Fiction logo

Cake, Coffee, and Conversation

A Short, Short Story about the End of the World

By JBazPublished 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 7 min read
28
Cake, Coffee, and Conversation
Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash

"Would you like a slice of cake, dear?"

"What kind of cake?"

"Chocolate."

"Oh Yes, please. Shall we retire to the balcony? The sun is just setting, and the ocean looks beautiful."

"That would be a splendid, I would like to watch one last sunset before..."

"Ok, I'll set everything up for us."

Walter turned off the television and stood up slowly, his aging body hated fast movement nowadays. He could hear his wife, Beatrice, in the kitchen loading up the plates. His mouth began to water at the thought of eating his wife's sour cream chocolate fudge cake.

Bea called out once more. "Would you like a cup of coffee to go with dessert?"

"Coffee at this hour?' Inquired Walter "Decafe or regular?"

Beatrice chuckled "Honestly Walter, tonight of all nights do you really think that matters?"

Walter laughed as well, "You are right my love, caffeinated it is. We shall stay up till the moment arrives, awake and aware."

Walter adjusted the lounge chairs, knowing that Bea loved to sit with one extra pillow behind her back. He angled the chair perfectly, so she could relax and enjoy the scenery. He then popped back into the condo to bring out the coffees.

Beatrice, paused in the balcony doorway, breathing in the salty ocean air, and admiring the view. She proceeded to place the plates down on their patio table, giving Walter the largest piece. Her husband entered with two large cups of steaming coffee, sugar, and cream for Bea, black for him.

"Buenos Aires is gone." Stated Walter as he handed her the cup.

"Really, how did it happen, fire?"

"No, Mudslides believe it or not. Completely wiped out. "

" I did not see that coming, what did you pick?"

Pulling out a little notebook from his vest pocket, Walter flipped through the pages. "I said Earthquake."

“ I guess the destruction would be considered water created, correct?”

“Yes, so we were both incorrect on that one, it appears we are still tied at eight apiece.”

Taking a sip of her coffee, , Beatrice asked. "So is that seventeen or eighteen major cities gone now."

"Twenty-three, dear."

"Hmmm, it appears that most of the larger cities have now been destroyed, we shouldn't be too far off then. I think you calculated correctly, tonight may be the night."

"Well now, you were a big part in figuring it all out, you are the Mathematician." Walter pointed out.

" I know, but you’re the analyst, you love making those charts and figuring things out."

They both chuckled.

The sun was hovering just above the horizon, the water sparkled with a thousand tiny mirrors. Bea sighed, setting down her cup she leaned over to take Walter’s hand. "Do you regret not having children?"

Walter took on a serious demeanor . He looked down then gazed into his wife's eyes. "I did, I truly did. But now, knowing what is about to happen, I feel relieved not to have that burden, or fear."

Bea reached into a basket next to her and picked out a blanket, gently placing it over the two of them. "You gave me a wonderful life Walter, I want you to know that."

"And you me, although I am unsure as to why you tolerated my behavior at times."

Bea smiled and leaned back, watching her husband take another bite of cake. She felt her chest swell with a love that comes from years of struggle, comfort and trust.

"So, you really believe it is Aliens doing this?" She asked.

Walter perked up, sat forward, and turned to face her, with a smile on his face he said, "Absolutely."

"But how can you be so sure it's not the Earth just dying or something we finally did to the world to cause the inevitable end."

Smiling Walter asked, " What are the elements of Earth?"

Relaxing into the chair Bea thought, then slowly recited. "Earth, Air, Fire, and Water."

"Yes, yes, those are the four basic elements, everyone knows those ones, but there are more. Some say seven, some go as high as twelve but that is including everything and not narrowing it down to what nature is made up of."

" Ok, Einstein you have my attention."

Chuckling, Walter held up one hand " Nature is made up of five basic elements."

"What do they have to do with what is happening?"

"I am getting to that. Okay ask yourself how the cities and towns of the world have been destroyed so far?"

Walter held up one hand to pause her reply. "Remember when I asked you to pick how each city would be destroyed? Earthquake, Fire, hurricane or tornado and Tsunami or floods."

"Yes."

"Well, think about that, to date every city and community has been destroyed by one of those four events. In essance by some form of the elements."

"What does this have to do with Aliens?"

"The fifth Element in nature is ..." Bea sighed as her husband dragged out the next few words. Walter smirked, "I was doing a dramatic pause."

Smiling she replied. "You're being an Ass, spit it out"

"Fine, I'll tell you, but dramatic pauses are a thing you know."

Beatrice narrowed her eyes. Walter knew that look.

"Ok, Space."

"Space?"

"Yes, Space. so, you see the fifth element is..." Walter paused again looking up to the sky while pointing his index finger upward. "Space. Therefore Aliens. "

Deep in thought Beatrice sipped her coffee and took another bite of her cake. Looked at Walter then began to laugh.

"Oh, sweetie." She cried "Forty-two years of marriage and you still make me laugh."

With determination Walter pressed on. “How would you explain it then, an act of God?”

Beatrice was not about to get into a spiritual argument, not this close to the end, so she simply replied, “Don’t rule that out Walter, just in case.”

About to protest Walter saw wisdom in what she said, and just nodded in agreement. “Ok, lets get past speculating and go by what we know. If you were an alien and wanted to take over a planet, don’t you think this is strategically a good plan? It causes unrest, and doubt. No one truly knows who to blame, it all seems so natural. By the time they figure it out, the planets inhabitants would be too weak to fight.”

"That seems awfully time consuming, this slow death has been going on for over a year now."

"Have you ever known a war to take less time? And at no cost of lives for the aliens. It's brilliant really."

“Well, if it is aliens, I hope they do a better job with this world than we did, in some small way that would give me comfort.”

“Comfort, how so?”

“Knowing that sunrises and sunsets will still happen, that nature will go on.”

Walter began to read his little book again, then mumbled, “You picked Tsunami for us, interesting.”

“What did you choose?”

“Earthquake of course, we do live on a Faultline, one of the largest in the world, simple deduction.”

“I wouldn’t want that, too violent.”

“Getting pummeled by a giant wall of water is better?”

“Quicker I think.”

Sipping on his beverage Walter stared into the horizon, marveling at the beauty. “I am glad we purchased this for our retirement, the view is spectacular.”

“Would you care for another cup of coffee?”

“Oh no, this was perfect. Thank you.”

Just then Walter stared down towards the beach. “Water is being sucked out to sea, look how fast it is receding. It appears it will be a Tsunami.”

“Oh, that means I win, nine for me, eight for you.” Bea clapped her hands.

“Well, I am fairly certain that this Tsunami was caused by an earthquake in the ocean so I could be considered the winner.”

“Let’s call it a tie then shall we.” Smiled Bea.

“Agreed.”

The air suddenly became quiet and tranquil. No sounds could be heard, only the lonely cries of the gulls. Suddenly the sharp blare of the warning sirens pierced the calm.

Pulling their blankets up, they reached out to hold one another’s hand. Watching the water on the horizon rise to a wall over twenty stories high and growing, racing towards them. The setting sun was quickly blocked out and the winds swiftly picked up, birds took to flight.

Walter leaned in, gave a peck on his wife’s cheek, and spoke. “You really do make the best chocolate cake, my love.”

I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my story. If you enjoyed it, please leave a heart, and help yourself to view my other writings.

Jason,

Short Story
28

About the Creator

JBaz

I have enjoyed writing for most of my life, never professionally.

I wish to now share my stories with others, lets see where it goes.

Born and raised on the Canadian Prairies, I currently reside on the West Coast. I call both places home.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments (1)

Sign in to comment
  • Dharrsheena Raja Segarran4 months ago

    Wow, I never thought that space would be the fifth element of nature. I wish I can eat Bea's chocolate cake too! Also, it was so unsettling to know that both of them are just sitting there nonchalantly eating the cake and talking while waiting for the tsunami to hit. I'm so happy you shared this story because I enjoyed it so much!

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Support

© 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.