small creature before me could help me discover what I truly was and what happened to humanity.

And if it all turned out that I was stuck in a dream loop, I decided that I should just enjoy it as much as I could.

“God,” the creature confirmed and I nodded.

“God, it is.”

Thank you for reading this short and welcome to my Dream Journal Series. The shorts and poems under this category are inspired by my nightmares and dreams.

I usually create darker content whether it is art, video shorts, or stories. If this is something that you also enjoy, let's be friends :)

You can connect with me on Instagram, Twitter & TikTok @cyrls_corner and read my Lux et Obscurum issues at https://cyrlscorner.com/short-stories/lux-et-obscurum-grimoire/.

I would truly appreciate your support whether it would be subscribing, sharing this page with your friends, leaving me a tip, or giving your pledge (which is $2.99/month). If you also want to get updates on my latest releases, sign up for my newsletter right here.