14:33

I had a dream.

A dream so simple yet so beautiful, a dream stacked away deep in the corner of my mind ashamed to make its existence known. The absurdity of the dream is almost laughable, yet, I find myself letting that one little scene seize my every thought. The corners of my mouth stretch upwards, I close my eyes as I allow the images to indulge me. I am now on the beach, a glass of drink in one hand, and a book by Rina Myers in the other. Fine, soft pale sand dancing beneath the sole of my feet. With each stride, the triumphant blue sea clashes into itself with so much verve, breathing life back into my very soul. The sound of laughter is imitated all across the beach, reminding me of an easy life.

It's a beautiful dream!

It's a fantasy that could've been inhabited in the world before me, I hear that world was filled with all types of possibilities and wonders. A realm where time waited for no one, encouraging fruitful work from everyone each day. In this world, I hear people had the privilege of saying little funny phrases such as, "Well, tomorrow is a new day". I imagine all sorts of expressions were made about days, weeks, months and years. We have no such sayings now. No days, no weeks, no months and certainly no years.

We just have now.

"It was a regular Tuesday afternoon, 14:33 to be exact..." my grandpapa Earl explained, "I was on my way to your aunt Rachel's house, she had just given birth to the twins 2 days before. She'd been bugging me about bringing her some of my sweet Rosemary's homemade apple and mango pecan pie... Haha, ain't no one made pies like my Rosey" his faded grey moustache lifting into a painful smile. "Anyways, the traffic was as stinking as my old pal Henry's newborn piggies. I was up on Melberry road when it happened, at first I thought it was just birds going wild and dropping from the sky but nooo, it was people, actual people being lifted into the air. And it wasn't just people, it was cars, dogs, lamp poles, anything gravity didn't feel like supporting went up, up and up! I'm telling ya, it was like something from that one movie about the two witches".

It really was a regular Tuesday, 19th May 1998. Some were eating, some were relaxing, some were at the education institutions and some were striving to get the piece of paper that is now used to create fire, make shapes out of when people are bored or even used as toilet paper. You know, money. That was until the world stopped. I mean, it literally halted. Something about how a massive wave of energy from two other planets colliding with each other and exploding, creating a devastating release. In doing so the speed at which the earth was spinning slowed significantly, eventually stopping its movement altogether. It was only for about a minute or so, I can't remember exactly how long they said it lasted, however, during the time of stillness the atmosphere was still spinning which is why most things got sucked away. Most of the ocean, the sand, the cars, birds. Basically, everything that wasn't strongly rooted into the ground, like trees and buildings. 

Scientists had known about this happening but didn't know how to prevent it, so they thought it'd be smart to just hide the truth until it blows up... Haha, get it? Because the energy exploded and... Nevermind! What people didn't know was that they had been building underground bunkers into strong standing buildings, mostly historic buildings with a solid foundation. Of course people knew about the sudden developments happening all over the world but were unsure what exactly was being built. This raised a lot of questions and of course people had theories, especially survivalists who had all kinds of ridiculous theories about the undead, poisonous rain, scientific experiments gone wrong, global warming, catastrophic natural disasters (I guess the last two are probable), and whatnot but no one guessed the new changes was for something like this, how could they?

The scientists, however, estimated the time and date of which this event would occur almost correctly. So nearing the destruction of civilization, they finally started warning people and telling them what they had done to prepare for this. They told them where every bunker was and repeatedly told them to go into a bunker a week prior so they wouldn't have to experience it entirely. It did not sit well with people. There were riots and mischief everywhere. People started behaving irrationally, robbing and destroying everything they could before 'the end of time'. They didn't like the fact that they were being told what to do and they especially did not like not being told way back when scientists first found out. As if that would've made a difference. When the dreaded arrival of the collision came, people knew the nearest bunker to dive into. Some were smart enough to listen to the government's advice and settle into a bunker ahead of time -my parents being an example- some not so wise. My grandpapa and most of my family alive at that time included.

What no one had estimated, not even the smart people, was time not changing at all. A minute or so passed and the world started spinning again, 8 months later -after it was deemed clear of anything trying to suck them into space or anything else that could harm them- people decided to come out of hiding, finally, and investigate the mess up above the bunkers and try and do some damage control, but it was around 103 degrees outside just like on 19th May 1998. They didn't realise it straight away, but when a few things didn't add up, like the fact that it was supposed to be winter by then and nightfall never arrived, they figured it out. Everyone was baffled, to say the least, how was the earth spinning but it was still 14:33, Tuesday the 19th of May and broad daylight all the time.

"I saw everything flying up, people were holding onto all types of things, cars, poles, fire hydrants but everything was just being lifted. I didn't realise it but I was going up too, I opened my car door thinking I was going to fall on the ground but I just kept moving up. I thought I was a goner for a second there. Then, the roof of the public library right across the road suddenly opened, and these built-in speakers appeared. The man was telling people to hold onto the trees instead and actively climb downwards, then use our feet to push us from tree to tree until we got to the front door, but that was the hardest part. Every time we let go to move unto a different tree, we'd get sucked up if we weren't fast enough. But we did it, some of us anyway. Others were either too far gone or just didn't make it. The current snatching people above started slowly, then it picked up. People were gone in a matter of seconds, I even saw this one guy get ripped apart, it was nasty! We were inside and still floating of course and the floor literally opened up, a strong wind sucked us from the library ceiling and into the bunker. We stayed there for months, even though the world started spinning again after a minute or so, everyone was terrified to leave the bunker. There were about 600 people in our bunker, give or take. Some of us were alone in there but we all helped each other as much as we could. It was one of the weirdest, scariest and in some way exciting thing I've ever done in my life".

Grandpapa Earl may seem all joyous and carefree but I know he's not, not all the time anyway. He misses the love of his life, grandma Rosemary, I never knew her but from all the stories I've heard, she sounds like she's the only one who'd not think my dream was stupid. Everyone else would and we know what they would say if they found out about this ambition, "Now child, let's come back into the real world where there are chores. Go on and do them!" or "Ha! In a world like that, I'd be 100 pounds lighter and have a talking squirrel named Earl Jr".

It's understandable though, it really is a fantasy to long for a world where I can be a stupid teenager. I'm only 19, I'm not sure what nineteen-year-olds did back then but what I do know is that they dressed up, went to gatherings called 'parties', I think and they found young love. I want love. I'm not sure what it is precisely, but it sounds decent enough. I see love everywhere, the way Earl talks about Rosemary, the way my cousin Olivia looks at the man she met a few months ago. The way Rina Myers describes the bond between Archie and Melody in 'When It's Night Time'. The book I found when I was about 9 years old, exploring with my dad.

I stared at the tattered, faded purple book. A portrait of a heart-shaped locket beaming with all types of radiating colours renounced on a wet concrete floor covers the front of the book. The corners of the book torn and creased. Each page stained, representing a forgotten memory.

It's been 22 years, the nation may never recover from the epic setback we took. The once leaders of our broken globe tried to pick up where we left off but people were still grieving about losing their loved ones and recovering from the traumatic event, they were not ready to move on right away like the government wanted, this started a whole other predicament of its own thus resulting in a world with no ordinance and control. A world thriving on violence and tragedy. A world that brutally slaughtered my parents in front of a 10 years old me. My mother's screams still swarm its way into my dreams, the steady sand underneath my feet turning sharp and unwelcoming. The laughter exchanged for cries. The blue waters turned maroon and in its wake, a reminder of my father's moribund words.

"Make sure to give Rae the letters, don't let her forget us" even though his words were addressed to Grandpapa, his gaze was directed at the vacated warehouse I was meant to be hiding in. The footsteps of the intruders shuffled towards my parents whilst those of grandpapa Earl hurried inside the warehouse just in time to bypass the wrath of those sickly men.

Flickering the bitter recollection away, I noticed everyone was packed and prepared to move on to the next destination that offered us food and temporary sanctuary. We are always on the go, not trusting a place long enough to settle - averting what may lurk in the shadows, waiting to foresee our downfall.

Little did I know it was only a matter of time before I stepped into what was going to be a new age, control had to be asserted once again. With humanity's healing gradually cascading into my confused, trembling hands. I tucked the heart-shaped locket tied with a string I tried to copy from the book into my vest- my craftsmanship could use a bit of work- adjusting my backpack, we set our course. Danger was imminent, keen to slap me awake from my wild delusions. I just wished I had a little warning first.