Strange Times | Short Story

“These are strange times,” Emilia sighed, looking out the open window. She always thought an alien invasion would start with fire, with guns and ruins. Instead, the only signs of the creature’s arrival were rusty clouds and a gentle, iron-scented breeze. Outside, thousands of minuscule, shapeless creatures fell like blood-stained snowflakes over the city and the few people still running for cover.

The panic of the previous hours had left the break room in quiet disarray. In a matter of hours, the routine organised chaos in her world was replaced by stillness, by static on the television and corpses on the street lying where they fell, with a placid, frozen smile, looking up at the sky. No one else was left in the office except for her and Jenny from marketing. Or accounting. Definitely one of the two.

Nothing surprised Emilia anymore, though. The world had been dying for a long time, anyway. With every passing year, the steel in her heart made her blood colder and her mind more accepting of whatever the end of days threw her way. She even slept well at night now, with her curtains shut tight and earplugs on to keep away the unbearable rumble of her city falling apart, one crime after another.

“Times are always strange when they’re changing,” Jenny from accounting whispered. A crimson creature landed on her neck. Resigned, she smiled as a thousand pinpricks crawled down to her chest and arms.

“Who knows, maybe things will change for the better this time.” Emilia returned the smile. She’d worked there for 6 years and had only seen Jenny from marketing as a silhouette half-hidden behind a screen on her way to the meeting rooms.

They sat together on the cold floor among broken chairs and glass shards. What a shame, Emilia thought, to only notice this girl as they held hands in her last moments. She was small and thin, with a dishevelled sandy blond bob and a melancholic smile. Emilia mourned all the missed opportunities to know her. What made her laugh? Was she afraid of the dark? Was she lonely? What made her eyes spark?

“Trust me, they will get better,” Jenny replied. Her glassy eyes looked up, outside the window, to the red clouds above the city. “I can see it now, and you’ll see it too.”

Emilia’s cheek tingled at the pinpricks crawling down to her jaw and neck, and she relaxed to a pleasant warmth blooming in her chest. Her worries melted off her mind, leaving her blank, soft, and ready for a new beginning. Jenny got closer to caress Emilia’s cheek. They didn’t know what these beings were, or where they came from, but they understood their message. It wasn’t an invasion — they were being saved, washed clean of the guilt and shame that blinded them to one another.

“Will it take long?” Emilia wondered.

“It’ll feel like a long time, but it’ll be just a few minutes.”

“Shame. There are so many things I... want to ask you.”

Jenny wanted to tell her that there was no such thing as death. They’d live on the earth and the trees and the generations who’d seek refuge under their shadow, free from the fear and loneliness that had plagued them. She wanted to say there was no time for regret when they could finally look at each other’s eyes, see each other, and love each other in all their frail finality. Jenny tried to speak once more, but death cut short her last breath. Even without those last words, Emilia could tell that she was finally happy.

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It's been tricky to catch up this week, but I'm very happy to share a new story with you today.

I don't know about you, but I'm getting ready for spooky season and have a few stories in mind for the occasion. But I'd like to know more about what you like to read.