Perceived Maddened Star

In the year 2073, humans lived unaware of the maddened star overhead. I was one such human, like any other—eating, dreaming, stargazing even. Yet, on a day so unimaginably normal compared to the months to follow, organizations discovered something peculiar. A star not far away from us exerted light that just shouldn't have been. Of course, we common people didn't know it yet; only a few select groups around the world noticed the anomaly. A red star emitting a pulsing glow that soon dwarfed stars around was growing.

The news broke out eventually, and the government reassured us that it wouldn't reach us—we would be safe. However, the red glow, slowly seeping through stars to our planet, seemed anything but safe.

Soon, those disturbed fanatics appeared everywhere. They were the first to be influenced by the mad star. Its red glow seemed to illuminate their eyes. They all uttered with religious zeal the same thing: "The star is coming," "Accept its red embrace," "The star is true"—like broken records, I say. When news broke out, all those people had nothing wrong with them mentally or physically. That's when a sort of dread started circulating around. Why them? People asked. What was the connection? Will it be me next? Days after the news broke to the public, the star's pulsing glow seemed alive as it rapidly approached, becoming visible even during the day. The fanatics grew in number at a rate unseen throughout the months. Yet, the police herded them up as usual, but that didn't make it better.

Doomsday, as people always called it, seemed upon us as riots broke out and the global economy collapsed. The light shredded around the stars and approached us at an unstoppable rate. The rich hid in their fortresses below while we common people huddled up in our houses, afraid of it all. When the light finally consumed Earth, my family was jolted with the realization that they weren't dead. My wife and kids looked through our stained bathroom windows while I still hid in the closet. They grew silent—eerily so. I wept, and now I write this as a testament that I existed in a world that has gone silent. I stand here alone, looking down, afraid to meet the gaze of that maddened star.