Today is the day the world will end. We did this to ourselves. We can't stop it. Everything we know will be wiped away. Perhaps if these choices weren't made, we'd be able to live. Perhaps if we weren't stupid, we wouldn't have the fear of the unknown drilled into our heads. We'll be erased completely.
"We have ten minutes until the end of the world." I say to her.
She smiles. "You're right. I'll make your last minutes happy."
"Why are you smiling, Eli?" was what I found myself asking her.
"I'm spending my last minutes with you, Umi."
For her sake, I tell her that the world won't end, and it's a stupid idea.
It's really true. The world is about to end, and I'm sat here with her. I like her, but it's too late to tell her. She'll be happy, that's true. Not for long. Our actions caused this, and none of our actions could ever stop it. I tell Eli the world isn't going to end, again, to convince her I'm refusing to believe. The truth is, I accepted this a long time ago.
"Umi." I hear her say.
"What is it?"
"I know you're lying to me."
"So maybe I am. What's your point, Eli?"
Eli pulls me close. "I don't want to lose you, Umi."
I don't understand why she's saying this.
"Eli, why-"
"Shush, Umi. The stars are out, look. It's a perfect starry sky."
"...So it is."
"Umi."
I turn my head towards her.
"What now, Eli?"
I'm surprised when I feel the warmth of her lips on my cheek.
"E-Eli?!"
One minute.
I look into her tearful eyes. I know I must, so I reluctantly peck her lips.
"Th-there."
"Thank you, Umi."
Ten seconds to say my goodbyes.
She leans into me, and I wrap a reassuring arm around her as she sobs.
"I.. I-I love you, Umi..."
"I love you too, Eli."
"Goodbye, Umi."
"...Goodbye, Eli."
Everything is wiped away...
The Tenth Minute
"We have ten minutes until the end of the world." I say to her.
She smiles. "You're right. I'll make your last minutes happy."
"Why are you smiling, Eli?" was what I found myself asking her.
"I'm spending my last minutes with you, Umi."
For her sake, I tell her that the world won't end, and it's a stupid idea.
We're lying together on the beach. It's me, Sonoda Umi, her, Ayase Eli, and the sea. A perfect setting for world's end. The sky is red and the sea is black, signalling that everything is wrong. The stench of the dead lingers in the air.