Sightless God

Rowan sat above a ruined city. They stared blankly into all the fire and destruction done to it. People ran around the street like feral animals. They could hear gunshots in the distance and screams from all over. In the distance, close up, far enough away that they shouldn’t have been able to hear it but they still could. They imagined something awful was happening to them right now. They adjusted a patch over their eye and exhaled in a small puff of warm air. They watched it appear and then vanish into the cold atmosphere.

This wasn’t one of those sad stories where mankind gets to blame its downfall on something, they thought bitterly. Mankind had fallen because of itself. There was no strange ethereal form or unstoppable virus to blame. Rowan believed that the houses torn apart and decaying, the fire on every street right below them was all because people were, well people. They were greedy and self-obsessed and no one could really expect them to keep the peace. Why would they? Pride? Pride only lasts as long as humanity does and we all know humans have been dehumanizing each other since the very start.

Rowan sighed, watching as their breath vanished before them again. They pulled their long, black hair up into a ponytail and made their way down off the ruined home they’d been watching the chaos from. The screams were even louder down on the ground. It was shameful, if you asked Rowan, that civilization only lasted a short ten thousand years. They’d hoped more would come of it all.

They moved among murders and thieves, blending in fine and practically appearing invisible. They entered a store through a shattered window. For a moment, Rowan admired the satisfying crunch under their shoes from the glass. They then moved to search the store for any resources that would be valuable. They squatted down at a broken shelf, picking up a can of something unrecognizable.

“Stop right there!” Rowan heard beside their ear and when they looked up to see who was undoubtedly threatening them, they were blinded by how bright the store suddenly was. They wanted to observe their new, strange surroundings but the gun pointed at them made them pause for a moment. Rowan cracked a smile.

“Relax I was just,” they glanced at the can they had just been holding to see that it was now some sort of heart-shaped pendant? A locket maybe. “...looking for.. uh.” They pocketed it and looked up at the stranger who was looking cautious. How interesting. They raised their hands in a sort of surrender before finishing, “Well, never mind. May I ask why you have a gun pointed at me?”

“Shut up! You don’t get to ask any questions!” Rowan opened their mouth to retort, a little offended, but was interrupted by the stranger. “You just appeared out of thin air! and you’re acting so calm! What are you?”

Oh boy. Rowan moved to take in their surroundings but seeing the gun move closer made them rethink that for the moment. They hummed before slowly pointing behind themself at the broken window with a thumb.

“I didn’t just appear. I stepped through that broken window.” The stranger gave a look of utter confusion.

“Broken? None of our windows are broken. This store is brand new.” At that response, Rowan risked taking in their surroundings finally. Every single shelf was fixed and looked entirely new and sure enough, the broken window was now looking fixed and shiny and brand new.

They swallowed dryly as they looked back at the stranger, who was looking more and more afraid by the second.

“Okay, don’t shoot. I dropped something okay, I’m just going to…” The stranger watched as Rowan slowly bent down grabbing a random can slowly. They smiled bitterly.

“Sorry to do this to you though.” They quickly whirled around to the window and chucked the can with enough force to shatter the window, hoping they’d make it in time. They shut their eyes tight as they heard the gunshot.

And then there was another. And another. And then a distant scream. Rowan opened their eyes to see they were back in their familiar destroyed city, with the shop with broken windows. They exhaled slowly. That hadn’t happened in a while and was still so utterly... thrilling.

Rowan reached into their pocket and pulled out the locket. They wondered what the purpose of it was. The inside was completely empty. It didn’t even have one of those tiny mirrors inside. So, why did they have it in that store? And why did they still have it in their own broken reality?