Love in the Eyes of Death

Celebrating the End of the World

"In the next 24 hours, the world as we know it will come to an end. This is not a drill".

That is what the scientist from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said on television. Everyone in the office stood still and paid attention to the television. Headhunter Lee Jacobs was one of those people. Everyone was in shock when they heard the news. The once lively office filled with phone calls and conversations has now gone quiet. Lee retreated into his office and called his wife, April.

"You heard the news?" Lee asked when he called April. "Yeah, I heard," April said as calmly as possible. "You coming back?" "Yeah. You want me to get you anything before I come back?" "As a matter of fact, I have a list. I'll text you." "Alright. I'll get these on the way. See you when I get back. Love you", "Love you too", April replied before they hung up the phone. She might have sounded calm over the phone, but Lee knows she is about to break down and realizes he has to return home as fast as he can.

As soon as he packed up and was about to leave the office, Dean, one of his closest friends in the office, knocked on his office door. "Hey, man. You up for some game night tonight?" Lee replied, "Yeah, sure. 11 pm sounds cool to you?". "11 pm it is. End of the world is coming, and we're about to shitfaced." Dean howled in happiness as he left Lee alone in his office. Lee knew he was not going to make it to game night, but he felt like he had to say yes to Dean because even though he is his best friend, he did not want to hurt his feelings.

When he was about to head down to the lobby, he expected to see everyone freaking out, causing chaos on the streets. But when he was in the hall, he saw something different. The streets are no longer busy. He stepped foot out of the office building, and there was no honking, no fights, and no arguments. Lee witnessed a green Honda Civic hitting a cyclist, and he expected both of them to fight. Instead, the car driver said "Oh, I'm sorry. You okay?", and the cyclist replied "It's fine. I'm okay." The car driver offered him a ride to the hospital to get checked out for injuries but the cyclist declined and the both of them went on their way. This was a rare sight to see in the streets of Boston, where everyone is known to be harsh to each other for fun. He got into his black 1967 Chevrolet Impala and drove away to the nearest mall he could find, hoping it would not be ransacked by looters.

The closest mall was 20 minutes away from his office. Once he was there, he was surprised to see it still functioning like a normal mall. Customers were happy getting what they wanted and got out of there. There was no excessive looting in the mall, just regular people shopping, getting what they needed to have fun for one last time before the end of the world. Lee saw April's shopping list and saw she wanted him to get eggs, two bottles of iced lemon tea, a DVD copy of The Lake House, and salad. Once he saw the list, Lee grabbed a shopping cart and searched the whole place from top to bottom.

It took him 15 minutes to get everything on the list, except for the salad. He went to the produce section, and he was grateful that he saw the salad. However, he turned around and saw a guy behind him. He looked like he was in his 50s. "Hey, man. You mind giving me the salad? My wife needs it. I'll pay you for it." He looked like he didn't have much, but he was willing to give as much as he had. Lee refused and say "If you really need it, here you go. You don't even have to pay me. Just make sure you enjoy your time left with your family." The guy thanked him repeatedly. Because Lee gave away his salad, he had nothing left. So he picked the next best thing. He picked some potatoes, eggplants, and spinach. Even though it was not what April wanted, Lee knew she would do wonders with those dishes. Because it was the end of the world, the store was not accepting cash. He nodded at the cashier and the store manager as a sign of respect and appreciation and left the store, ready to see his wife again.

Once he got back home, he found a yellow NERF gun on his porch with a note attached to the gun, saying "Come and find me." with a smiley face attached to it. Lee knew his wife's tricks. He held the gun up like a soldier with the groceries on his left arm. His plan was to sweep the house until he found her. However, as soon as he opened the door, April sprayed him with hose water while giggling like an evil witch. Lee was both shocked and happy at the same time. Lucky for Lee, the groceries were protected by a plastic bag and it was wrapped properly, making them safe from water. As soon as April stopped spraying him with water, she immediately lunged at him, giving him a big, tight hug. Because he sprayed her with water, Lee thought it would be a good idea to get her wet. So he hugged her back.