The Day the Sun went Nova

YEAR 8999

Nova and Roman

It was 7 AM when the television turned on and woke Nova and her family. It was set to the World-Government Announcement Channel and the lady's perfectly make-uped face looked distressed and smudged, her eyes distraught with fear.

"Attention, all citizens. Code red, wake up, everyone!"

Nova tugged at her short locks of platinum as the rest of her family (Grandmama, Mom, and Dad) stumbled into the room to hear the message.

"Code red! Be alert for this important, life changing announcement."

Nova rubbed her eyes. "What's going on?"

Her dad shook his head, never taking his eyes off the screen.

"Announcement! Scientists have been studying the abnormal 'solar flashes', as the citizens are calling it, and have drawn devastating conclusions. The sun is millenia old and is simply a massive ball of burning gasses, but it seems that it is running out of fuel. The 'solar flashes' are predicted to continue, becoming more and more frequent until finally..."

The lady's voice caught and tears flowed in deep streams down her cheeks.

"The sun will go nova by this time tomorrow."

Time stopped.

Her head felt light and Nova didn't hear anything the TV said after that. Her mom was saying something too, but all Nova heard was the crushing silence of this new truth as she worked out exactly what it meant.

If the sun goes nova, that means it will collapse and won't have enough heat to support earth which means... Nova's eyes went wide. All of Earth is going to die!

And that, my dears, is where this story begins.

Nova pulled on her clothes in a daze and walked outside as the sun crested the trees. The light was warm on her face and she smiled. Something bittersweet hung in the air, more bitter than sweet. The last day of sun. She began thinking of all the things she hadn't done, and had yet to do, and she didn't even notice the tears in her eyes when a name came to her mind.

Roman.

Her boyfriend.

"If there ever was a time to ask him, it would be now." Nova said out loud to herself and took off down the sidewalk to his house.

Bang Bang Bang. She knocked hard on the door until Roman opened up, still in his plaid pajama pants and a cup of coffee in hand. Nova hesitated, taking in the beauty of the sunlight caught in his chestnut bed-head and the golden rims of his computer contacts, before kissing him hard on the mouth.

"Marry me." She said as she pulled away. Roman smiled and set his coffee on the porch railing.

"With pleasure." He said as he pulled her in for another kiss.

For a moment they forgot that the world was ending.

"What are we going to do?" Nova asked, wrapping his arms around her. Roman rested his chin on her head and sighed.

"Enjoy the time we have left."

The light around them blinked out for a moment and she buried her face in his chest.

7 AM The Next Day

The couple stood on the very top of the hill, holding hands. Waiting.

The rays of sunrise around them flashed fast. Fast. Faster.