In the morning, Adam and Diana awoke.
But that morning brought with it no sunlight.
In their world, the sun did not exist at all, and daytime was not tied to its appearance or disappearance.
Their world hurtled through space at tremendous speed, passing between countless stars, and those stars were the only source of light that ever reached their world.
For that reason, night and day were never fixed.
Daylight was a relative thing, constantly changing according to whatever their world encountered on its journey through space.
On some days, the light lasted for only an hour before darkness descended once more and swallowed everything.
On other days, daylight stretched for three hours or more.
No one could ever know in advance how long it would last.
Everything depended on what crossed their world’s path as it hurtled through space; a nearby star, a cosmic cloud, a region drowned in darkness, or something else humanity did not even know existed.
Adam opened his eyes, then lifted his gaze toward the dark sky beyond the window.
Beside him, Diana woke as well, remaining silent as she stared at the sky.
Adam rose to his feet and said:
“Come on.
Let’s get moving.”
He took Diana’s hand, and the two of them moved together.
The place was unnervingly still, devoid of almost any trace of life.
The streets and buildings stretched around them in silence, as though an entire world had abandoned them long ago, leaving behind nothing but lifeless shells.
After many long hours of walking, they finally reached Diana’s father’s house.
They approached the door, and Adam knocked.
Only moments passed before it opened, revealing an elderly man with a white beard and a face deeply etched by time.
The moment his eyes fell upon Diana, his expression changed.
His smile widened, and he opened his arms, pulling her into a tight embrace.
“There you are!
You’re back.
How was your journey?
Did you find the dimensional train?”
Adam answered:
“No.
We still haven’t found it.
The world we live in is on the verge of collapse, and there’s a strange darkness moving through space.
It devours the stars and everything in its path, even planets.”
The smile faded from the man’s face, and sorrow settled into his eyes.
Adam helped him sit on his bed.
The man breathed slowly, then said:
“There should be some rice and chicken in the kitchen.
Bring it so the two of you can eat.”
Adam headed toward the kitchen while Diana remained beside her father.
The man studied her for a few moments before asking:
“How are you doing with him?”
Diana gave him a faint smile and said:
“I’m fine.
Sometimes we eat, and on some days we can’t find food at all because of the scarcity.
Most of the resources are gone, and the planet has become nearly deserted.”
The man raised his hand and placed it on his daughter’s shoulder, gently stroking it.
“You know, my daughter…
there isn’t much left for me in this world.”
He fell silent for a moment, as though listening to something only he could hear.
“Soon, I’ll turn into cosmic dust, stripped of consciousness and will…
I’ll become nothing.”
Diana lifted her hand and gently stroked his head.
“Not now.
You’re coming with us onto the dimensional train.
We’ll move to another planet before the darkness swallows this one.
You’ll live on another world.”
Adam returned with the food and placed it before them.
The man gestured for Diana to sit beside Adam and eat.
Diana sat beside her husband, and the two began to eat.
The elderly man lifted his eyes toward the ceiling of his house.
The home was so simple it was almost stripped of everything; a small living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom.
He stared at the ceiling for a long time before his voice finally emerged in a whisper:
“I feel like I’m going to die soon.”
He turned toward Adam and Diana, a peaceful smile forming on his lips.
“I love you very much, my daughter…
I hope you find peace in this world, and that you will always be happy.”
Then his expression changed slightly, as though another thought, far harsher than the last, had passed through the depths of his mind.
He whispered:
“But what does happiness mean in a deterministic material world governed by atoms?”
He lowered his eyes.
“Why do I keep deceiving myself into believing there is meaning?”
Then he closed his eyes.
And did not move.
Adam continued eating for a few moments before looking at Diana and saying enthusiastically:
“You look incredibly hungry.
Come on, I’m full.
You finish it.”
Adam stood up.
But the moment he straightened, he froze in place.
His expression changed in an instant.
The smile vanished, and an unexpected coldness settled over his face.
Diana lifted her eyes toward him.
“What is it?”
Adam lowered his head, then returned to her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
He said quietly:
“I want you to stay calm, okay?”
He pulled away slightly and looked directly into her eyes.
“In the end…
there is no meaning in death or life.”
Diana froze.
Her gaze slowly shifted toward her father.
He was silent.
He did not move.
“Dad?”
She sprang to her feet and rushed toward him.
“Dad!”
He did not answer.
And suddenly…
Nehil’s body began to fade.
His limbs turned first into tiny golden particles, then his entire body slowly began to disintegrate, as though his body had been nothing more than matter waiting for the moment it would return to the universe.
Diana gasped, tears streaming from her eyes.
Adam moved closer and stood beside her without saying a word.
Nehil’s golden particles continued to rise into the air, scattering little by little until they vanished completely.
Adam said calmly:
“That is what that surreal world is like.”
Diana pressed her lips together, trying to contain the collapse inside her, then said in a trembling voice:
“I know…
I know.”
She wiped away her tears, but they quickly began to fall again.
Then she lifted her eyes toward Adam.
“But all of my grief wasn’t for him.”
She stepped closer and gripped his hand tightly.
“I’m afraid of the thought that one day, this might happen to you.”
Adam raised his hand and gently wrapped it around Diana’s neck, then turned her face toward him until their eyes met.
He said quietly:
“Then don’t look at the ending yet.”
He fell silent for a moment, then said:
“Look at me.”
He moved closer to her.
“I’m here.”
Suddenly…
A tremendous explosion erupted outside.
The house shook violently, and dust rained down from the ceiling.
Adam turned toward the door, then rushed forward and threw it open.
He froze for a moment.
Night had fallen all at once.
There had been no gradual transition in the light as they were accustomed to.
It was as though darkness itself had descended upon the world in a single instant.
The sky was covered by that strange darkness they had seen before; a darkness moving slowly through space, devouring the stars and everything that crossed its path.
Then alarms began sounding throughout the city.
“Attention, everyone…
the dimensional train is scheduled to depart in one and a half hours.”
Adam raised his eyes toward the sky.
A colossal train hung suspended in space, surrounded by powerful lights, while an enormous passage stretched out before it, carving its way through the darkness.
Adam seized Diana’s hand tightly.
“Come on!
We have to reach it quickly.
There isn’t much time left.”
Diana nodded.
“Okay.”
Adam hurried back into the house, gathered what remained of Nehil’s money and a few essential belongings, then stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
He stopped for a moment and cast one final glance at the house.
He knew that the man who had lived there would never return to it again.
Then he took Diana’s hand.
And they ran.
The two of them made their way through the streets as the sky around them grew darker, the stars beginning to disappear one after another behind the thing that was drawing closer.
After an entire hour of running…
They finally arrived.
The dimensional train was so enormous that the eye could scarcely comprehend its scale, suspended in space while a massive passage connected to it, resembling a gigantic bridge stretching between worlds.
The train did not travel along rails.
Instead, it carved its way through space itself, passing from one place to another, from one world to another, within spans of time impossible to compare with the distances it crossed.
Adam and Diana stepped onto the passage.
Adam noticed a vendor standing along one side, displaying an assortment of strange sweets before him.
His eyes lingered on them for a few moments before he walked over.
Diana looked anxiously toward the train, then said:
“We’re going to be late.
We need to get inside the train quickly before it fills up completely.”
Adam smiled without answering.
He approached her, gently stroked her head, then returned to the vendor and pulled out all the money he had.
He spent it all on as many sweets as he could carry.
Diana stared at him in astonishment.
“Adam…
what are you doing?”
He did not answer her.
He gathered the sweets in his arms, then handed them all to her.
Diana looked at the huge amount in front of her, then lifted her eyes toward him in bewilderment.
Adam smiled and said:
“Keep them.”
Then he took her hand again.
“We may not know when we’ll find anything like this again.”
Diana looked at the sweets, then at him.
Despite the fear surrounding them on every side, a small smile appeared on her face.
Adam knew that time was running out…
But he wanted to give her something simple to remember when everything was over.
Then they entered the train.
They stopped for a few moments.
The train was packed with countless beings.
Different races, different forms, and entities whose nature Adam could not even begin to identify.
Some resembled humans, some had no fixed form, while others possessed strange bodies and multiple limbs.
Adam’s gaze swept across the place, then he tightened his grip on Diana’s hand.
Now they had to leave their world behind…
Before the darkness reached it.
All the entities inside the train were quiet, and many of them wore expressions of relief at simply having been given another chance to survive.
They clung to life with everything they had left.
Outside, the darkness continued its slow advance, but it was far slower than the train.
And moments later, the train finally moved.
It began carving its way through space, heading toward another galaxy, on a journey that would take several days.
Adam sat beside Diana.
There were no seats in the tiers reserved for free-ticket passengers; instead, passengers sat on the floor according to the type of ticket they possessed.
The train consisted of ten tiers, each with its own facilities, food, and private lounges, while Adam and Diana were in the tier reserved for free tickets.
Diana looked through the wide window at the outside.
The planet they had left behind was slowly receding into the distance, while darkness stretched around it like a sea without end.
Adam said:
“Look…
the planet is being swallowed now.”
Diana looked at it sadly.
Then she turned back and rested her head against Adam’s chest, while he placed a blanket over her as she lay in his lap.
After several moments of silence, she said:
“Why does evil exist in this world?”
Adam thought for a moment before answering:
“If there were no evil, we would have no reason to move forward, to strive, or to rise above ourselves in the first place.”
Diana remained silent.
His answer was strange in some way, yet it seemed convincing.
Then she looked out the window again and said:
“Look…
the planet has disappeared into the darkness.”
Suddenly…
One of the entities approached Adam and shoved him.
It was much taller and broader than him, with several eyes scattered across its face and body.
It said in a harsh voice:
“Everything you have left, in exchange for letting you and your wife keep that corner.”
Adam stood calmly.
“I have nothing.
No money, nothing else.”
The entity stared at him for a few moments, then said:
“Give me your bag.”
One of its followers approached, tore the bag from Adam’s hands, then opened it and began searching through it.
He found nothing but a few sweets.
The entity laughed quietly.
Then it raised its eyes toward Diana and said:
“Well, if you have nothing with you…
no problem.”
Its smile disappeared for a moment.
“We’ll take the girl, and leave you safe among us.”
Diana froze in place.
The entity’s hand moved toward her.
At that very moment…
Adam seized its hand.
Silence fell.
Adam raised his eyes toward it, and there was not the slightest trace of fear on his face.
He said calmly:
“Get any closer to her…”
His grip tightened around its hand.
“And I’ll make you, with one hand…”