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What would you do if you knew the precise moment in which the world will end?

This is what Ozymandias Price did. View table of contents...

 

Submitted: Dec 27, 2006    Reads: 269    Comments: 2    Likes: 0   


 

12/20/2012    20:12 Hrs.

The way in which such an important  piece of information reached Ozymandias Price is totally unknown. That is lost now. The only thing that has been kept on the record is what that man did with the information.

The information that reached Ozymandias Price’s ears on November the 19th of the year 2012 was the following: the next day, on December the 20th, 2012 at twenty hours with twelve minutes, the world was going to end.

What Ozymandias Price did with such an important piece of information was the following: absolutely nothing.

Ozymandias Price found out about the final fate of the world exactly twenty-three hours and thirty seven minutes before this happened. Obviously he could not sleep all night. First of all, and it’s only natural, due to the shock that learning something like that do to a mind even to the strongest of minds anyone can find. Ozymandias Price is not one of the strongest minded persons anyone can find. When he finally overcame the initial shock, he began to think of what to do with the information he had learned.

He remained totally still in the couch of the living room of his little flat all night and for the rest of the next morning. He did not bother to eat, go to the bathroom, change his sitting position, He did not bother answering the phone which rang three times in all that time either or in opening the door. Somebody rang the doorbell at exactly eleven hours. What he was thinking during all that time, it is impossible to know now, and in any case, it is of little importance.

Finally, at nineteen hours and fifty three minutes, Ozymandias Price got himself up from the couch and two minutes later, without even putting a jacket on, it was quite cold outside, he found himself walking down the street, going down on San Vicente Ferrer Street and into his favorite bar situated on the opposite side of Plaza Dos de Mayo, right on Divino Pastor Street. He got there in exactly ten minutes. He walked at a slow pace, watching everything and everyone around him as if it was the first time he ever walked the streets. Turns out it was exactly the opposite. This would be the last time he would ever go out on the street in his whole life and in the life of everyone else for that matter.

At twenty hours and five minutes he was sitting at the counter of the bar and he was asking for a beer, which got served a minute later. Calmly, Ozymandias watched the bright blonde color of his ice cold drink crowned with bubbly and thick white foam, he put the glass close to his nose as he always did to feel the bubbles sparkle under his nose. He then drank from the glass while looking at himself in the mirror on the other side of the counter. Just before he zipped what was left of his beer, exactly at twenty hours and twelve minutes of December the 20th of the year 2012, the world reached its end, quietly, and without any one else in the universe noticing it.
 


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Comments:

Hi Rodrigo,

This was a neat piece of flash. I actually thought the premise was so good that I wanted to know more. Oz is a kind of dull but in some ways interesting character. The fact that he sits on his couch for hours and then takes a walk for a beer as the world is coming to an end says a lot about him.

There were lots of grammar problems but I looked at your profile and am assuming English isn't your first language. Anyway, hope to read more.

Hasta luego,
Phil

Posted: Dec 27, 2006

Author Comment:

Sorry about the grammar Phil... the piece is in spanish... but when I wanted to post it I said... mmm in this site people won't read in spanish so i did it in a hurry, will correct it later... or if you know spanish... i can direct you to a site in spanish...

THank you for your comment

Rodrigo,
This is an intricate piece of work. The setup is similar to going to a film festival and seeing a film with a great title but without all the chaos and shock so you must pay attention to the main character to see what he does next. Your writing style is very nonchallant and the low key characters pull me(the reader) in to seek answers that are never revealed. Keep up the good work!

Posted: Jan 3, 2007

Author Comment:



Your comparing the little story to a film is quite interesting.

Thank you for your comment.

The character in the story, you could think of him as just a vehicle to make a point. Which is for me, how people can waste time and their lives.

Thank you for the comment.



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