Time Enough At Last

The raging wind calms and brings life to a standstill. Traces of a distant wail and a cry of a mother are found in the silence, struggling to find their way home.

What happened? 

One minute, I am eating dinner with my family and the next, I find myself amidst the wreckage of my house, with my family members nowhere in sight. 

I hopelessly yell into the empty streets. As if life was laughing at my tragedy and misery, I hear an echo, my own voice returning to me. Letting me know that there is no one left, I am alone. 

My hands are bloody, my legs ache and my head throbs. Dust from the debris has covered the sky and completely blocked out the sun; leaving behind a scene straight from a post-apocalyptic movie. I am frozen and stuck in place, simply gazing into the far distance listening, waiting for some sign or voice from God, if He even is still here. 

Distraught but not discouraged, I force myself to walk a few steps ahead and seek out help. Thinking that if no one really is here, standing around isn't going to make a difference. The chilling breeze mixed with the dust ignites a pain in my eyes that makes it difficult to see. The world begins to fade into black and I stagger towards a pile of rubble on the ground.

This is it, I think to myself. My body fails me, realizing that no one is coming, my knees collapse.  Staring into the horizon, I see a ray of sunlight breaking through the barrier of dust and destruction. And my eyes capture this final picture of my life, shuttering slowly and losing clarity. Vision fading, life escaping and death arriving, I glimpse endless oblivion. 

And in its midst, a silhouette slowly walking towards me. 

"I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."