Without Us

The wind whistles across the empty, barren streets. A solitary scrap of newspaper skitters lightly, barely touching the ground, before being swept up into the sunlit sky. The clear air has a lively scent, full of vigor and freshness.

A thundering noise is heard from the alleyways of the old city, as a herd of deer burst into the intersection. Their hooves crack the pavement, already weakened by the regrowth of plants underneath the surface. They run, unafraid, beneath slowly flickering street lamps and rusted bridges.

Where did the people go? An alien visitor, passing by, would only see traces of civilization, a faint hint of an industrial people. Perhaps they were taken off to a re-education camp somewhere in the galaxy? Or maybe they simply died out. No matter the reason, the results are the same: the world is coming back to life.

A power station slowly creaks through its dying stages, supplying the tiny vestiges of electricity that spark from line to line. The night sky is clear now, and the stars are visible in the billions. Cities grow dark at night, with only the faintest glow from the few still-surviving street lamps.

Plants grow from buildings, forcing their strong roots between crevices and gaps, slowly shattering bricks and frames. The skyline is shaded by large oaks and elms, which have found footholds in old vehicles and mailboxes along the roadside. Every nook and cranny is filled with vegetation, as ivy crawls up skyscrapers and moss blankets the roads. The air is saturated with the smell of moisture and life.

The deer stop to drink from a large puddle that has gathered in the center of a city park. Rainwater rolls down in rivulets off the edge of a building. It's clear that within the next few years, that trickle of water will become a stream, will become a river. A few fish have made their way into the pond, from running tributaries, or perhaps the flooded subway systems, and look up at the deer with wide-eyed curiousity.

Birds circle overhead, and one dives, catching an unwary cod. Endangered species are only just beginning to bounce back from the brink of extinction. The circle of life is complete once again, as the earth heals itself from numerous wounds. A wolf cries out a lonely, piercing howl somewhere in the distance.

For a minute, a shadow of the past takes hold. People walk along the sidewalks, crowds upon crowds, pushing through the congestion. Cars stream around corners and down streets with reckless abandon. The sky becomes dark with smog, and the dreary, heartless society seems to become complete.

Then, in the next instant, the vision is gone; the sky returns to blue, the air clears and the day brightens. With a thunder of hoofs, a fluttering of wings, and the solitary cry of an animal pulled back from extinction, the world smiles.