FICTION
The Last Human in the Milky Way — 1
Excerpt from Chapter 1 An Old Woman on a Bench by the Sea
1
Somewhere in the world, an old woman on a bench, near the sea. She’s not sick, but she’s old. And she knows she’s going to die. She does not think much about it.
She lives alone in a small old house in a small garden.
The garden is overgrown with grass that is no longer cut. She loved tending her garden, it was an important part of her life. But now, in recent years — yes, for many years actually — she has not been able to go out and tend the garden. It is too heavy and difficult for her to mow the grass and care for the plants.
She’s sitting at the table in the living room of the house. She mostly thinks about the old days now. There are so many things that have ended in life, so much that is no longer there.
The weather is fine, slightly cloudy and a little sunny, and not too much wind, so she gets up, put on her outer clothes and her old, worn shoes and go out. She walks slowly down the overgrown tractor road from her house down to the sea, to this worn bench, to sit there for a while and think.
She likes this bench. And she likes to sit there and look out over the sea. She has thought more than once that this is where she wants to be when everything comes to an end one day. She will sit leaning back against the backrest, eyes open and a gentle breeze caressing her face. And she will disappear, her eye will close calmly and she will disappear into herself, while the world around her will be there as always.
She’s thought about it a lot lately, but she doesn’t like the thought of the person or people who come to find her, where she’s lying slumped over on her side on the bench, lifeless.
What if the daughter is the one who comes there and finds her?
No, she doesn’t like thinking of that.
(…)
Read more > Excerpt from chapter 2
Read more >> Excerpt from chapter 2.1
The author is currently reviewing and editing the manuscript for the novel The Last Human in the Milky Way. Excerpts from selected chapters will be published as previews on Medium.
Subscribe here and get unlimited access to high-quality content on Medium. When using my link, you support me in my writing.