Friday 10 AM
Buzz buzz buzz
"Hmm..."
Buzz buzz buzz
"Hello?"
"Hey Teseu, good morning. This is Tony, the owner of the cottage you rented not too long ago."
"Oh, hello Tony, good morning."
"So, I forgot to mention that the house doesn't have piped water. There's a pump that draws water from the ground located in the backyard. It runs on gasoline due to recurring power outages..."
"I know, your brother already informed me," Teseu replied, cutting off Tony's explanation.
"Oh, alright! By any chance, did he also tell you to contact the forest ranger if any issues arise? His house is relatively close; you can get there in less than 5 minutes if you hurry, so don't worry about being completely alone, hahaha..."
"I see, your brother did give me the location of his house, but he didn't mention it was the closest one..."
"Okay, unfortunately, I have to hang up now. My nephew got his head stuck in the staircase railing again. Don't forget about the gasoline and have a safe trip!" hangs up
"..."
"Oh well. I wanted to be alone anyway. Knowing that the only person closest to me will be almost a kilometer away doesn't change much; it might even be better."
Teseu put his phone away and got up from the bed to finish packing for his trip. Most of his things were already organized; he just needed to load everything into the pickup and, of course, get another gallon of gasoline.
After a few minutes, he found himself gazing at the house where he had spent a significant part of his life. Twenty-six years, and it had hardly changed. Now that his father had passed away, staying in this house would only bring him pain, he knew that. His mother had died when he was only 6 years old, so he didn't remember much about her. His older sister, Amélia, was abroad with her husband and their two children. They had spent only a few weeks here after the funeral, but she had to return due to her husband's work. Teseu didn't let her leave without promising to visit him more often, even if it was just her.
He spent some time just looking at it. No tears fell from his eyes; he had cried enough. All that was left to do now was wait. Time healed all wounds, and that's why he decided to take this trip. Spending a month in a place forgotten by God to connect with nature and try to forget life's problems might not be the best way to deal with grief, but it was the path he had chosen.
With a deep sigh, he turned away, got into the car, and drove away.
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After more than 3 hours of driving, Teseu decided to stop at a gas station to refuel and, hopefully, find a place to have lunch. The lady at the convenience store pointed him in the direction of a restaurant nearby, and he headed there without much trouble.
Ding-ding.
Teseu glanced at the restaurant briefly before finding a place to sit. The place was relatively empty, but the atmosphere seemed decent and clean. He sat down and looked at the menu on the table.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Welcome to Roadside Grill Stop! How can I assist you today? Have you decided what you'd like to order?" said the waitress, in a slightly more formal manner than one would expect from a place like this.
Looking at the menu in his hands, Teseu quickly made up his mind.
"A Country Fried Steak, please."
"Of course, sir. Would you like something to drink?"
"An orange juice would be nice."
"Understood, anything else?"
"No, that's all, thank you." The waitress nodded slightly and walked away.
With nothing else to do but wait, as he had decided to turn off his phone for the entire trip, Teseu decided to watch the TV above the counter on his left.
"Now, let's hear the opinion of renowned astrophysicist Dr. Joseph B. Williams about asteroid Caligos 319P, which is heading toward the debris of the old International Space Station that escaped Earth's orbit about ten years ago."
"Welcome to our program, Dr. Williams."
"The pleasure is mine."
"So, does this collision pose any risk to our planet? Could the asteroid change its original course and come toward Earth?"
"Absolutely not. Caligos is an asteroid with a diameter of over 3.8 kilometers. Even if the debris were made of pure steel, the impact force wouldn't be enough to significantly alter its trajectory. What could happen is that some rocks on the asteroid's surface may detach, and those might come in our direction."
"But these rocks don't pose any threat to us either?"
"No, not at all, hahaha. Just wait to see a meteor shower in the next 15 to 20 days."
The news continued, and soon Teseu saw the waitress returning with his order.
"Here you go, sir."
Teseu finished his meal calmly while watching the news. When he paid the bill, he asked for some information and found out that he was about an hour's drive from his destination. Surprisingly, this was one of the last "civilized" places he would encounter on the road. From now on, the path would be only him, the road, and the trees.
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Friday 4 PM
It turned out that finding the entrance to the property was more difficult than he thought it would be. It was located in an area of the road where the trees were naturally spaced, and if you didn't look carefully, you'd miss the small dirt path between them.
"Anyway, here we are."
The house was quite simple, made of concrete with polished stone on the outside and plaster or wood finish, depending on the room, on the inside. The furniture was also basic but cozy. In summary, it was a very suitable house for the middle of nowhere.
Teseu didn't spend much time inspecting the house, even though he feared that some pesky insects or animals might have taken it as their new home. He wanted to take advantage of the remaining daylight to get things in order. He emptied the water tank to refill it with clean water, set up the generator he had brought for power outages, and so on.
And so, time passed. In the first few days, Teseu just organized his things, made a campfire, read some novels he had downloaded to his phone before the trip, and simply relaxed. At the end of the first week, he decided he wanted to go fishing. He gathered his equipment from the pickup and returned to the road to see if he could find the forest ranger's house. This time it was easy to find; he had already passed by when he was "lost"... cough cough, I mean, meticulously searching for the path to the house. Anyway, he found the ranger, Rick, who not only told him where to find a river but also a waterfall, a cave, and three clearings perfect for family picnics. Rick basically gave Teseu an itinerary to follow for the rest of his stay.
And then, it finally happened. On the night of his second-to-last day, Teseu was on the porch, gazing at the stars, thinking that he would have to return to "that" house soon, that he would have to face the reality of what had happened. He felt at peace here, and that peace had helped him a lot. He didn't feel ready, but staying longer here wouldn't change that. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
"Ah... Huh?" When he opened them, he saw a small light in the sky. A bright, intense white shooting star.
"Oh, right, I think today is the meteor shower the astronomer mentioned in the newspaper, although I'm only seeing one."
"..."
"Wait, shooting stars aren't supposed to last this long, are they? It's also getting brighter, it almost looks like it's... approaching." Then came a flash of white-purple light.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
And a deafening boom.
On that night, Teseu's life would change forever. On that night, Teseu dreamed... An infinity of worlds passed before his eyes, and then... He woke up!