[ WP ] A happy story about the end of the world

Fortuna took up a third of the sky. It was terrifying, of course. The scale of it. The implication. The inevitability of gravity. But there was also beauty in the swirling red-orange dance of hydrogen, helium, and methane. When astronomers discovered the rogue planet drifting through the solar system, it was already inside the orbit of Mars. That was seven weeks ago. No more clinging to drunk hope or questioning whether calculations might have been wrong. The small red dot in the sky had become a great sobering wheel, crushing and tremendous, bowing all before it. 
 
 Amelia poured some water from a plastic jug into a metal pot and set it on some sticks above a small fire. Fortuna was an impressive at night even in the crowded sky of the city. But in the middle of the Adirondack Mountains, the sight was incredible. The colors were so vivid, it was like the planet itself was straining to be a sun. 
 
 She had left the city three days ago. The riots were so ugly. There was no need anymore for policies or governments, power or control. Who could enforce a rule? All the armies had disbanded. Everyone knew what this was. The whole world was on the top floor of a building, watching it burn to the ground. 
 
 Eliot stayed behind. He wanted to be with his family. She couldn ’ t argue. They had spent two years together, but it always felt like a prologue to a story they had yet to write. He was a kind man and she wouldn ’ t begrudge him his choice of where to die. It was the only choice anyone had. 
 
 The dam at the foot of Mt. Marcy was more crowded than Amelia remembered it being in her youth. Her father used to take her up the mountains when she was a child. He brought her up Algonquin on his shoulders. They explored the wreckage of an old plane crash on Wright. Amelia remembered picking through the fifty-year-old debris, filled with sadness and curiosity. Her father was in Colorado now, too far to travel, and all the phones were dead. It was fine. He was with her stepmother. Amelia opened a packet of chili-flavored ramen noodles and emptied the contents into the boiling water. 
 
 A flashlight cut through the forest and a young woman hiked down the trail. She was carrying a small backpack and was followed by a chocolate lab. She was looking for something, apparently frustrated by not finding it. 
 
 “ Hey, I ’ m sorry, do you mind if I set this down here? I don ’ t – I don ’ t want anything, I ’ ve just been walking a lot today and I was not expecting this many people. ” 
 
 “ Sure, ” Amelia offered. “ Do what you need. ” 
 
 “ Oh man, thank you. ” The hiker set down her pack with a relieved grunt. “ My car ran out gas back in Keene. I walked the rest of the way here. Guess we ’ re staying on the mountain. Me and Frodo, I mean. Frodo ’ s my dog. Oh, my feet my feet my feet. ” She looked up at the planet, opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it. 
 
 “ What ’ s your name? ” Amelia stirred the pot. 
 
 “ I ’ m Sam. Sam and Frodo. ” Sam let out a practiced chuckle. 
 
 “ I ’ m Amelia. ” 
 
 Sam smiled. “ Nice to meet you, Amelia. I wish it was under… better… ” 
 
 “ I know, me too. You by yourself? ” 
 
 “ I mean I ’ ve got this pupper. I drove up from Albany today. It was too much. Scary. I mean this is scary, ” Sam gestured up, “ but people can be awful. And now, there ’ s no… there ’ s no filter. So, you know, I had to go. ” As Sam spoke, she began holding back tears. “ I ’ m glad I ’ m here though. I am. It ’ s so beautiful, I had to see it here. I wanted to really see it. ” Her emotion was obvious now. “ I ’ m sorry, ” She wiped her face. “ I ’ m sorry, you don ’ t want – I ’ m just… ” 
 
 “ No, ” said Amelia, “ really. It ’ s fine. You ’ re fine. ” 
 
 They sat for a time under Fortuna ’ s carnelian glow. 
 
 Sam Spoke. “ I wasn ’ t coming here. I was going to see my parents. They live about a hundred miles north of here. I thought I ’ d be able to make it, but… all the gas is gone. And with the time we have left, a hundred miles could just as soon be a million. So I ’ m here. It ’ s the end of everything and I ’ m here. ” 
 
 “ And you have Frodo. ” 
 
 Sam smiled. “ I do. Yeah. ” 
 
 “ If you need some space, it ’ s crowded by the dam but you ’ re welcome here. I ’ ve got some extra room. I ’ m by myself too. I didn ’ t want to be, but here I am. So, if you need something, if you need someone to share this with… I ’ m trying to say I like your dog. ” 
 
 Sam laughed. “ He ’ s my special gentleman. ” 
 
 Amelia took the pot off the fire. “ You want some ramen? It ’ s chili which is my least favorite, but it ’ s food. ” 
 
 “ I don ’ t have a bowl. ” 
 
 “ Share mine. ” 

