- My Diary Entry: March 23rd, Global Calendar Year 52 -
Last night I had a dream. I can't remember what it was, but something compelled me to write in this old book. This is my first entry since starting high school; it was something I used to do back in elementary school.
I woke up this morning to a text on my phone.
3:07 am #####: "Yo ###### you know what day it is, don't you?" Me: "There isn't a person above the age of 3 who doesn't." Me: "It's the infamous Global Unification Day. Why did you have to text me at 3:00 am, bro? It's still demon hours." #####: "His only response was a winky face emoji." Me: "If you got something to say, spit it out already." #####: "Ok... Who pissed in your cereal, buddy?" Me: "I haven't even had my cereal yet. Plus, I don't even eat cereal." #####: "XD."
With nothing else keeping me awake, I quickly fell back asleep.
7:00 am My rest was once again interrupted. This time the interruption was expected: the alarm I had set the night before. With an exaggerated groan, I forced myself off my ever-so-comfy bed.
I started my mundane morning routine:
7:10 am: Pick out something that won't get me arrested. A white T-shirt, black jeans, and a blue button-up overshirt.
7:12 am: Brush my teeth, look in the mirror, and play with my hair until I can guarantee I won't become a victim of fashion.
7:15 am: Pack my bag with just the books I need for today.
7:30 am: Head to school—the most tiring task of the day, other than school itself.
Today was special because it began with an assembly. Unsurprisingly, about 90% of the kids were already on their phones by the time I entered.
8:15 am As I went to find a seat, I saw ##### waving at me to sit with him. I was still a little annoyed with his earlier stunt.
Me: "What's with the texts this morning? You might not be the only one awake, but I promise you that I wasn't."
The rest of our talk isn't worth mentioning. Even though my routine was quite lengthy, I'll keep it short from now on. The rest of the school day went on without a hitch.
5:00 pm I haven't written much about my folks yet because they are at work during my waking hours. I treated myself to a pizza I found in the fridge. I am a fast eater, so I didn't bother watching anything on my phone during the meal.
I apologize for having nothing interesting to say. I just thought things would be different since I felt so compelled to write this morning. Maybe tomorrow will be different.
Goodnight, World.
- My Diary Entry: May 23rd, Global Calendar Year 52 -
I just calculated it; this will be my 61st diary entry.
7:00 am I woke up to the familiar sound of my generic alarm. I was just rereading my first entry from Global Unification Day. I have always had fun looking for differences in my morning routine to see if there were any signs that something bad was about to happen.
I'm not being conspiratorial; it's just that people always swear there was "something off" on the day of a national tragedy. I'm going to stop before I go down a rabbit hole like I did yesterday. To avoid boring you—my future self—I'm going to skip the morning routine. I want today to be different.
7:30 am I head to school.
8:00 am Today we had an assembly. It's the last day of the school year and, for me as a senior, the last day I would see any of these people. The assembly started normally.
8:25 am Then... it ended. Not with a bang, but with students leaving the auditorium. It was the chaos of a thousand teenagers talking at once. The rest of the day went without a hitch.
3:07 pm I don't usually take naps, but after all the tearful goodbyes, I felt I deserved some rest.
7:00 am Then I woke up.
- My Diary Entry: May 23rd, Global Calendar Year 58 -
This is my first diary entry since high school graduation. It has been six years since the world fell apart.
It started with a bang. We thought it was an intruder, and we were right—but it wasn't a person. It was a monster. Not some ugly creature from a fairytale or an RPG; it was a mist. Unavoidable and all-consuming. The "bang" was just the sound of the windows collapsing. It was a precursor to what society would soon become.
It started as a mist, then came the cough, and then people collapsed. Most didn't wake up. In fact, only 2% of those affected survived. Fortunately for humanity, the mist didn't spread far. But that didn't save everyone.
The cough was infectious. I was infected. But I was different; I survived.