This is the end, she thought, looking up at the comet in the sky. It was so near now that she felt she could reach up and grab it out of the sky. We\u2019ve stopped it coming for so long, and now there\u2019s nothing we can do.<\/p>\n
\u201cMommy, Mommy!\u201d A little boy raced up the path, bare feet slapping on the cement.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, baby! Where\u2019ve you been?\u201d She swept him up in her arms and twirled him around, her ears filled with his joyful giggles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was talking to Mr. Lawrence, and he said the sky rock is coming to visit soon!\u201d He looked up at her, eyes big and mirthful.<\/p>\n
She settled her little boy in the crook of her elbow and frowned. \u201cIs that so?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to meet it in person!\u201d He squirmed out of her grasp and slipped to the ground. He ran to their garden, lush with flowers, berries, and vegetables. \u201cWe should make a lunch party for it!\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled sadly as she watched her little boy fill his pockets with flowers and gently cradle a ripe tomato in his small hands. He brought it over and held it aloft reverently. \u201cIs that the one, baby?\u201d He nodded solemnly. He took her hand and led her back toward the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegina!\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned and saw Tucker Lawrence standing on the other side of their fence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go get lunch started,\u201d she whispered to her boy, nudging him toward the door. \u201cI\u2019ll be right there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRegina, how are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sky rock is coming to visit soon? Are you serious?\u201d She strode over to the fence and pointed a finger at his chest. \u201cStay away from my little boy, Tucker.\u201d<\/p>\n
He held up his hands and took a small step back. \u201cHe asked about it, I was just trying to be delicate. I didn\u2019t want to scare him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to make lunch for it,\u201d she wailed. \u201cHe picked flowers for it. He thinks it\u2019s coming over to visit, when it\u2019s just going to\u2014\u201d She pressed a hand over her mouth to hold in a sob.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t that better? That he has no idea?\u201d He reached over the fence and put a hand on her shoulder. \u201cRegina, sometimes naivete is better than knowing. I envy his youth, to be honest with you. He won\u2019t ever know what\u2019s going to happen if you don\u2019t tell him.\u201d<\/p>\n
She ran her hands through her hair and took a shuddering breath. She looked up at the looming shadow in the sky. \u201cDo you want to come over for lunch?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The little boy placed small, plastic plates in front of Mr. Lawrence and Mommy. Each plate had a tomato and cheese sandwich, three berries, and a little pile of granola. In the middle of the table, he had put some of Mommy\u2019s tulips in a vase. She didn\u2019t like it when he picked them, because they don\u2019t grow back until the next spring, but she didn\u2019t scold him this time. Instead she smiled and kissed his forehead. Mr. Lawrence reached for his sandwich.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet, silly!\u201d He smacked at Mr. Lawrence\u2019s hand. \u201cWe have to wait for the sky rock to get here! It\u2019s rude to eat without the guest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mommy laughed, but her face didn\u2019t look like it was laughing. She gave him a look he hadn\u2019t seen before, and she pulled him into her side. \u201cThe sky rock is running late, baby. It won\u2019t be here in time for lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d He hugged Mommy\u2019s side and frowned. He had made lunch for nothing then, if the sky rock was running late. \u201cI guess it\u2019s okay for us to eat, then.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Regina\u2019s kid was so blissfully unaware. It hurt. Tucker watched as the little boy painstakingly built them sandwiches and put some of Regina\u2019s tulips in a vase. The kid was so happy and thoughtful and bright, it wasn\u2019t fair that he was going to die. Tucker had lived enough that he had made his peace with this comet business from the very first official report.<\/p>\n
Watching Regina and her boy, though? That had been the hardest thing he\u2019d ever had to do. Regina had been trying so hard to keep her little boy in the dark, to let him live his life and have fun and not have any idea that the world was about to end, and it wasn\u2019t going to be pretty.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheers!\u201d the kid cried happily lifting his paper cup in the air. Tucker lifted his own cup and tapped it to his. Regina followed suit.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheers, kiddo.\u201d He smiled as he took a drink of his lemonade. Regina must have poured them all while he was spaced out. \u201cI\u2019m sorry the sky rock was late, buddy, I know you were excited to make lunch for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d He looked down at his lap, but quickly perked up again. \u201cI saved a sandwich for when it arrives, though! It\u2019s in the fridge\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a great idea, baby,\u201d Regina said with a sad smile.<\/p>\n
They sat at the table for maybe a half hour, talking about tomato and cheese sandwiches, determining the best way to go sledding in the summer, and laughing at the little boy\u2019s antics.<\/p>\n
But then the earth began to rumble.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She could tell that Tucker felt the tremors at the same time she did. They locked widened eyes across the table. She could feel herself tearing up, but she felt a small hand on her arm.<\/p>\n
Her little boy was looking up at her with big, worried eyes. \u201cWhat is that, Mommy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She got out of her chair and knelt before her son. She was sure her voice was shaking when she finally spoke. \u201cYou know how the car grumbles when it pulls into the garage?\u201d He nodded. \u201cWell, baby, that rumbling is the sky rock pulling up to Earth.\u201d He frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s loud,\u201d was all he said before he darted toward the front door.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d she cried, but Tucker was faster than her. He lunged out of his chair and snatched up her little boy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey! Put me down!\u201d<\/p>\n
Tucker laughed weakly and shook his head. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t go outside right now, kiddo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The little boy kicked his legs futilely before sagging. \u201cWhy not,\u201d he whined, drawing the syllables out.<\/p>\n
She plucked her baby from Tucker\u2019s arms and held him to her chest. \u201cBecause, baby. We don\u2019t want to get in the sky rock\u2019s way.\u201d She buried her face in his hair and felt as the rumbles in the ground got louder and stronger. \u201cIt\u2019ll be here soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The walls began to shake, followed by the furniture. Things began to rattle off of shelves and hooks and crash to the floor. Her baby began to cry and the house shook violently all around them. They were knocked to the floor, but they were unable to get back to their feet. Tucker led them, crawling, to an interior room, and shut the door behind them.<\/p>\n
Her little boy was wailing and clinging to her neck. The two of them collided with Tucker in a little pile in the corner of the room. They clung to each other, tears wetting shirts and hair. The sound of breaking glass, collapsing walls, and breaking furniture filled the air alongside the deep, constant rumble.<\/p>\n
She could feel her bones shaking beneath her skin. She could feel Tucker\u2019s bones shaking. She could feel her baby\u2019s bones shaking. The noise and the quakes were so deafening and piercing and painful.<\/p>\n
Tucker leaned into her ear. \u201cThank you for lunch, Reg,\u201d he whispered, his broken voice barely audible.<\/p>\n
She let out a desperate sob and clung tighter to him.<\/p>\n
Her little boy wrapped his arms tighter around her, forcing out the little breath she had left. \u201cI don\u2019t think the sky rock is very nice,\u201d he wailed, his face soaked with tears.<\/p>\n
She pressed her lips against his cheek. \u201cIt\u2019s not your fault, baby. I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Soft \u2018I love yous\u2019 rang out through the deafening noise, and tight hugs fought against earth-shattering movement.<\/p>\n
They lay, huddled, clinging to each other for dear life, as the noise only grew and grew, as the walls cracked and split around them, and even still as the comet smashed into the earth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And everything was still.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Allison LeMieux This is the end, she thought, looking up at the comet in the sky. It was so near now that she felt she could reach up and grab it out of the sky. We\u2019ve stopped it coming for so long, and now there\u2019s nothing we can do. \u201cMommy, Mommy!\u201d A little boy raced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"parent":19,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-475","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","clear"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/17-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/17-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/17-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/17-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/17-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/17-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":476,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/17-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/475\/revisions\/476"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/17-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/euphemism.illinoisstate.edu\/17-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}