"And now, to something a little more magical. Something that beautiful, that we can witness only once in our lifetimes."
The screen flickers briefly as the camera cuts to the studio. A man and a woman sat behind a news desk, both smiling with perfect smiles.
The woman leaned toward the camera, her eyes ready to read her next line."Tonight marks the peak of what astronomers are calling the 'once-in-a-million-years meteor event,'" she said, with that strange artificial smile. "Thousands of meteors visible across nearly every part of the world. Scientists say we won't get another chance like this until long after humanity's gone extinct."
The man chuckled, adjusting his tie, "So basically, you miss it tonight, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
"Exactly," she grinned. "Cities everywhere are holding public viewings. Parks are packed. Rooftops. Beaches. Everyone's coming together. If you've got someone special, bring them. If you don't--"
"Bring a blanket and some snacks and think about a wish you want to wish for later."
"No matter where you are," she continued, her voice softening slightly, "look up tonight. Even just for a minute. The universe doesn't usually make appointments like this."
The segment ended with a slow zoom of sparkling simulation footage with stars flying over a model of Earth and a gentle piano track that faded as the screen switched back to ads.
I blinked at the TV for a few seconds.
It was the 11th day of summer break; so far I hadn't left the house once. I would have to leave the house briefly today. Mum and Dad had argued yesterday that I never left my room. That I had no friends. I didn't want them to worry about me. Today I was going to leave my room.
My phone rested in my hand, unlocked. I'd been scrolling through nothing—just swiping out of habit, not even looking. Some meme. An ad. A blurred selfie someone had posted with the caption "ready for tonight ". I had no idea who they were.
I already knew that in 50 years when someone would ask me what my biggest regret was, I would answer that I lost too much time on my damn phone rotting in my room.
The phone screen dimmed and shut off. I didn't bother turning it back on.
I wished everyone would leave me alone. I wished I could stay here forever. In my room. I couldn't get hurt here, couldn't be laughed at. Here I was safe. Safe from them… Besides, I hadn't finished that one show yet.
Suddenly, like a lightning flash, a memory of my mother shot through my head—how she had cried last night. My father had stood beside her, comforting her, but said nothing. I had hidden behind the wall, unnoticed, and listened. "Aleks hasn't left his room for days." "What is wrong with my son?" "Why doesn't he go out with his friends?" "Doesn't he feel lonely?"
I shook my head, tried to think of something else to forget it quickly. Aleks! Pull yourself together—Mum and Dad were the only people here who maybe still thought about you at all, so at least try not to disappoint them too.
I finally stood up and looked around. My room was a complete mess—tissues and dirty clothes scattered all over the floor. It was pitch black inside, the only light was coming from the TV mounted on the wall across from my bed. Right next to it stood my gaming setup. If I wasn't wasting time on my phone in bed, I was probably sitting there.
The setup was pretty basic: a desk, two monitors, a PC, and a worn-out gaming chair that had definitely seen better days.
I usually kept my saved-up cash in the top shelf on the right side of the desk. So I walked over and opened it.
"Weird," I muttered to myself. For some reason, my wallet wasn't in the shelf. Maybe it was lying somewhere on the desk, but it was hard to tell with all the dishes and empty plastic bottles cluttering the surface.
I couldn't be bothered to dig through that mess. So I just grabbed my debit card and made my way down the hallway toward the bathroom.
The mirror lit up as I stepped in front of it. As much as I didn't want to, I glanced at myself.
I hate myself–
A small, fragile boy stood in front of me. I was 16 but didn't look older than 12. I was short and skinny. But my face was chubby and my cheeks thick. Back then I had gone to the gym regularly for a proud six months—five times a week—and I hadn't skipped once, not even leg day. It had been nice until I spotted a few of them there. From that moment on, I never went back.
My hair was dark blond and my eyes gray. I had never seen anyone with eye color like mine. I mean, maybe it was because I never looked people in the eyes, but… they were the only thing I liked about myself. And I didn't want to ruin even that for myself.
I brushed my teeth without thinking much, rinsed my face, patted it dry. Fixed my hair a little more..
Done.
I walked back to grab my keys and wallet. The hallway lights were off, but a faint yellow glow came from the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" my dad's voice called out.
I leaned around the corner just enough for him to see me.
"Out. Meteor thing."
He glanced up from his chair, one hand on a mug, the other holding his phone.
"With a friend?"
"Yeah."
I lied.
He didn't question it.
Just nodded once.
"Aleks, don't come back late."
"Got it."
Before I opened the front door, I took a deep breath.
It had been a while since I last left the house.
Aleks, you can do it.
The streets still held the warmth of the day. Shadows stretched long across the sidewalk as the sun slid lower behind the rooftops. Streetlamps hadn't flickered on yet, but the sky had already started shifting-colors bleeding from blue to purple, soft hints of gold melting into the clouds.
I passed by people heading toward parks, carrying foldable chairs and bags of snacks. A couple laughed as they juggled a rolled-up picnic blanket between them. Kids ran ahead, yelling about the event. A group of teenagers in matching hoodies was taking selfies near a fountain.
The whole city was preparing to look up.
I kept walking.
The corner shop was open. I normally go there to buy something to drink, so I pushed the door open, the little bell above it giving a tired jingle.
Inside, the air smelled faintly of old candy and cleaning spray. Shelves lined with snacks, energy drinks, and a fridge humming quietly in the back.
I made my way straight to it and opened the cooler. The cold air hit me in the face, crisp and sharp. My hand hesitated for a moment before I grabbed the familiar glass bottle-dark red, a faint cherry-vanilla tint swirling behind the label.
I closed the door, bottle in hand, and made my way to the counter.
That's when I heard the little bell above the door ring behind me—and then I saw him.
Brad. He was one of them.
He was leaning casually against the wall next to the exit, like the store belonged to him. Tall, athletic, the kind of face you'd see on an ad. Everyone at school talked about him, especially the girls. Standing next to him was Carmen. Her dark, straight hair fell over one shoulder, brown eyes shining in the fridge's neon light. Her skin held the warm brown of her homeland—she'd moved here from Spain a few years ago. Back in middle school, she was my best friend. Ever since then, I've had the dumbest, most hopeless crush on her. And now she was standing beside Brad.
Brad looked at me and grinned—not in a nice way. More like a cat spotting a toy. He raised his voice so everyone could hear.
"Hey Carmen, look. One of the weirdos I told you about."
His words hit like cold water. My mouth went dry. I knew what came next: mockery, maybe even a shove later behind the school building. For years, he'd humiliated me, treated me like garbage. Like I wasn't even human.
Carmen tugged on his sleeve gently. "Brad, stop. That's not funny." Her voice was soft, almost apologetic. But she didn't move away. Her eyes met mine—recognized me—and then slid away like I was nothing.
I wanted to say something. Something clever, or angry. Anything. But I just stood there, frozen. My legs didn't feel like mine. The debit card in my hand trembled.
Moments like this are why I won't leave the house for the next few days.
His breath stank of energy drinks. My fingers tightened around the soda bottle in my hands.
I turned to the cashier, placed the bottle on the counter, stared at the card reader. The numbers blurred.
Just pay.
Just get out.
Just breathe.
Beep. Payment approved.
"Have fun tonight," the cashier mumbled without even looking at me.
I grabbed the bottle and headed for the door. In the reflection of the glass, I saw it: Brad wrapping his arm around Carmen, kissing her temple like it was nothing.
The door slid open. Cool air hit my face.
It wasn't until I was outside that I noticed how badly my knees were shaking. Brad was still laughing inside; Carmen's voice was just a faint echo.
I looked up at the sky as it started to darken. A tear slid softly down my cheek. That was too much; I wanted to go back home. To my room.
I walked out, the cool glass bottle sweating slightly in my hand.
A few minutes later, I turned onto the quieter path. The sounds of chatter, music, and cars faded behind me, replaced by the crunch of gravel under my shoes and the soft rustle of wind through trees.
The path wound gently uphill, flanked by overgrown hedges and an old metal fence on one side. Faint outlines of distant apartment windows blinked in the growing dusk like lazy fireflies.
My spot came into view, a half-buried bench sitting slightly crooked under a lone streetlight in a mostly forgotten corner of the park. The light flickered once, then held steady, casting pale gold across the worn wood and cracked pavement. I alway go there when I tell my parents that I'm going out.
I sat.
The bench creaked beneath me, like it always did.
I popped the cap off the bottle and let it fall to the ground. Took a sip. Perfect.
The sky above had darkened just enough to show the first stars, tiny white dots blinking into existence one by one. The clouds were still pulling apart slowly, streaks of purple and orange slicing across the horizon.
I leaned back.
Maybe in another universe, my situation looked different. Maybe the Aleks from there was somebody. Went out with friends to eat, to shop, to swim, to the movies. Maybe he sat on this bench right here with them, waiting for the meteor show to start. Maybe, unlike me, he lived.
I breathed and admired the beautiful view from the bench. The world was so beautiful. I would have liked to run away—I didn't know where—just somewhere far, far from here.
Suddenly, a broad light appeared in the night sky. The meteor show had begun.
I looked up. The first meteor began to glide across the night sky. It flew slowly; behind it was its trail, which grew longer with every second. It was majestic in different colors; at the very front it was a bright yellow, almost white; farther back it turned turquoise, then pink, and at the end violet. Shortly afterward, the trail took up almost the entire night sky. It gave the dark night light again.
I stood up from the bench to see as much of it as possible, to experience the moment before it turned into a memory. I got goosebumps—I hadn't seen something so beautiful in a very, very long time.
Aleks, the world out there was so beautiful and there was still so much to discover. I didn't want to live like this anymore. I didn't want my world to be only my room. I didn't want to lie in my bed and rot while those who destroyed me, who ruined me, had the time of their lives.
I shouted out: I want to finally live!
After I said that, a strong wind came; birds flew away, and dogs far away started barking out of nowhere.
I looked up at the night sky. Strange—the meteor trail still didn't disappear.
I looked more closely and felt a shock. No, that couldn't be real. What was happening right now? The meteor trail was spreading slowly from left to right. It looked as if the meteor had just sliced through the night sky, and now the true sky was revealing itself inside the expanding strip.
Inside it was darkness itself. It was the blackest black I had ever seen; it was so dark it consumed the light—no star could salvage that blackness.
The trail spread further until it stopped. From a distance it looked like a huge, glowing oval in the sky, almost like the shape of an eye. The edge glowed in the meteor's colors, while in the middle that deep darkness spread. Everything around this oval went still. No wind, no sound, only that shining shape in the sky.
After a few seconds, a small bright point began to appear in the darkness. It grew slowly, became rounder, stronger, and brighter—until it became a large circular point of light. It looked like a pupil, as if the sky itself had opened an eye. The light inside it moved slightly, as if it were blinking or watching the earth.
I stood there and didn't know what to do. Was that God? I mean, three weeks ago I remembered seeing a crazy guy at the station on my way to school. He yelled that the end was near and to turn back to God before it was too late. But they all said that, didn't they?
To be honest, I wasn't even ready to talk to Him now. He would definitely have been angry with me for not getting my life together with the life He had given me.
Suddenly, red, glowing particles appeared around the eye. They looked like tears that were slowly falling. With every tear, the light began to flicker. They looked liquid—almost like glowing drops of blood. They drifted slowly downward, as if the sky were crying. The red drops flowed like rain, but much slower, and each of them left a fine, luminous trail in the air.
I just stood there and stared up. The drops drew closer, more and more of them, until one fell right in front of me. I watched it glow in the air and then hit the ground.
In the next moment the drop began to move. The red liquid crept across the ground, drew together, and grew darker—from bright red to deep black. Then, suddenly, a shape rose out of it.
I stepped back. In front of me stood something that had just been a drop—now it looked like a living, dark creature. It slowly lifted its head, and I had the feeling it was looking at me.
Suddenly, this creature let out a scream so loud I thought my eardrum was about to burst.
"The fuck" I took a step back and started running.
Faster than I ever had before. Down the street, past shuttered shops, past the corner bakery with its glass already shattered. My feet hit the pavement like drumbeats. My chest burned. My legs screamed. I didn't stop.
I couldn't.
Screams erupted behind me. People were dying. Buildings collapsed. A man sprinted past me with blood on his hands, shouting something about his daughter. I didn't stop to ask. Another blur dashed across the sidewalk, chasing him.
No. Not chasing.
Hunting.
And then it saw me.
Shit. I had to run. I didn't want to die yet. I didn't want to die as a nobody. I had just promised myself to change. Please God, if you could hear me, give me one more chance.
I turned down the alley behind the gym. Narrow, tight, steep. Dumb move. Halfway through, I realized–
Dead End.
"Shit." Shitshitshit"
This demonic creature ran behind me until it stopped. Its steps grew slower and slower, as if it took pleasure in seeing me terrified.
I raised my hands like that would help. My voice barely came out.
"Please don't"
The creature lunged.
Suddenly–
A blinding light.
Something pierced the air with a sharp crack, and a golden spear slammed into the creature's torso, pinning it to the wall beside me. It didn't bleed. It just convulsed ,glitching even harder ,then disintegrated into smoke and sparks.
I dropped to the ground, gasping.
Before me stood a shape, glowing so bright I had to shield my eyes. As it came near I saw two big wings on its bag.
Is that an fucking angel?
The shape came closer.
"Endure a little longer aleksander. You're nearly safe."
I froze. "You-how do you know my name?"
It didn't answer.
Then he vanished. No flash, no noise. Nothing.
Had God heard my plea? Had He given me a chance to live?
I sat there for a second, heart pounding.
My hands were shaking. My legs barely worked. But somehow, I stood up.
Everything hurt. I walked. Through the empty streets. Through the smoke. Through the shattered remains of my town.
The buildings were hollow. The air was thick with ash. Somewhere, a phone kept ringing. No one answered.
A woman lay motionless under a broken streetlight. Her eyes were open. Her mouth, too. No sound came out.
I stepped over her.
One block later, a car burned in silence. Another creature crawled across the ruins like a drunk centipede made of glass and teeth. It didn't see me.
I kept walking.
My mind had stopped trying to make sense of anything. I was just... moving. Waiting for it to end.
Then I looked down.
A glowing circle spread beneath my feet. It looked like something people in movies would draw at rituals. In it were symbols I didn't recognize lit up one by one.
"Holy Shi–"
The ground vanished and I couldn't see anything. I just felt like I was falling somewhere infinite.
I couldn't feel my body. My thoughts scattered. Was I dying?
No. I hope not.
If this was death, it should've been darker. Quieter. I should've seen something. My parents. A memory. Anything.
Then , impact.
Hard stone beneath my back. Cold air in my lungs. I gasped, twisted onto my side, and coughed like I hadn't breathed in years.
What the hell just happened?
I opened my eyes.
Blue.
The sky was blue.
Not unzipped like before. It was blue, bright and peaceful.
I blinked.
I sat up slowly, my whole body trembling. My shirt clung to my chest, damp with sweat and dust. I wasn't dead.
I was somewhere else.
And I wasn't alone.
Voices surrounded me ,hundreds of them, maybe thousands. I turned my head and–
"Damn"
A massive crowd.
People packed shoulder to shoulder across a wide, grass field.
Some people were crying. Others were screaming. Most were just... frozen.
Everyone looked just as lost as I felt.
Men in office suits. Women in hospital gowns. Teenagers with school bags. Toddlers. Seniors. Everyone.
And mixed in with them…
"What the hell am I looking at?"
Elves. Fucking elves.
You know these creatures from fantasy movies and games. Tall, elegant people with long ears, glowing eyes, and clothes that shimmered like magic had barfed all over them. A group of dwarves huddled near a fountain, yelling in some guttural language I didn't understand.
And I just stood there.
My legs wanted to collapse.
This isn't Earth.
"Is this a dream?" My voice cracked. "Did I finally go crazy?"
No one answered.
The ground beneath us pulsed.
A voice echoed through the sky. Not from speakers. Not from anywhere physical. "You have been spared."
I froze.
"The creatures which destroyed your worlds will also come for this one."
My stomach twisted.
"You have six months."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Someone shouted, "Six months for what?!"
The voice ignored him.
"Unite. Learn. Survive. Or perish, like your world did."