There wasn't much she could take with her. Money, of course - everyone needed that. The shirt on her back and the ripped jeans she'd had for eight months. Old sneakers with worn soles that squished in the rain. Headphones, MP3s. And of course, the hoodie. The one from the beginning, when she started running.
She'd given up on a backpack - too noticeable. Then she cut her hair - shoulder-length was more forgettable. Dressed in drab colors, shuffled her feet, head down. Invisible, like every other teenager. Nameless. Just another kid headed home. If only she knew where home was this time...
Death. I am the invisible weight in every soldier’s pack, the hidden coin in every pocket and purse. I am every journey’s unseen passenger, the silent echo in the corridors of the aged and the ill. I am the breath of sea that fills the sunken sailor’s heart, the air through which the fallen fall. Uninvited, I am always early. Yet judgement is not mine. I offer only the dark and endless void where nothing is but peace. Fear me not, for I am not the enemy - rather fear life, for it is the cruellest and most fearful test.
Title: "Nothing but Space Dust"
We’ve done it. We explored the entire universe. All of it. The great cosmos had been conquered. Humanity had finally reached across the stars.
And yet, we felt empty. Just like the vacuum of space.
What did we find? Nothing but space dust.
No other lifeforms out there. To this day, our Earth remained the only source of life. Even now, terraforming is still unreliable.
What about the stars? Nothing. They’re just lights, man.
The planets? Barren. To be expected, despite the fantasies of sci-fi writers.
Black holes? If there are survivors, let me know.
Is it all worth it?
There wasn't much she could take with her. Money, of course - everyone needed that. The shirt on her back and the ripped jeans she'd had for eight months. Old sneakers with worn soles that squished in the rain. Headphones, MP3s. And of course, the hoodie. The one from the beginning, when she started running.
She'd given up on a backpack - too noticeable. Then she cut her hair - shoulder-length was more forgettable. Dressed in drab colors, shuffled her feet, head down. Invisible, like every other teenager. Nameless. Just another kid headed home. If only she knew where home was this time...
Here is a link to my 100 word story. Happy Friday everyone!
https://open.substack.com/pub/jimcummings5251/p/proving-day?r=1wg1lx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Death. I am the invisible weight in every soldier’s pack, the hidden coin in every pocket and purse. I am every journey’s unseen passenger, the silent echo in the corridors of the aged and the ill. I am the breath of sea that fills the sunken sailor’s heart, the air through which the fallen fall. Uninvited, I am always early. Yet judgement is not mine. I offer only the dark and endless void where nothing is but peace. Fear me not, for I am not the enemy - rather fear life, for it is the cruellest and most fearful test.