I was sitting in the very first chair of the fifth row, facing the wide glass window that stretched across the wall. The classroom was silent, unusually silent, the kind of silence that pressed against your ears until you started noticing your own heartbeat.
All the seats around me were empty. Six rows of chairs, lined up neatly on the steps of the lecture hall, yet not a single person in sight. Normally, people would start arriving by 7:25, chatting, shuffling bags, filling the air with noise. But now, at 7:30 in the morning, I was alone. Not even the faint hum of buses outside reached me, though the station was right beside my department.
It felt strange, too strange, as if the world had gone quiet just for me.
My gaze drifted back to the window. The curtains had been drawn aside, and beyond the glass the morning sky was scattered with birds. A little brown sparrow kept throwing itself against the glass, wings beating frantically as though convinced it could break through. Over and over, its small body tapped the pane, stubborn and desperate.
Then, out of nowhere, three crows swooped in. Their wings sliced through the air, their cries sharp and jarring. They circled the sparrow, lunging at it with quick strikes of their beaks. For a moment, feathers scattered across the sky in a frenzy. My breath caught, but the sparrow somehow escaped, disappearing into the distance.
The crows didn't follow.
One of them landed on the edge of the window, claws scraping the glass as it stared directly at me. My body went rigid. Its black eyes locked onto mine, unblinking, empty, endless. My heartbeat quickened, thudding so loudly I thought the bird might hear it.
A sudden thought came to me, heavy and unshakable. What if everyone in the world disappeared?
The crow tilted its head, then slammed its beak against the glass. A sharp crack echoed. The other two joined in, striking in a rapid rhythm. I told myself the window was thick, too strong to break, but dread crept into me all the same. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.
And then, with a sickening sound, the glass splintered. Blood smeared across the surface where one of the crows had struck, a dark line running through the crack. The bird pushed through the opening, dragging its wings along the jagged edges.
It looked straight at me.
Then it spoke.
"What if everyone disappears, but you remain?"
The voice was wrong, distorted, like a broken echo of my own thought, as if the words hadn't come from the crow at all but from somewhere deep inside my mind. My stomach twisted.
Before I could react, the other crows burst through the opening, filling the hall with the violent beating of wings. Their cries were deafening, shrill, unnatural. A freezing gust of wind rushed through the broken window, scattering papers across the desks, stinging my skin. I raised my arms to shield my face, heart hammering, unable to do anything else.
Then.....silence.
I lowered my arms slowly.
The lecture hall was empty again. The glass wall stood unbroken, clean, perfect. No blood, no cracks, no birds. Nothing. Only silence.
My heart was still pounding when the back door opened. I whipped my head around. A classmate walked in casually, bag slung over his shoulder, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Relief flooded me. Finally, someone else was here. Maybe I was dreaming, maybe it was just my brain playing tricks on me after a long week of exams.
I forced a sigh and tried to push the thoughts away, focusing instead on the exam that would start at 8.
When it was finally over, I gathered my things quickly and left before anyone else. I walked down the stairs, heading toward the back gate of the university. The path was unusually quiet.
And then I saw him.
A man was standing there, dressed entirely in black. His coat reached past his knees, his shoes tall and dark. His hair was wild, messy, unnaturally black, and there was something in his appearance, his sharpness, his stillness....that almost resembled a crow.
He looked straight at me.
I froze, a shiver crawling down my spine. My breath caught in my throat. Then, suddenly, a hand touched my shoulder.
I spun around.
It was one of my classmates. She smiled lightly and asked, "Going toward the station? Let's go together."
When I turned back, the man was gone. The road was empty. Just like the crows, he had vanished without a trace.
I forced a smile, steadying myself. "Yes, let's go together."
We walked on, but deep inside, I could not forget.
Even now, I can't comprehend whether it was a dream or reality, whether it truly happened or whether it was only in my mind. But to this day, I remember it as clearly as the morning sky.
And I still wonder, even now....
What if everyone disappeared, and I remained?