60 Years Ago

Alone in the desolate wind stood one standing tower of glass and metal. All the land around it was desert covered in other crumbled skyscrapers as far as any eye could see. No starlight to sunlight penetrated the gray smoke filled sky. 

On the one standing were shattered windows and cracked walls But at the very top, the windows and walls were whole. Light shone through, reflection small shrapnel that floated in the heavy breeze.

A very old woman and a very young girl sat otherwise alone at the top. Their home was about to become one of the heaps that blanketed the ground.  The two survivors wore tattered clothes and stringy hair fell from rough scalps. No food was left, for the rest of the world was dead. Suddenly, the lights flickered out, and the floors below them moaned.

The girl jumped back in fear and cried, "Grandma! Is the tower collapsing?" 

The woman replied in earnest, "No, hun, no. But I will give our shelter a half hour before it does. Do you want to hear a story?" The little thing nodded eagerly, anything as a distraction.

"Well, sixty years ago, there was a girl a little older than you. She was a pretty thing, and never spoke out, against anything," the woman started. The girl stared, wide-eyed with curiosity, and hugged a ragged pillow.

With a breath, the woman continued, "Her name was Rochelle, and as the world made new trends, she never understood the need to belong with ridiculous and dangerous stunts. One day, when she went to Learning, a boy came over and slapped her...hard...on the cheek. Rochelle held a hand to her face, as a male adult came over to yell at her. Now Rochelle had not done anything to deserve such treatment-"

The girl butted in, "Was this the 'Women Act', Grandma? I learned all about it in Learning!" The elder smiled sadly, and nodded.

"That is why it is called Learning, you learn. As I was saying, Rochelle did not deserve that, but it was a new trend to treat women poorly. Now, a very long time ago, it was, popular, to say the least, to treat women like that. But it was dropped, men didn't know women could be so strong!" She laughed at her little joke. The girl didn't get it, but was still wanting to hear the rest. Floors moaned and the yelps from monsters were heard, as the one standing tower threatened.

"Grandma!"

"Shh, little one. It is okay, really!" The little girl believed the bag of bones.

"Really? Those monsters will get us for sure!" The fretting had no effect on the woman's patience.

The old one nodded sullenly and replied, "Let us finish, okay? So, Rochelle, with tears in her eyes, cried, 'Why this? Your cruel and inhuman trends define who you are! You exploit the popularity of stunts and channel them into new habits!' After that, the trend became a new way of life, and a poor one at that. As society continued to build skyscrapers, engineering new monsters, and treating each other like pigs, Rochelle fought hard to change this. Man filled the sky with smoke, and baked the land."

"Grandma... Were you Rochelle," the small thing asked sadly.

"Yes, hun, yes. Once. I tried so very hard, to no avail. I warned them of this."

After a few minutes of humble silence, the one standing tower collapsed into a crumpled heap, burying the last two inhabitants with it. The very old woman, and the very young girl were no more. However, they knew why their fates were sealed, and were at peace. The rest of the world could not say the same.

The died thinking they were right, and cool, underlining a whole world's demise.