Dust to Dust
A rendezvous written in the stars
I wrote this short piece last night during a weekly writing group. We were given a prompt by Wild K. Nebula, and I immediately knew what to write.
This is a companion piece to an earlier work of mine called Ashes to Ashes. They can be read in either order, but I would recommend checking out both. Please enjoy…
We’d never met before, and yet, this felt familiar.
In the trembling silence between heartbeats, your name arrived like a storm I had been waiting for.
A storm was coming, but not one composed of rain, lightning, and thunder. No, this one would begin with a sigh as our star let out its final breath.
A whimper, followed by a bang.
After countless eons of burning bright. Fusion after fusion, it would reach its end with alarming clarity, realizing it had become hollow inside.
Devoured from within.
By the time we found out, it was too late. There was nothing we could do. In that single moment, we all became hollow as well.
We had fused hubris into hope.
Now, reality would burn it all away.
Empty and on the verge of collapse myself, I wandered. I walked out into the street with no destination in mind.
I would spend my final moments in aching silence.
Alone, like always.
What I didn’t understand, what I couldn’t explain, is how all of this felt familiar. Déjà vu walked beside me as I marched.
And then, in that existential silence, I spotted you. It was the first time I’d ever laid eyes upon you.
Wasn’t it?
I didn’t know. I couldn’t explain what I was feeling. I was here, you were there. We were strangers, and yet…
The world greeted us like we were long-lost lovers.
I somehow knew, without knowing. I knew that this moment wouldn’t last. The moment our eyes locked, that’s when it happened.
Supernova.
Destruction on a scale glimpsed only by galaxies. Burning, sweeping fire that did not know or care what it destroyed.
In that moment, a fire started once more in my own heart.
A familiar warmth.
Suddenly, it all became clear. We had done this before. This was no chance encounter. This was our twisted destiny.
A rendezvous written in the stars.
A tragedy, penned by a cruel universe. The Déjà vu was a cosmic wink. A tap on the shoulder. A celestial reminder that this moment is one of many others like it.
We were in a loop, you and I.
Could it be broken? Would I still remember this next time we meet?
Or, will I face this moment once again with the same thought I’ve had countless times before?
You know the one, because I know you feel it too.
I wish I had met you sooner…
Another Place, Another Time…
See another perspective on this same moment in Ashes to Ashes. Click below to read the companion piece:
Thanks for Listening! Here’s Your Musical Pairing
Listen to this while you ponder this tale of time and tragedy.
Lovely piece of writing. Gave me the chills and made my heart squeeze.
As always, your writing always makes me feel like I’m floating in space!