Kenopsia

Rumi Bennett, 10th Grade, BC ECHS

For once, I finally wake to silence… Wait.

 

Silence?

 

There’s no silence in the city. It’s filled with the honking of cars, the bustling of people walking down the streets, people yelling and talking to one another.

 

…But never silence.

 

For a second I think someone is playing a prank on me or that I somehow went deaf overnight.

 

Curious, I slowly make my way to the window and peer outside. Strangely, I see no one outside.

 

‘Strange,’ I think to myself.

 

I slip on some shoes before heading out of my apartment. As I walk towards the apartment building entrance, I take note of the absence of people.

 

I notice barking and meows to animals as I leave the building.

 

Empty.

 

Everything is empty. No one is here. Why?

 

I wandered for hours, searching for anyone, but to no avail; there was not a soul in sight.

 

Defeated, I slump against a nearby building, alone in this now desolate world.

 

[5 years later]

 

Five years. Five years in this nightmare of an earth. Walking around, talking to animals, no human interaction at all.

 

Five years spent hoping, dreaming of a time when I could talk to someone… But that’s all in the past now.

 

Now, I’m walking up and down the streets I’ve walked hundreds of times by now. I’ve studied the ins and outs of almost every building. It’s one of the only things I could do to distract myself from the loneliness of the city.

 

After a few more hours of wandering around, I see it. A small hole in the side of one of the buildings.

 

Hesitantly, I make my way over, crawling through the hole. On the other side was… a makeshift home? But I’m the only one here, aren’t I?

 

Inspecting the home, I find a few old photos, little trinkets here and there, and other things that you would normally get at a store.

 

Suddenly, I was interrupted by the sound of metal hitting the floor. Whipping my head around, I stare, wide-eyed, at the person in front of me.

 

An actual person!

 

Suddenly, the feeling of joy of meeting someone in 5 years washes away, quickly replacing the overwhelming feelings of when I was alone. Finally, after five years… after spending days, weeks, years alone, in this desolate city.

 

The last of us… it’s too hard for me not to cry… a tear for us… a tear for the last of us.