Live and Learn (Short Stories)

Cracks

Ah, how sweet the air is. She takes another deep breath as she stands by the edge of the cliff. The full moon is out, it's luminescent rays reflecting off of the raging waves below. The moon is beautifully round and white, like a big ball of cheese. It's rather big tonight but she didn't let that bother her. She let the calm night sink into her bones.

The air blows a quiet gust of wind as if the world were exhaling. It ruffles her hair, a few strands snuggling their way against her neck. The wind is warm and fresh and calms any nerves that were feeling agitated. She takes another breath, letting her body relax. She listens to the waves crash against the rocky side of the cliff. It is a soothing voice, lulling her to sleep with it's silky whispers. She takes a step closer to the grassy peak, her curiosity soaring above her usual tendencies. How do the waves look as they crash against the ridged wall of rock? She wants to see, wants to know.

She steps closer and closer until her toes hang off of the side. She doesn't want to look down, not yet. She stands still as another breeze blows the scent of her hair back into her face. Now...

She tilts her head and stares straight down the cliff. All the way down, very far below where she stands, she could see the water. The waves are dark blue, but highlights of the moon in the sky made the water glow. It shines it's blue against the rocks, creating twinkles of light that glint and sparkle here and there in the eye. Whenever the waves crashed, foam would appear. It was flung everywhere, like when a child is taking a bubble bath. As it lands back into the water, it dissolves into the blue. Again, it happens over and over. For a moment, she wants to be the water.

She wants to be pretty and blue. She wants to splash and splash over and over again. The wind howls quietly and she lifts her head up. The stars, bright and yellow, glitter the sky like fairy dust. The stars really bring out the moon and the swirls of blue that make up the universe.

Crack!

A noise caught her attention. What was it? Another, louder this time. She looks down, feeling vibrations ripple through her feet and up her legs, making her whole body tremble. "Was the ground cracking? Will I fall?" She thinks to herself fearfully.

BANG!

A sound so loud that it resembles thunder! In a panic, she jumps away from the cliff. The ground begins to roar and jolt angrily, as if waking from a deep sleep. "An earthquake?" She thinks, with even more fear consuming her body. She screams with all her might and falls to the ground, gripping the grass tightly.

She looks up.

There's a crack, an enormous crack, in the sky. Horizontally, it stretches further and further, like it's trying to reach both sides of the planet. The closer it gets to the sea, the more horrified she becomes. She clutches at her shirt, unable to utter a word. Tears stream down her face from a future she didn't know she would have. The tip of the crack, as thin as a needle, lightly splits it's way to the horizon; the sea.

All of the stars in the sky go out.

The Earth is draped with darkness so thick, it resembles an apocalypse that everyone couldn't help but fear.