Home Again

by frogbook

Last Man On Earth Contest Winner

The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.

Funny, how even though he'd been alone for months now, he still pictured hundreds of scenarios. The mailman bringing a package; a skeleton standing there, one of the many that lay strewn about the earth, only to awaken. Maybe the old zombie stories were real and graves had opened to spew their contents of flesh eating corpses. Or maybe, just maybe it was Heidi Klum, come to say she needed him. He chuckled to himself.

After this brief flight into fantasy, there was a moment of true terror as he thought his visitor might be wearing a black robe and carrying a scythe. He didn't know why he would still fear death, since in his despair he always called out for it.

He got up slowly, if there was someone there, they should be glad there was anyone to answer at all-slow or not.

He put his hand on the knob and turned it. Dear God, it was his wife, Jennifer and next to her their great Dane, Max! He stood in shock a moment before wrapping her in an embrace while Max danced around the two of them in joy. He stood back from her with tears in his eyes.

"How did you get here? Where were you? How did you escape the destruction?"

She laughed, "So many questions at once. I was with you, but I just got behind part of the crowd. I've been lost, but I finally got home." They embraced again.

He made them supper. He had obtained quite a fine generator from the John Deere store, so he had food in the freezer, as well as the refrigerator. He made a beautiful meal and served wine, compliments of Johnnie's Liquor Store's free sale. He chuckled again. He gave the dog a huge bowl of food.

After a while, he said, "Doesn't seem like you're eating much, Jen. You either, Max."

"I guess I'm just so excited to see you. As you know, food is not too hard to obtain, though the perishables are pretty, darn scarce. We both ate a ton of candy at a store we passed by on the way here. It looked so good."

"You two always did love your sweets," he laughed.

They looked at some old pictures, then lay down in bed, holding each other close. During the night, they made up for lost time.... several times.

The morning light flooded the room. He opened his eyes and tossed aside the pillow he was holding. 'Wonder where those two are off to?' he thought.

He cleaned the house, checking his watch. Again, he wondered where his new-found company had gone. He was beginning to get worried. No note even. Though he was worried, his eyelids began to droop as he sat in his recliner. Last night had been special. He smiled.

The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door. He imagined a number of scenarios, but when he opened it, there stood his long-lost wife and dog.

"How did you get here? Where were you?

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Had anyone else been there, they would have seen Jake Prescott talking to the empty air outside of his door.... but they also would know it was a nightly occurrence.