1 Future

 A lonely man was walking in a deserted city while looking around. It had been a while since he had been there; it was hard to say for how long he had been away from his hometown… but considering that everything had been overtaken by grass and vegetation while buildings had fallen, he assumed that hundreds of years had passed.

 There weren't any signs of people around. The last ones probably disappeared… it didn't matter. All of them were gone. The man stopped in front of a certain field of a certain building. It was the college he had studied many years ago… the building, at least half of it had already fallen apart, and the other half was buried in the grass. Such a long time, and yet, the memories of his campus life, studying in his room and occasionally playing basketball… were as fresh as they could be.

 A dark portal in the shape of a spiral vortex appeared in front of the man, and then he stepped inside. In the next moment, he found himself in the city of New York. Half of it had been destroyed by some sort of implosion. Long Island was barely recognizable… but when he reached its center, he saw that something underground exploded and destroyed everything.

 "It seemed that someone tried something reckless…"

 The man couldn't blame anyone. In their place, he would have tried everything. He also attempted a different approach since he was the only one who had that opportunity. Still, in the end… he failed to save everyone as well.

 Another portal opened, and then the man appeared in London; he found a silver tower that had sunk on the ground. When he looked at its base, he found some giant propulsion system.

"So, this is the solution they came up with…"

 Sao Paulo, Berlin, Moscow, Paris, Montreal, New Delhi, Johannesburg, Beijing, Tokyo… Everyone tried something. The man confirmed that after traveling all over the world. Unfortunately, they tried different things, and in the end, they couldn't even cooperate for their own survival…

"Even so… I can't blame them. I wasn't even here when some of them needed me the most,"

 The man let out a depressed sigh… and then realized that a silent planet was one of the most terrifying things that one could experience. Humans weren't the only ones that had disappeared… all sorts of life forms disappeared… the planet was no longer habitable. He could stay there because he no longer was an ordinary existence.

 It was time to move on… there was nothing for him there. However, before leaving his home planet once and for all, he had one more place that he had to go. He opened a portal to his house in Rome, Italy. Somehow, his home was still there…. completely taken by grass, but it was still there. The door had long ago fallen, so he had an easy time entering the place. 

 Everything inside was impossible to recognize, but while looking at the kitchen, living room, and bathroom, the man could easily recall how things were the last time he had been there. 

 The man headed to the bedroom and then found a destroyed bed. Somehow, the grass hadn't invaded the interior that much. Thanks to that, he easily found a suitcase with a password lock. He recalled that it was something that they had, and he also recalled the password that they used.

"17/09/24…"

 It was the date of their first date… in all his life, despite his numerous issues, the man only managed to love a single woman. When he opened the suitcase, he imagined seeing some memento of her, but he only found a small memory card. Somehow, she knew that he was going to return… Even if it was too late, she knew that he would return.

With the recollection of a memory card's compatible device, the man's mind conjured an image, materializing it before him with a mere thought. He reached out, his fingers trembling with anticipation, and gently inserted the card into its rightful place. The screen flickered to life, bathing the desolate room in a soft, warm glow.

And there she was, his beloved wife, her presence captivating and vivid. The cascades of curly, fiery red hair adorned her delicate features, accentuating her piercing emerald eyes behind the lenses of her retangular glasses. A radiance emanated from her, outshining even the sun's rays. The man's weary face broke into a tender smile as he watched his long-lost love.

"Hello, Aaron. It has been a long time..." Like a gentle breeze carrying a melody, her voice reached his ears, enveloping him in warmth and solace moment.

His voice quivered with a mixture of relief and remorse as he responded, "I am so sorry, Vanessa... I failed you..." His words hung heavy in the air, bearing the weight of countless missed opportunities and a loss like nothing else.