Doomsday: The Aftermath

It was a strange feeling as Olivia stepped out of the storm cellar. It was a strong contrast from a few hours ago when time seemed to stand still in complete darkness. Now the sun was shining, though the crumbled debris around her stood as reminders of the night before. And the survivors were left to pick up the pieces.

Everyone laughed it off the day before when it was on the news that a huge meteor shower was expected to hit the earth. People joked, ``How often have we heard that before?¨ Nobody gave it a second thought. Olivia and her family were all resting comfortably in their beds when sirens suddenly started blaring. Hundreds of huge meteors were quickly plummeting toward them.

Olivia, her parents, and siblings raced out of the house and into a storm cellar that was built in case of tornados or hurricanes. Now they were sitting in it, hoping that they will make it out alive. A couple of hours passed, waiting it out, not knowing who, if any, would survive. Finally, there was silence. Oliviaś dad waited a bit before opening the cellar door to see what remained of what was once home.

When everyone came out, all they could do was hold each other and cry. The house that Olivia had grown up in the past sixteen years was nothing now but a crumble of wood. The houses around them had the same fate. The school, churches, the mall that she liked to hang out with her friends on the weekend, were destroyed.

Looking through the remains of their home, not much survived. Within the shattered remains, Olivia spotted a golden heart shaped locket through the rubble. Tears filled her eyes as memories raced through her mind. Her grandma had given it to her right before she passed away. As she opened it, her grandma´s picture smiled up at her. For a brief moment, a calm peace came over her as she held the locket close to her heart.

All around her, tattered remains of pictures, furniture, decorations, and clothing laid around her. She stood with her family and they wondered what they would do now. Nearly everything that they had was gone. How would they start over? Would they even be able to? So many questions raced through their mind. The one thing that brought them peace was that they all came out safe. They didn't have their material possessions any more, but they had each other.

Little by little, other survivors began to gather outside of what remained. As they gathered, they were able to slowly piece together the list of family, friends, and neighbors that did not make it through the meteor shower. Hundreds of people lost their lives. At that moment, the future looked dark and scary. Life would never be the same. That night they had a memorial service for all that had passed during this catastrophic event. As they remembered the loss, they knew they had to pick up the pieces.

Months later, Olivia's family had rebuilt their house. Around them, the town slowly began coming back together again. They knew that life was never going to be the same, they couldn't go back to what once was. Looking to the future, people were afraid. Could something like this happen again? Nobody knew for certain, all they knew was that they had a second chance to embrace life, and each other. The future was unclear, but they were glad that there was a future. Looking around her, Olivia clutched her beloved locket that her grandmother had given her and smiled. Tomorrow was a new day, and she was going to be ready for it.