Last

Rip this puppy to its core! Then chop it up and put it on the compost heap, because if you don't it will come back to haunt you.

The day was very overcast and subdued. I wished it would rain already so I wouldn’t be kept in tormented suspense. I felt some phantom precipitation and twitched.

“Did you just feel a drop?” I asked nervously.

“I don’t know. It’s definitely going to rain, though.” Sandy said, pulling up a few blades of grass.

I nodded. I knew I was just making idle conversation and putting off the inevitable. We’d already established that her name was Sandy and my name was Arthur. I thought of telling her my name was something incredibly presumptuous, like Julio or Pheonix, but I decided that would be pointless and sooner or later I’d tell her my real name and she’d be angry I’d lied to her.

“So.” I said, not quite sure what to say after that.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

She pulled her knees up to her chin and gazed at the meadow. I watched her for a minute and thought, she was actually really pretty. I hoped she didn’t think I was really ugly. I felt bad for her.

“If you don’t want to – ”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“I know, I’m just saying if you…”I let my voice trail off as she got up and walked away. As soon as she was gone I was lonely.

The storm came shortly after. The wind made the grass to waltz, as though with some unseen partner. I lay and let it pass over me until it began to rain.

I stood then and faced the wind. It was cold and unbelievably wet. I couldn’t keep my eyes open, so I closed them and listened to the sounds of thunder, rain, and wind.

Everyone was gone. My friends, my family, my teachers and really everyone I knew. I should feel something for them, but it hadn’t sunk in yet. I felt cold, and not just from the condensation about my person.

“Where was the purpose?” I asked, “What is the meaning of it all?”

I addressed the gale with my questions and the only answers I received were fiercer wind and rain. I shouted into the onslaught until my voice gave out and I collapsed, weeping for the dead.

After awhile, I felt Sandy come up and put her arms around me. We cried into each other’s shoulders for a time and, as the storm abated, we slept in much the same position.

I awoke to find that I was alone. I looked around for Sandy, but considered that I should perhaps let her be as she might not want to be found.

Around noon I got hungry and found something to eat. It wasn’t hard, since there was a big raspberry bush in a nearby forest. I ate until I felt mildly ill, then I took off my wet clothes and strutted around naked. I was almost glad that Sandy wasn’t around, since I did several embarrassing dance moves and I’m sure she would’ve been horrified.

My clothes took awhile to dry, and I decided to just leave them while I trekked through the forest. I found a waterfall and a pool, which I cautiously waded into and swam for awhile.

I got lost trying to find my clothes and it was dark by the time I found them. I ate some more raspberries and wondered if I could actually subsist off them. I fell asleep wondering what I was going to do the next day.

I woke up to find Sandy sleeping next to me. I thought for a minute that the day before had just been a dream, but we were next to the raspberry bush, so I waited for her to wake up so I could ask her where she’d gone.

When she woke up, however, she asked the first question, which was, “What’s for breakfast?”

I spluttered for a couple minutes, trying to voice all my frustration at her absence and how annoying it was that she wanted breakfast now that she was back. Instead, when I’d decided exactly what to say, it came out, “I found some mushrooms in the forest. We can start a fire and cook them if you don’t want raspberries.”

She smiled and nodded and I set out to retrieve said mushrooms while she started the fire. When I got back, I took over the firestarting. Four hours later, we got the wood going and toasted our mushrooms. They tasted delicious.

We didn’t talk until after breakfast. Sandy wolfed down the last mushroom and said, “I’m sorry I ran off like that yesterday.”

“It’s OK.” I said quickly, even though it wasn’t true.

“We should start planning for winter soon; we’ll do better if we stick together.”

“If you ever need to be alone, though, it’s OK; just tell me.”

She nodded, then smiled, “Anyway, I really can’t pass up another chance to see you dance naked.”

“You…you were there? Watching me? You little…” I let the sentence trail off as she laughed.

We spent the next day getting to know each other more. There were lots of things we disagreed about, but we tried to resolve our differences as best as possible.

That night, we slept side-by-side for warmth. As I was drifting off I said, “Sandy?”

“Yes, Arthurl?”

“Will you be my wife?”

“I’ll have to think about it.”

“OK.”

I lay there, looking up at the stars. I hoped she would say yes. I knew she could say no, but considering we were the last two people alive I desperately hoped she said yes.

It took a long time to get to sleep.