{"id":2417,"date":"2025-09-24T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/?p=2417"},"modified":"2025-09-24T04:16:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T08:16:48","slug":"endling-part-v-the-glimmering-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/2025\/09\/24\/endling-part-v-the-glimmering-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Endling, Part V: The Glimmering Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"
This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series Endling: A Serial Story<\/a><\/div>\n
By Draven Copeland, Editor-in-Chief<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"EndlingArtbyMackRay\"
“Endling: The last individual of its species or subspecies, which therefore becomes extinct upon its death.” – Wikitionary. | Art by MackRay (art_by_mackray)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
**TRIGGER WARNING: This text contains references to suicide and graphic self-harm. Please be aware of this potentially upsetting content as you engage with the text.**<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Luke looked at the orange sun as it started to make its way down through the ocean of blue sky towards the horizon of debris. What had been New York City before humanity\u2019s last gasp was now hills of shattered glass and misshapen concrete and Luke, standing on the highest pile, could see the entire city laid out before him. To his left, the Hudson. To his right, the East. To his back and his front, a wasteland of rock, glass, and bone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It had been thousands of years since the storm ended. It was quick, violent, and momentarily bright before the darkness of gunpowder smoke and dust overtook the planet. The first hundred years afterward were loud. Although the extermination of humanity only took a couple of days, the screams and tears of the dead echoed across the world for a century. Even when he had covered his ears, Luke couldn\u2019t drown them out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that first century, the world slowly became quiet again. Souls wandered aimlessly. Most were still looking for their family and friends, holding off their realization that they were the only members of their circles to stay with their desperate desire for the contrary. When the realization finally came, they would scream and cry even harder before giving up completely. From there, they would either lay motionless and watch the water or the weather with glazed eyes or start to look for a way out. Luke thought it was ironic how little they spoke to one another after the first couple of decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Luke watched the few souls left wander back and forth over the rubble. Some swam in the surrounding rivers, routinely disappearing from sight as they tried to drown themselves. One young woman a couple of blocks away and far below was repeatedly slicing at her wrists with a shard of glass, watching blood continually run out of her arm, drip from her fingers, and splash onto the concrete. She had been doing it for months now. Luke wondered if she did it for entertainment or if she truly believed that, one time, it would work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan I join you?\u201d A small voice spoke from behind him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A girl, maybe twelve at the time of her death, stood at the rise of the rubble, her red dress ragged and covered with dust and blood. He hadn\u2019t heard her climbing up the hill, and she showed no signs of exhaustion other than the longing in her dark green eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Luke said, motioning to a concrete boulder a couple yards away. \u201cDo you want to sit?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if I do or don\u2019t,\u201d the girl said before sadly adding, \u201cI don\u2019t feel anything anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Luke replied, walking over to the man-made rock and taking a seat himself. \u201cBut it still feels right, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The girl shrugged, her frizzled and wildly unkempt hair raising and falling with her shoulders. \u201cI guess,\u201d she said as she sat down beside him. \u201cMy name is Jennie. What\u2019s yours?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHi Jennie,\u201d he replied, lightly. \u201cI\u2019m Luke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennie nodded. \u201cI\u2019ve seen you around, I think. You scared me for a long time.\u201d Her body language told him that the \u2018long time\u2019 wasn\u2019t over just yet; she only looked at his eyes in glances and she angled herself directly forward, towards the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke smiled wide, the slit that was his mouth opening fully to reveal an attractive smile. \u201cI\u2019m not as scary as I used to be,\u201d he said. \u201cThe way things are now, I can\u2019t hurt anyone any more than they hurt themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennie shrank into herself. She looked down at the railroad of hesitation scars on her arms. \u201cA lot of people here hurt themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey did. That\u2019s\u2026 well, that\u2019s why they\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennie waited a minute to respond. She looked at him, her next question clearly formed in her mind before she had the courage to ask it, and pointed at the bruises around his eyes. \u201cDid you hurt yourself too, Luke?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI did,\u201d he replied. \u201cI\u2019ve always been the only one who can hurt me. And I did\u2026 I did for a while, actually. I think that it\u2019s just what some people do. Pain either comes from others or it comes from oneself, but it comes nonetheless. It\u2019s unfortunate, but it is true. Even the world hurts itself when there\u2019s no one to hurt it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Jennie said. She knew, even if she didn\u2019t completely understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sky turned every color between orange and purple as the sun began to fall into the horizon, its image reflecting infinitely off of the broken glass that scattered over everything the two could see, turning the hills of dust covered rubble into a crystalline desert. The sun\u2019s color encompassed the sky and the ground simultaneously, creating a breathtaking image. A city that was dull, gray, and broken became a sea of glimmering stars. Even the wrist-slitting woman stopped to look around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty from up here,\u201d Jennie said. Tears began to fill her eyes as she looked on and she turned away when they began to roll down her cheeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay to cry,\u201d Luke said, purposefully keeping his eyes on the lights above and below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They sat in comfortable silence as the sun slowly fell. When Jennie spoke again, the sky was becoming purple and deep blue, the sun fading as the night began to take over. The glass reflected the color and its brightness, the world around them slowly resting into peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mom would\u2019ve liked this,\u201d she said, not taking her eyes off of the display before her. \u201cShe\u2019d say something about the \u2018beauty of God all around us\u2019. She saw Him in everything, y\u2019know, even the bad. I could see it during the good but the bad\u2026 I\u2019ve thought that maybe that\u2019s why she\u2019s gone. That she\u2019s up there with Him. That\u2019s where she\u2019d want to be. And maybe I\u2019m here because I never got it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke nodded in understanding, hoping that she didn\u2019t read it as confirmation. \u201cI had a friend who would\u2019ve liked this too. I don\u2019t know how he felt about God, but he had a knack for seeing beauty in the darkness of things. He told me that there was something in the way that the darkness and the ugliness in the beautiful things make them more precious. I never understood it when he was around, but I\u2019ve thought about it a lot since he\u2019s been gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat happened to him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe passed away\u2026 before everyone else did, I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid he stay, like me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke swallowed and looked over to her. She had turned to face him and had been watching him as spoke. \u201cNo\u2026 no, he didn\u2019t. He\u2026 didn\u2019t want to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to either,\u201d she said, putting her elbows on her knees and cupping her head in her hands as she turned to look out again. \u201cI don\u2019t know why I\u2019m still here, Luke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He put his hand on her shoulder, not feeling it but knowing she would. \u201cNo one stays here forever. Trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She nodded. \u201cI\u2019ve seen people go, I think. After they\u2019ve died, I mean. One second they\u2019re there, and then, the next time I look, they\u2019re just\u2026 gone<\/em>. I thought they were leaving me behind, but it\u2019s happened so many times now. I guess they still were, either way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know what you mean,\u201d Luke replied. \u201cBut it\u2019s not the same\u2026 People can go at any time, but they\u2019re not leaving you. It\u2019s just their time, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre they going to see God?\u201d Jennie wasn\u2019t hiding her tears anymore and turned to look directly at Luke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s a good way to look at it,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennie nodded. \u201cWill I see my family when I go?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke thought for a moment as the sun finally faded away. The stars began to twinkle in the sky, and the destruction below was no longer bright and colorful, but faded and dark again. The woman looked down at the glass in her hand for a moment as blood still dripped from it. Then, she started again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that wherever you go, it will be a happier place,\u201d Luke answered. \u201cAnd it\u2019s the same place they went, so\u2026 they\u2019ll be there with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tears filled her eyes and she put her head into Luke\u2019s shoulder as she openly cried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat makes me feel better,\u201d she said. \u201cThank you, Luke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d he replied. \u201cI\u2019m here as long as you need, okay. We\u2019re friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennie looked up at him and smiled. \u201cOkay,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They sat in silence for a long time. Luke watched the sky, looking at the twinkling stars and thinking about his old friend. He wondered what John would\u2019ve said to the girl. Something a lot better than he had, he thought. What he knew for sure was that he would\u2019ve loved the stars on nights like this. He\u2019d always loved looking up at the stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt really is beautiful,\u201d Luke said. When there was no reply, he looked over to find an empty space on the rock beside him and slowly glanced around, knowing already what he would find. She was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke looked back up to the stars. Tears filled his eyes and the shining specks in the darkness turned to liquid light in his vision. \u201cShow her around for me, Johnny,\u201d he said. \u201cTell her I said \u2018thank you\u2019 for coming to talk to me, okay? And that I\u2019m sorry we didn\u2019t get to talk more, as friends.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series Endling: A Serial Story<\/a><\/div>

By Draven Copeland, Editor-in-Chief **TRIGGER WARNING: This text contains references to suicide and graphic self-harm. Please be aware of this potentially upsetting content as you engage with the text.** Luke…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"series":[39],"class_list":["post-2417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creative","series-endling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2417"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2502,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417\/revisions\/2502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2417"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=2417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}