ABOUT THE END

Nobody probably knows me, I’m here to

tell the story of mi father and his own
father. They didn’t save the world, but they
save each other. In that year my dad was
only 8 years old, the things were different,
humans couldn’t control the nature, as a
matter of fact, nature controlled
everything, the problem was that they
didn’t know that. That was the year 2022
and things were different. Alan, my
grandfather use to work as a weather
reporter on the local TV. He worked there
since he was 20 years old. Actually,
reader, you probably already know the
story. Because everyone knows what
happened. Jhon, my father, who at that
time was just a child, used to study from
home, the country was facing the new
wave of coronavirus infections. But, Alan
had to go to work on the news. This is the
beginning of the story, a normal family,
during difficult years. All stories begin like
this.
Jhon felt terribly lonely, you see, my grandmother, my father's mother, died when my father
was 5 years old. since then, John and Alan had faced the world together. But, things were
difficult, the money was almost not enough, and more and more the two felt terribly alone.

Alan had a good job as a reporter, but the country was going through a crisis so hardly any
job was good enough.

They both hoped things would get better, especially Jhon. It is often thought that a child
doesn’t realize difficult moments, but this is a lie, Jhon knew everything that was happening.
From his computer he could see it, the world was changing. Not only because of the obvious,
the pandemic, but because of the situation in general. Everything seemed to explode,
everything seemed in chaos. At that time, Jhon, who was a very intelligent child, had known
how to read for years, and that is why he spent his time reading blogs. Opinion blogs, game
blogs, fun fact blogs, but, most of all, he liked environmental blogs. I believe that this was
because Jhon wanted to understand his father's work. Maybe it was a way of feeling close to
him.
Although John read blogs and be informed, as much as he tried to know, in the end, he din’t
know. On the weekends, when Alan was not working, he would try to ask him about what
he did not understand. What were those high atmospheric pressures due to? Why the high,
very high, temperatures? Why had snow ceased to be a source of happiness?

Alan was a good father. He had had a difficult time when his wife died suddenly. He had a
hard time recovering. Too much whiskey, too much work left undone. But he managed to
recover and became a great father. But, even though he wanted to answer his son's questions,
he usually didn't have them. That was the problem, no one knew the answers. And for Alan
his job was getting more and more difficult. Stand in front of the camera and read the
teleprompter: ”last minute, brazil has just suffered a fatal earthquake. 20,000 victims are
estimated." or "New natural disaster in Venice, flash floods kill 20 people, the city was
evacuated". This was too much for him. the weeks passed and the news was worse.

From one moment to the next, Jhon was even more alone. His father had to stay whole nights
at work, not only he have to announce disasters, but he had to help his friends make reports.
It was not paid work. Nobody cared about the payment anymore. Something was coming,
something big. Machines that read the weather returned data never seen before.
During those nights when he was alone, Jhon saw many movies, he watched romantic
comedies, they reminded of his mother, he also watched animated films, but what he liked
the most was watching NatGeo, there he saw how wonderful nature was and something
excited about all that. It was no longer just the climate that was on the brink of collapse due
to global warming, but the beauty of the animals.

Alan was the one who saw what was coming first. He didn't know what it was, what he did
know was that it was going to change everything. It had been 4 or 5 centuries of abuse of
nature. They all thought the only thing they could think: this will be the end.

Alan was no longer interested in the readings from the gadgets. He knew that his son was at
home reading about everything that was happening on the internet. He wanted to leave, but
the storm had reached the town. There was no way that either of them were with the other at
the end of the world.
Imagine a child in the storm trying to see
his father for the last time. With fear, pain,
anguish. The day had turned black,
everything was dark. Then imagine a child
walking in the dark.
The streets were a mixture of black snow
and winds. The temperature was dropping.
and the little boy left his house to see the
only thing left in the world.
Just at that moment Alan decided to put
together all his strength and go looking for
his son. His house was 35 minutes away,
he couldn't drive, the wind was aggressive
and everyone on the news knew a
hurricane was coming.
As you know, reader, that storm covered
the planet for 5 nights. Millions of people
died. My grandfather's house was burned
by lightning. The news building was
brought down by the tornado, everyone
was killed.
Alan, was hit on the head by a rock and,
after being unconscious for 3 days, he had
to broke into the church.
Only a few buildings were left standing.
The two saved each other, but didn’t see
each other again until the sky cleared.
It was not the end of the world, but
certainly humanity woke up after those 5
days. After that, the world was ordered in
such a way that nature was respected.
I write the story in 2075, there are not as
many humans left as before. I hope to have
the courage of my father and my
grandfather. I'm sure I'm going to need it
soon.
If I were you, reader, I would prepare fro
the end.

It was impossible, there were no way, at

the end of the world, that the two would
manage to meet. Jhon, 8 years old,
probably the bravest boy in the world,
spent the 5 days of the storm hiding in the
school that was halfway between the house
and the building where his father was.
By Jerónimo Sepúlveda