Meant to be?

Olga had tried to get her mother on board the Mayflower but they said she was too old. So Bianca accepted it and stayed behind, as the world was about to end. She kissed her daughter, son-in-law and grandson goodbye forever, and walked back into her house to do her knitting.

That had been two days ago. It was Sunday today. Time to go to church. She left the dough she had been kneading to rest upon the stove and washed her hands. It was a nice sunny day today. She saw a child on riding on his bike and her mind leapt to Romeo. At least this child was enjoying his last few days.

Bianca went upstairs and changed into her church clothes. Then she took her walking stick and walked down the street to her local church.

“Hello Reverend Menoy,” she said as she entered the church, which was unusually crowded today. She supposed this was due to the sudden assault of the asteroid in San Francisco that made people hysterically scared that it would happen again.

Bianca sat at her usual pew and stared ahead. She didn’t really pay attention to the Reverend’s preachings today. There was so much more going on her mind.

The world was going to end. An asteroid was going to hit it and all life would be wiped out. Olga told her it was predicted it would impact in Portugal, shattering through the Earth’s crust and cause lava to spill out and everyone within the region would die immediately, either being burnt to death or fall into the cracks of Earth swallowed in it’s hell.

It sounded almost exactly like how Bianca had imagined the Apocalypse. Of course, the bible had never mentioned asteroids but it was still close. She wondered if God had designed this. Maybe the human’s reign of Earth was over. Maybe they were meant to die.

Even if Bianca were young enough to enter the Mayflower she would have never done it. It felt wrong in her bones. To her it felt as though it was disobeying God’s great design, fighting the inevitable. It would make everything else worse on Judgement Day.

Bang! Revered Menoy had raised his arms and slammed them down on the podium. Bianca was jolted out of her thoughts for a moment and paid attention.

“… and for those who have sinned without repentance shall not suffer lightly in hell…”

Bianca shuddered. No, she didn’t want to go there. Her thoughts wandered to Romeo and Olga – what would happen to them? Would they perish in hell for disobeying his will?

Bianca was scared for them. But no matter how much she detested the idea of the Mayflower she still wanted them on board. She wanted them too survive more than anything else, even if it was an act in defiance of God.

She was old. Bianca accepted her life was over but for so many young people their had barely begun. Who was to deny them the right or desire to survive? Her own Romeo was barely fifteen… he was to young to die he had so much more potential than that…

“Let us bow our heads in prayer…” the Reverend said.

Bianca did. She prayed for all those on board the Mayflower.

“Let God show mercy on those who need it. Amen.”

“Amen,” Bianca repeated.