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MAYA WOKE UP LATE FOR THE END OF THE WORLD
You know the feeling. You wake up with sunlight peeking from the blind and you wonder if you’re late for work. Keep snoozing and you end up missing your dentist appointment. Your manicure session. The world spinning half an hour too long and you there, with a drooling mess edging on your pillow.
Sometimes you count up. Sometimes you only need to count down.
Twelve minutes.
I woke up with a banging coming from upstairs and someone knocking at my door.
At the door, a motorbike helmet. A blue suit hanging loose choked up in a yellow tie. Eyes hidden behind a matt black shield reflecting my face. He could be a burglar. A mannequin. The helmet says, “Did I wake you up?”
Water’s running in the hall from the flats upstairs. People rushed away leaving their front doors open and running taps overflowing sinks. Unfleshed toilets and TVs left on with nothing to watch anymore.
The last broadcast said whatever God people believe in, he probably won’t do his magic this time. An asteroid as big as the moon would hit soon. They said do your prayers and forget about your unpaid bills. Then millions of black and white dots were flickering on the screen and a countdown appeared.