Worlds that End

Part 1 – The window to the end of the world

The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. Today, it was stormy, it had been for the past few days. The wind was breaking dead trees and the rain was whipping at the window with impotent fury. No matter how bad it looked outside, one would only know it if they looked through the window. From anywhere else in the house, you could be blissfully ignorant of the chaos outside. Most nights, only the crackling of the fire and the mice could be heard. The girl liked the mice, she would often talk to them about the things they have seen. Interesting stories to be sure, but the girl considered them to be just that, stories. Only through the window could one see outside, and only through the door could one go outside. But the door never opened, not ever. The mice were great liars.

The girl sighed and continued to watch the weather outside grow from bad to worse. Lightning had struck a tree and it was now fully engulfed, a fiery finger pointing towards the heavens in accusation. Fear spread through the girl at the sight but it soon diminished into sadness for the tree. They were safe in the cabin; nothing had ever happened to them here. The world itself could be ending outside, but life would continue for them inside the cabin, she was sure of that. But the trees were not so lucky. They had once stood tall and proud, hundreds of feet tall, glorious in all of their splendor. Sentinels of the woods standing guard against the forces of evil. However, like many times before, evil finds a way to corrupt. Slowly, the trees are brought down. By the hand of man, with the whim of the wind, through disease and famine, the trees are laid low. The girl had seen enough, she hopped down from the stool she had been standing on and walked into the next room.

“Ah, Minnie. Well?” A man was sitting in an armchair, he looked comfortable, and he had a book open in front of him. Smoke from a tobacco pipe curled lazily in the air in front of his face, obscuring it from view. His name was Beau. He was not her father but he might as well be, he was the only person she could remember ever having met.

“I think it’s almost time. Things are looking pretty bad outside,” said Minnie.

“You do not wish to watch?”

“I’ve seen it before,” the girl sat down and grabbed a book of her own. “I would rather read.”

“I see,” said Beau. “Suit yourself, but there is always more to learn. There is always something, different.”

Beau went to his room where the window was located. Minnie wished there were more than the one window in the cabin but Beau insisted that was all there was room for.

“At least you could have made it a little lower,” Minnie would always say. Beau could see out of the window just fine, but Minnie still had to use a stool. Although, it was better than the barrel she had started on. The next time Minnie looked through the window, there was only darkness.



Part 2 - The window to the new world

Minnie was not sure how many times she had checked the window, but every time she did, she saw the same thing. Darkness. It had never taken so long to be able to see through the window, she feared she would never see anything through it again. She slept more often when the window was dark, her dreams were filled only with an emptiness, a void she could not escape from. Yes, she was afraid.

Thankfully, her fears were soon put to rest. A bright virgin world was born through the window. It was prehistoric, Minnie recognized the flora from her books. She ran to get Beau.

“Wow, this is amazing,” Beau said when he got to the window. “I have never seen anything like this before.”

Minnie turned to Beau with a curious look on her face. “How does this work? The window I mean,” asked Minnie. “You have never told me.”

Beau seemed to be taken aback. “It’s a long story, I’m afraid. Best suited for another time.”

“That is not a satisfactory answer, Beau.” Minnie only used his name when she was angry or irritated with him.

Beau looked at her hard for a moment but relented when she smiled up at him.

“I will tell you this and only this, sometimes the world is found and sometimes the world is born. This is a world being born.”

“What the heck does that mean?” Minnie felt like she was getting ripped off. “You are going to have to do better than that.”

Beau let out a long breath before he replied. “Fine. This cabin, it is special. You must understand, time is different here.”

He pulled out his old pocket watch and showed it to Minnie. The dials were all spinning at different speeds and in different directions. Then the dials all started to move in the same direction, still spinning at different speeds. Finally, the second hand stopped moving at all, the minute hand operated at normal speed, but the hour hand continued to move at a pace of one hour every ten seconds. Beau put the watch away and looked at Minnie. She nodded and he continued.

“So, when a new world appears in the window it is one of many possibilities. It is most often a world that is already in existence, it has a history, it has a future. There are many of those. But sometimes we stumble across something truly special. A world newly born is a gift that no living thing is meant to see. No history and a future that is yet to be written. Perhaps it will be gone in a blink of an eye. Or perhaps it will continue on, enduring, unending, immortal.”

“I think I understand, but how was it made? This cabin I mean, how can be in here while the world is ending outside?”

Beau looked thoughtfully at her, and perhaps there was a little anger in the look as well. But when he spoke, it was in a voice of regret.

“You are such a curious young lady; I once knew someone just like you. But it is getting late, grab a book and go read in bed.”

“But time is different here, how do you know it’s late?” Minnie smiled up at Beau and crooked her head inquiringly.

“I guess it is more of a feeling, now go to bed.”



Part 3 – The true story of the window to many worlds

Things were deteriorating quickly; the earthquakes were becoming stronger and more frequent. Beau was on foot; he abandoned his car half a mile back. Driving was useless, the roads were lined with abandoned vehicles. People trying to either escape the inevitable or trying desperately to get to their loved ones while there was still time. Beau had seen it coming, he had known and he had tried to tell people. But no one listened. Not the government, not his friends or colleagues, not even his wife. Laura had left him a month ago and she had taken his daughter with her. Nothing Beau could do would convince her to come back. Short of burning down the cabin, but that was just not an option. Now he was racing against time to get them both before this fucking planet went dark. He could see their apartment building ahead. He ran up the stairs leading to the entrance two at a time, but before he could reach the top, the world exploded and everything went dark.

Beau woke up with a start, he was dreaming of the end of the world again. His world. It was the first end he had witnessed. And it was the worst.

“You were dreaming bad dreams again,” Minnie’s voice sounded from the doorway. “I could hear you from my room.”

“Yes, yes, I was. Sorry.”

“Will you finally tell me?”

“No, Minnie. Not yet.” Beau put his head back on his pillow and let out a long breath. “Maybe later.”

Later was a relative term, and in a place where time did not work normally, it was useless. Time did pass and Minnie watched through the window as a world flourished in front of her eyes. Minnie could not say how much time passed, but through the window, life was moving along. Beautiful creatures she had never seen before filled her days with wonder and she started to dream of walking amongst them. How long had she been in the cabin? She was much smaller when she came here, she was bigger now. But how hold was she? Minnie did not know. Perhaps the mice were right, maybe the front door did open. If she only tried. So, she dreamed of opening the front door, she dreamed of having a birthday, she dreamed of life. Why should she be stuck in here? Minnie was now determined to go out that door. She would smell fresh air, hear amazing sounds, and see beautiful sights.

Minnie watched as the world outside changed, slowly, almost imperceptibly. It seemed almost... friendlier now. At least, she hoped so. She finally worked up the courage to talk to Beau one day when they finished eating third meal. She thought about how when she left this place, she would start calling it dinner again and she would eat it during the proper time. She looked up at him and was just about to go into her long-rehearsed speech, but Beau spoke first.

“You want to go outside; you want to leave. I can see it on your face, I am no fool child.” Beau looked at Minnie with love and curiosity, but most of all with understanding. “I think it’s time I tell you about my family.”

Beau explained everything. He told Minnie about the witch he met when he was a young man, she gave him a gift. But also, a curse. Being able to see the ends of things, all things, was more of a curse than a gift. He could see the moment a building would be reduced to rubble, when a forest would be left in ashes. He would always know when his beloved pets would pass and how people would die. But the worst of all? He could see the end of the world, and it was coming soon. He dedicated his life to building something that would not only stop visions, but that would protect his family from the end he knew was coming. He became obsessed and by the time he finished the cabin, his wife and child were gone.

“When I came to, all I could hear was the ringing in my ears. The smoke was thick and rubble was strewn everywhere. It was no use trying to get to my wife and child. There was almost nothing left of the building. I knew they were dead but I did not see it coming. I spent too much time in here, you see.” Beau gestured with his hands and looked around the room. “When I finished the cabin, it changed the fate of my family but I could not see it. Their deaths were lost in the countless deaths in my mind that day and I did not see it coming. I decided to give up, one way or another the visions would stop. Alone I would have suffered, but death brought a certain comfort. Then, I heard a cry. It was soft at first but grew louder as the person became aware of their surroundings. You had a terrible cut on the back of your head. I saw you standing there, this terrified and bleeding little girl that reminded so much of my own daughter. I decided then and there that I wanted to live. I could still do something; I could save a little piece of this world, a true part of this world.” Beau looked at Minnie with tears welling in his eyes. “So, I brought you here and the world outside ended.”

Minnie looked up at Beau, she loved him and she knew that he would do anything for her. “Thank you for saving me. But I need to go out that door.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Will you go with me?”

“I do not know if I could bear seeing the end. If I walk out of that door, I will see it all. With the window, I do not always have to look.”

Minnie thought it for a few seconds and had a realization. Maybe it was nothing, but maybe it was something.

“Have you have left the cabin since you brought me here?” Minnie asked.

“Not once,” Beau replied in a whisper.

Minnie laughed. It was so simple.

“If this is a different world, a new world, then who is to say that you have the curse here? If there is no witch here to give you a gift that is really a curse, then does it still exist?”

Beau looked puzzled at the simplicity. “I guess there is only one way to find out.”



Part 4 – Life is full of streets, alleys, windows, and doors

Beau spent more time than was necessary getting ready. Minnie understood why. It was a terribly frightening thing to do, leaving the cabin. More so for Beau than for herself. Still, she could not help but feel apprehension when the time came to step out of the door and into the new world. She had the mice in her pocket, they did not want to be left behind. Plus, they gave her comfort. When she finally did step out, it was like a new life came into her. She felt the crisp note in the air, she breathed in and felt revitalized. She took a step, and then another. She did not look back; she was too scared she would want to return. Or worse, that Beau was not coming after all. But she heard the door shut and Beau’s footsteps sounding from behind her. Then came Beau’s voice, loud and resolute.

“Don’t forget where we parked the cabin!”



The End