You are out with your family having a picnic at the park.
The sky is a happy shade of blue. Lazy whipped cream clouds glide above.
You take a sip of your beer. It’s a cold and bitter India Pale Ale – your favorite.
Your wife is smiling at you. You smile back. She is beautiful with the sun’s glow shining on her dark, curly hair and her pale skin.
Now your kids have run off for some play. You remember the days when you could rush off and have fun like that right after eating. With the thought, a twinge in your back reminds you that you are getting older.
Your daughter is chasing her younger brother down by a narrow creek bed.
The smell of barbecue fills the air from neighboring picnickers.
A shriek pierces your ears. You stand up.
“Moooooom! Daaaaad!”
You feel your heart leap in your chest.
Then, the sound of laughter.
You turn to your wife. She smiles. She knows you always worry.
“Come heeeere!”
You and your wife head off to where your children call you from. You try to keep smiling to calm yourself down. Nothing is the matter. You’ve got a very minor heart condition that freaks you out on occasion. Deep down you know nothing is wrong, but that doesn’t stop you from worrying.
Everything is fine.
As you crest the hill, you see your children holding something black.
“Heyooo! Look what we found!”
Your kids turn toward you and rush up to you.
A small box turtle lies in your daughter’s grasp, the shy critter’s head withdrawn into its body.
“Come on now, Maddie, you should put that poor thing back. You’re scaring it!”
“Okay mom, ugh,” your daughter replies. You wonder if this is an early sign of what is to come. Teenage attitude – your colleagues at the office warned you repeatedly what lies ahead.
You feel something slam into your abdomen. You look down. Your son is looking up and smiling, his arms wrapped around you.
“I love you, daddy!” Your heart melts.
With that, he runs back up the hill. “Can’t beat me to the car Maddie!”
Your wife laughs. “Well I guess we know who Joe’s favorite is. What am I, chopped liver?”
You look down at the turtle that your sister put back into the creek. It has begun crawling again.
Your daughter is running back up the hill.
As you follow your children back up, you think about how you have a wonderful life.
Your mind wanders to current events and to what the future holds for your children. A good number of people these days think it’s better to not even have kids because of climate change. Even more important – were we entering World War III? After what happened in Moscow last night, you can’t help but wonder if this was really finally it. You feel your chest tightening as you recall just how close you live to Washington D.C.
You curse yourself. “I can never feel truly happy, even on a beautiful day like this with the people I love the most.”
No – All the terror in the world, all the evils committed throughout history by evil men – none of it can make you unhappy today.
You hear a tremendous CRASH. What the hell was that noise?
A breeze has picked up. A hot air pierces the wind.
As you finally reach the top of the hill, you see your children back by your picnic bench under the large elm tree.
You smile at them. They are smiling back.
Another crash. Someone is screaming. Another crash. To your right, along the horizon, you see a red mushroom blooming.
You turn to your wife. Her deep brown eyes confirm your fear.
A flash of light, then you are nothing.