WHISTLING SHADE


Lazy Ghosts

by Tyler Gates

 

You're not sure when it started. In fact you didn’t even hear about it until after it became world-wide news; the result of you avoiding any major news outlet with a fiery passion. It was first noticed by a lone astronomer locked away in a cold outpost deep in the middle of Russia. What appeared to him and has now been confirmed by every scientist, institution, and major government is that someone or something appears to be turning the universe off.

The world watches in horror as every night a few less stars make their appearance. Familiar constellations begin to fall apart. Entire star clusters disappear bit by bit. It takes months and eventually even years but slowly everything begins to get a little darker, a little quieter and you unlike everyone else can't seem to find a single reason to care. This is the most passive aggressive Armageddon anyone could ever imagine and the problem is no one did. No giant meteors, nuclear wars, or even cryptic horsemen; everything is just over. Your time is up. You along with millions of others spend nights staring up at a moon drowning alone in a sea of nothing. The very few teardrops of light left sparsely dot the all consuming black canvas that is the sky above.

So it continues; without explanation or cause. Night after night the sky empties just that much more until finally we are the only ones left. Floating alone in this giant sea of nothing. Crime, rioting, and religious zealotry rise as astronomers spy on dead stars through giant lenses, searching desperately for an answer. And what about you? You sit alone in your dark house waiting for your heart to dry up and wither away with the rest of them. You notice rain water beginning to creep in through the cracks around your living room window. Fighting the initial urge to grab a bucket you decide to leave it alone then turn your attention back to the TV, which luckily for you is still on.