The Cave

I thought it was hail but when I looked up, it was actually the sky. The sky was falling. The sky was breaking and was falling to pieces. I hurried to find shelter. I stayed under the shed while watching the sky fall. Suddenly, there was a loud thud from a distance. It was followed by more thuds and thumps, even louder this time. I turned around to see where the sounds were coming from. The trees were falling down. The ground was breaking just as the sky was and the trees were being pulled down. I had to run. I ran as fast as I could to places where the ground was still firm and unscathed. I stopped to breathe. Then it rained. I found myself in the middle of a meadow. I paused, trying to remember something. Something that happened many years ago in this exact place. I couldn't recall what it was, so I started running again. I saw a man standing by a short fence; he was looking out at a bay. I approached him to warn him about the peril that was coming.

"Sir?" I asked.

The man turned around. I knew this man! I have met him before. At the coffee shop? Bookstore? University? The man touched my hand and smiled. Of course it was him! I could not be mistaken.

"I never thought I'd find you here," I said.

"I was waiting for you," he replied. "How did we ever grow apart?"

"Hush, love. I'm here now. We must go. The sky is falling, the ground is shattering, and I fear the darkness will last forever. Let's move."

"There is no escape. This was meant to happen. No matter how good you hide, you will be found. And you shall then be destroyed, together with the seas, the skies, the soil, and the stars."

I held his hands and I wept. "But we can still run, can't we? We can prolong our existence even for just a few minutes. I need time. Hold me in our last seconds together."

And there under the moonlight, he held me and whispered, "You do not know how long I have waited to have you back in my arms. How did we ever grow apart?"

"Let's run," I said. "We still have time. Let's run and hide somewhere only the two of us know. This could be the end of all."

"I know," he replied. He grabbed my hand and we ran and ran until we reached a place familiar to both of us. He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the iron gate. He locked the gate as soon as we entered the mouth of the cave. We stepped into the darkness and moved deeper into the cave. 

"I could die right now if you would just hold me," I said. 

He kissed me on my forehead and looked away. "I have an unfinished business. Would you stay here and wait for me?"

"Again? But I could be dead when you return!" My voice echoed across the room. "And you wonder how we've grown apart?"

"I won't take long," he said.

I sat on the corner of that dark, empty cave and watched him disappear. I heard the lock click and the gate open.