Dark Matter Drive

2301 A.D. dark matter drive

         On the left, the stillness of night swept through a dark countryside reducing the once brilliant colors of life to a few dull hues. The air contained no distinct scent yet was filled with warmth and comfort to anyone that might take the time to notice. In a natural transition from wildlife to civilization, single-story buildings gently rose out of the ground accompanied by a few worn streets and monochrome streetlights. Despite the general contrast between the three, land supported the houses on, and the result was accompanied by life around it. It was as nature intended, with all living in harmony, and the result being able to stand the test of time. A gentle soul could exist forever in well-being, yet this one knew he would only receive this teardrop of a moment. To stop the torrent of time, he breathed deeply, filling his lungs with the warmth, memories, and familiarity. In a response of relief, relief of life, of feeling, and of contentedness, his breathe hiccupped and ended in a deep sigh. His shoulders dropped, his arms lengthened, and knees steadied as his body relaxed. It was as if fluid was spilling out of every crevice in his body. A feeling that felt so healthy, but strange, as it happened very few times. He felt guilty, as this sickness did not disappear. That would be an illogical thought. Just as heat is transferred from the skillet to the unsuspecting hand, he imagined his stress and anxieties being transferred to the innocent, surrounding environment. What a shame that this contagion would be carried by the wind and slowly dispersed to every front door until the source reached equilibrium with the surroundings. He was the martyr of this gentle world, yet it would do no harm back, just share his burden, alleviating all weight from his shoulders.
         She appeared under the third to last streetlight in the distance. The weight of her fragile body slightly resting on one leg, pushing her hips to the side. The breeze nipped at her hair pushing a few strands over her eyes and pulling at the remaining from a bun placed atop her head. She seemed as natural as the land surrounding her. She was a statue in the night, another miracle of nature. Time restarted as she moved and stepped forward. His senses heighted and the full moon brightened. Soon she was standing close in front of him, her silent breath grazing his cheeks. They stood staring at each other for an unknown time, no tension, just feeling the others presence.
"Do you truly believe you only get one of each moment for all of eternity, forever?" she said.
"That's a hard question to answer"
"Try," she replied.
"Based on experience, I have to say yes. You live your life: you are born, you grow up, you go to school, you fail that test, you catch that ball, you live your life, and everything goes forward. It goes on. The only thing that ties us to reality are memories and feelings. We can only live now, and decide the future based on the past. But I can't live in the past or the future. We have NOW, and in a few moments we won't."
"But what about everything else. Everything around us. They have forever. They might be reshaped, remodeled, and redeveloped, but they will always have existence. It will always be here."
"So maybe we will too, right? We just experience it as if there is only the present, forcing an insatiable taste for more, when every moment is continuously happening. Already there, and only an illusion to our eyes"
She squinted and tears welled in her eyes. He couldn't help but think she looked more beautiful than ever.
"That's kind of fucked up"
"What is?"
"The reality that we don't know of something we always have. Of beautiful and peaceful moments always there, just beyond our reach of understanding because we can only take one moment at a time. Of unnecessary suffering to reclaim that person, to relive that moment, to go somewhere that can never be found again."
"I didn't say that was the only possibility"
"Oh, I'm sorry. We can cherish this moment and in the next it will be gone. You will be gone. Replaced with oblivion for eternity. What is that in comparison? 1 next to infinity, so as it is so small it doesn't exist, it doesn't matter."
"But it matters way greater than infinity to me"
"And what are you! You are nothing! You are a grain of sand in the ocean. You are a teardrop in the rain."
She turned away. He could feel her frustration, and it only made his chest ache even more. He had never wanted to live in a moment more than now, despite all the pain he was experiencing.
"Although the moment is gone. Although you will be gone and we will be apart, and I will be up in the stars, far, far away, my feelings for you will be constant. I can be changed and hurt but there is one thing it can't take from me. It can never take away my memories of us together, moments we shared. It can take away my property, my will, and even my life, but it can never take away this moment. A moment that is frozen in time for the rest of eternity."
He looked at her, then he looked up at the stars. He fixated his eyes on a distant planet, a world with possibly a thousand more stories and memories such as his own. He didn't feel small or dwarfed by the enormity of what surrounded him. Just simply proud at mankind's ability to explore it. He felt not a duty, but the laws of his nature pushing him out into the unknown, to possibly give up the only thing he cared for, and the only thing that willed his existence. Given more time he might have stayed. Half of the others already had and there was no shame in living as everyone did before. Maybe given more time he might decide to do so.
By the time he dropped his attention back down to the sanctuary surrounding him, she was gone. Forever.