In the unknown reaches of deep space, tranquility had reigned undisturbed for billions of years. Time seemed to not exist -its acquaintance with space- was seemingly nonexistent.
Yet… in the next instant, or perhaps millennia, space and time were torn asunder as rifts ripped and compressed the very fabric of the universe.
From out of the rifts, light that had not graced this desolate pocket of deep space since the advent of the universe bathed it in waves. Wherever the light spread the fabric of space-time tore and crumpled in on itself revealing for mere instants what lay beyond space; Chaos.
Finally, the fabric of the universe could no longer sustain itself under the influence of the light and collapsed revealing indescribable shadows of monumental stature colliding within the Chaos. Each collision sent out invisible waves that further shattered the fabric of the universe.
The battle between those otherworldly beings had raged for an indeterminate amount of time with multiple deaths on each side. Mountainous bodies strewn throughout the Chaos. Yet eventually one side could hang on no longer and as abruptly as the rifts appeared they quickly faded away with the conclusion of the battle.
Through the rifts, one could see the victors silently retreating and the defeated left in unrecognizable pieces. The tattered remains of their monstrous bodies destined to drift through Chaos for eternity.
Miraculously, however, in that short instant between the conclusion of the battle and the closing of the rifts an appendage, indescribable to any mortal mind, slipped through a rift into the vastness of deep space.
As soon as the appendage crossed the rift, an indecipherable groan was heard as, like oil meeting water, space surged and the appendage rapidly imploded leaving only a glimmer of light shuttling through space towards an unknown location.
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An Unknown Amount of Time Later
A blue and green planet lay in the vastness of space, a jewel of life in a seemingly silent and dead universe. It was Earth, half-bathed in the light of its mother star. Signs of civilization proved that the planet was a beacon of life.
On the ground of this planet, on the side not illuminated by the star’s light. A man, of short yet dignified stature and graying hair, was gazing at the cosmos through the lens of a telescope. By his equipment, it was evident that he was an amateur enthusiast.
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“Alright, I just gotta focus the lens, and…voila!” His eyes crinkled in elation “Now that’s the moon in all its glory! Wonder if I’ll spot anything new today, I already saw the Aristoteles and Copernicus craters.” His hands were already at work adjusting the telescope. “Maybe I’ll try to find the…”
His train of thought was abruptly broken as in the instant in which he was adjusting his telescope he briefly saw a flash of light just barely visible. The light for that slight instant even appeared to be growing larger.
“What the...” He tried to focus on the unknown flash of light. Yet, he was destined to be disappointed as it had already vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
“Huh. Must have been my imagination? Or some sort of smudge on the lens? Ha..it’s getting too late. Just one more! One more and then I’ll be satisfied.” The man quickly marked the event as a trick of a fatigued mind, the idea of moon gazing too alluringly distractive to put too much thought into the blip of an event.
“Now then. What crater do I want to see next…ooh maybe the Thebit, that’ll be a challenge.” The event forgotten, he quickly lost himself to his hobby once again.
However, that light was not an optical illusion or misgiving of the mind. Instead, it was approaching the planet at breakneck speed, slipping in and out of perceptibility.
Mere moments before the light passed through the Earth’s atmosphere it became visible once again erupting briefly in the full spectrum of visible light. Its splendor ethereal and soul-capturing. However, for some inexplicable reason, it went entirely unnoticed by all of Earth’s inhabitants and their tools of observation.
Instead, the light seemed to have gained some sense of direction. It dimmed down and shot directly toward the North American continent. In an instant, it passed a torch-holding statue, into the suburbs just outside of a dense metropolitan city, and through the window of a second floor bedroom located within an opulent suburb.
As the glimmer of light passed through the bedroom's open window it illuminated the large bedroom. Briefly, through the dream-like illumination, a calendar hung next to the window became dimly lit.
On the faintly visible calendar, the date July 1, 2019 had been circled in red pen with the word “Birthday” written next to it. Yet, as quickly as the glimmer of light illuminated the room it was gone as the light had traveled into the room and disappeared into the chest of the inhabitant of the room.
On the bed, a young man, whose features were indiscernible in the room made pitch-black by the absence of the glimmer of light, barely stirred. He lay completely unaware of what had just transpired.
Minutes turned into hours and soon dawn had broken. With it the world was seemingly awoken as birds started their dawn chorus. The sun's rays trickled through the open window directly onto the young man’s face in all its unwanted glory. His facial features reflexively scrunched in discomfort, he was rapidly roused from deep sleep by the faint rays.
Slowly the young man opened his eyes, his gaze sluggishly focused on the recessed wooden ceiling above his bed. In that quiet twilight, just before the sun fully rose a trace of unearthly light flickered through his barely opened eyes, the light visible for just a moment.
Suddenly, silence within the room was shattered by the sharp ringing of an alarm.
Abruptly the young man was taken out of his half-awake reverie by the sound of his phone alarm blaring annoyingly. His eyes shot open and he calmly raised his left hand from under his sheets and grabbed his phone lying on the oak nightstand next to his bed. The phone read 6:30 am as he shut off his alarm.
Sighing quietly to himself, he looked over to the calendar and the date circled on it. With no reaction on his face he mumbled “Just another day then…”