As Earth Was Taken Away

Author's Note: This story is connected to my other short story "Of Earth and Stars". This is simply another set of people dealing with the same event. Thank you.




“Tell me… Is this how you thought it would end?”

Coraline didn’t answer right away. She just continued to stare at the horizon, contemplating Jack’s question.

After a moment, Coraline replied, “Of course not. Who would have thought this would happen?”

Jack and Coraline sat on a soft knoll, surrounded by a sweeping valley of soft green grass and dotted with tall trees. Twilight was upon them, washing everything in a dim, somber glow. It would have been a peaceful setting if not for the distant rumbles, sirens, and yells.

Jack looked at Coraline, deep into her eyes. “You are sure that you want to stay here? You wouldn’t rather see this new place, this X-7?”

Coraline breathed deeply. “Yes, Jack. I have lived all of my ninety-seven years on Earth. I have lived a good, long life. I am content for it to end here as well. But I would have you go, if you wish. There could be something there for you, something exciting, something new.”

“No,” Jack replied. “There is nothing on any world for me if I am without you. Besides, I am too old for travel. Especially across space.”

They shared a smile. Coraline gazed upon the man with whom she had shared seventy-six years of her life. Jack’s features had changed: his hair had faded to white, his face was etched with wrinkles, his hands now dark and calloused from work. Yet in his eyes, she saw the man she loved so much, even after so many years. A tear escaped her eye.

Jack gently wiped the tear away and said, “My dearest Coraline… I love you with all of my heart. I wish… I wish this was not the end. Seventy-six years isn’t nearly enough time to spend with such an amazing person. You know the depths of my happiness, the joy that you have put inside me. Thank you, dear, for everything.”

“You know that we have lived for one another all these years; and that will continue on past this life. For some reason, God has seen fit to end this world. Yet our culture, our world will live on in a different place.” Coraline sighed. “We are old, Jack. We have done so much and seen so many things. I am just so glad that I have been able to share all of this, even this final day, with you.”

“Look,” said Jack. “They're leaving.”

In the distance, against the glowing horizon, transports were lifting off, climbing further into the heavens. The sky was dotted with ships of different sizes and capabilities.

Jack smiled and said, “Do you remember, sweetie, when we were dating and we would lie in my driveway and stare at the stars together?”

“Of course I do,” Coraline replied. “I could never forget those times.”

“Let’s share that together one more time.”

Jack put his arm around Coraline’s shoulder and they slowly lowered themselves to their backs. The sky above them was a strange shade, a mixture of purple, orange, and black. Some stars could be seen and the moon was nearly full.

Coraline placed her hand gently on Jack’s chest and breathed deeply. “I love you, Jack.”

“I love you too, my Coraline.”


* * * *


Jack and Coraline awoke to a low rumbling coming from the ground beneath them. The sky had grown completely dark and Jack was sure that it was nearly midnight. He shook Coraline and they sat up together. Their eyes went wide.

From the light of the moon they could see that in the valley below them, the trees seemed to be wilted; the color was completely drained from them, leaving dull brown caricatures of their former selves. The ground, even the ground they sat upon, was cracked and broken. And beneath them, all around them, the constant rumbling.

Jack stood and stretched the weariness from his back. Looking around, he saw that all was dark and quiet, except for the rumbling and the howling wind. He helped Coraline to her feet as the noises grew louder.

“What should we do, Jack?” Coraline asked.

He was silent for a moment. “We stay here. We don’t have many choices, I think.”

They embraced one another and shared a deep kiss. When they pulled apart, both had a tear running down their faces.

“My dear Jack.”

“My dearest Coraline.”


A blinding light exploded in the distance and spread in every direction. Jack and Coraline stood alone on the hill and stared into each other’s eyes. There was no Earth. There was no life, no death. There was only each other, only those eyes.

As the light covered them and all was lost within it, as Earth was taken away, Jack and Coraline only saw each other.