Death Arises

Times were hard. The grounds were solid and cold as ice. The people were as blue and miserable as they could ever possibly be. I was the only one who could not understand it. I hoped that I never did, in case that the understanding would make me like them. I enjoyed my life, just as it was. Me here, living in my own little peaceful world. Me looking from the inside out. This strange view on things, it gave me reassurance that at least I was living a good life. I also realized, that it gave me great insight into the lives of others, even without the understanding. I had an idea that it was the place. Everyone outside it seemed fine. I went to work in the next town and everyone appeared completely and entirely normal to me. No one miserable for no apparent reason. You know, you of course met the occasional person upset because of bills or cheating spouses, maybe a rebellious teenager. That was it though, normal shit that most ninety-nine percent of the world dealt with at one time or another. My town was not like that. If it was I would know, it’s a small place, everyone knows each other. I know everyone and everyone knows me. We talk all the time, always about normal things. Run into each other at the store or at the diner. Talk about the news, the weather. But there is a strange difference in these people. It sometimes makes me miserable just to be around them.
         I grew up here in this town. Davenport. I’ve been here for the whole 33 years of my life. I remember the days when everyone was “fine and dandy.” When everything was a piece of normalcy, in my eyes at least. It took a while for me to notice the change. Yeah, I saw changes in those closest to me, took a few months to see the  change in everyone else.  For the last four years now the people here have been like this. It’s puzzling. So much inside my head has been telling me to leave, but I simply cannot bring myself to do it. I figure, if anything was really wrong, I would know it by now; either that or I would be affected just like everyone else.
         Some days I wake up and think, it’s all in my head. Maybe I’m the one whose messed up. Maybe they think the same thing about me that I think about them. Then I think, no. There is no way I’m crazy. Someone around here would have had be put away by now, or just would have said something straight to my face. Besides, of all the crazy things I could possibly do, why would I imagine everyone else being melancholy and the earth being like stone. It wouldn’t make any since, not even in the insane world I don’t think.
         
* Soon realizes that he is not crazy, neither is anyone else. He watches news one day and sees a past broadcast. Realizes that he is living his life as he always was…before. Everyone in the town is dead. They died four years ago in December after a terrorist bombing. Everyone in the town realizes what has happened. He hasn’t because he lost his memory of it when the event happened. This knowledge is brought to him by his best friend, when he finally asks him what was going on and why he was so melancholy.