It was a sunny afternoon in a beautiful garden, and a group of kids were running around, playing hide and seek.
"Rama! You... you cheeeaty!" one of the boys barked, pointing a finger at her while stomping his foot.
Rama puffed out her chest, looking completely offended. "Me not cheety!"
"Yeeess... you cheeety!" the boy shouted back, "You peeeeked while you were counting! I saw your eye!"
Rama stuck her tongue out, her pigtails bouncing as she shook her head. "Nu-uh! My eye was just... itchy!"
While Rama and Momu were still bickering, another kid jumped in. It was Ram-Rama's older brother.
He walked over with a grin and patted Momu's head. "It's okay, you two. Don't cry like that, momu~~" Ram teased, reaching out to pat Momu's messy hair.
"Me not cryiiiing!" Momu huffed, swatting Ram's hand away and puffing out his cheeks.
Before the quarrel could go any further, another kid suddenly shouted, eyes sparkling. "Woahhh… guys, look at that!"
"What?!" the three of them turned their heads at once.
The kid pointed excitedly at the sky. "Look! A shooting star!"
"Chooting star!!!"
"Where… where…" Momu's mood flipped instantly. He wiped his tears away and craned his neck toward the sky.
"Woahhhh... brother, look! The chooting star!!! Look!!" Rama shouted, grabbing her brother's arm and jumping up and down.
Momu jumped with excitement, "Woahhh! My mama told me when you see a chooting star and make a wish, it'll come true!"
Without wasting a second, Momu clapped his hands together and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Pleeease, God! Pleeease! I don't have too many wisshu… just make me a Superman, a Spiderman, and an Ironman only!"
"Idiiiooto!! They are not real..." Rama started, rolling her eyes at Momu's list of superheroes.
But she was cut off by her brother. When she turned toward Ram, he just gave her a look, that said, 'Let him pray, don't ruin it.'
The kid who had first spotted the light shouted again, his voice cracking with excitement. "Woah, look! There are so many shooting stars! One, two... three... four..." He started counting on his fingers, but he ran out of hands before he could finish.
Ram squinted at the sky, his brow furrowing. He was only in fifth grade, but even he knew something was off. "It's my first time seeing this many. Mom said we usually only see one or two at most."
"Maybe it's a rare phenomenon!" Rama said, her voice filled with awe.
The garden, once full of playful sound, now felt hushed and magical as the sky lit up with streaks of light.
Gemini said
"But still?" Ram asked, his voice trailing off as the "stars" didn't fade. They were getting fatter, brighter, and louder.
"I don't know… I'm going to pray too," Rama said, clasping her hands.
"Wait!" Ravi suddenly stopped her.
"What?" Rama blinked.
"Why does it look like..."
"Like?"
"Like it's coming right at us?" Ravi whispered, eyes widening.
But it was at that exact moment that the realization hit him like a physical blow.
"HOLY SHIT GUYS! THAT'S NOT A SHOOTING STAR! IT'S A METEORITEEEEE!!!!" Ram screamed, his voice breaking into a panicked shriek. "GET OUT OF THERE! RUN!!"
But it was TOO LATE....
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Meanwhile, in a cozy 3BHK apartment in a well‑off building, a little girl pressed her nose and hands against the glass window. Her voice rang with excitement.
"Papa! Moma! Look at the sky! Shining fire balls!" She smiled brightly.
Her father and mother, busy with their usual chores, walked over to the window. But the moment their eyes lifted to the sky, their bodies froze. A chill ran through them.
She turned back to them, a massive, gap-toothed smile lighting up her face. To her, the sky was putting on a show just for them.
"Look how beautiful they are!" the girl whispered, turning back to the view, mesmerized by the glowing trails.
The father's hand shook as he reached for her shoulder.
"Yeah... ah... they're beautiful, sweetheart," he choked out, his voice thick with a grief she couldn't understand yet. "Now, come here. Come hug Dad and Mom. Real tight, okay?"
He didn't want her to look anymore. He didn't want her to see the truth.
Because what he saw through that glass wasn't a show. It wasn't one fireball.
It was tens… hundreds… a curtain of fire tearing across the heavens, screaming toward the city at thousands of miles per hour...
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On the street, a man staggered forward, clutching his throat. Sweat poured down his face.
"Damn… why is it so hot today? Ahhh… I think I'll die from this heat," he cursed.
He had nothing. No job, no family, and not a single soul on this earth who would give a damn if he dropped dead right there on the hot pavement. He was a ghost in a city.
He spat at the sky.
"Damn God… why don't you just kill me instead of making me suffer like this?"
"I swear… one day a meteorite will come and destroy everyone," he muttered bitterly.
But as he walked aimlessly, the heat grew worse. His skin burned, his shirt clung to him.
"Damnn… what the hell… why is the temperature rising even more?"
He squinted up at the sun, ready to shout one last curse at the sky. "Ahh, fuck this sun!!"
But then, he saw it. Right beside the blinding glare of the sun, something else was tearing through the blue. It was too bright to focus on at first, but as he shielded his eyes, the truth hit him.
His eyes widened. His cracked lips began to curl into a jagged, terrifying smile. A low, raspy chuckle bubbled up from his chest, growing into a full-blown, hysterical roar.
"Ha... ha... HAHAHAHA!" He threw his head back, laughing at the top of his lungs. "God... thank you! You finally heard me! You actually listened!"
He started dancing in the middle of the street like a total fucking maniac, spinning in circles while the world around him began to glow a hellish orange.
"Haha! Finally! Finally, the world is going down! Hahaha!"
He stood there, arms wide open, welcoming the fire while everyone else started to scream.