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She vanished just as the year ended, as was predicted. Why she was the last, she did not know. Perhaps it was so she could make peace with herself. That was the hardest thing she had to do. It took the longest time. The peace she sought would only come if she let it in. She stopped blaming herself for the things she had not done and the things she had. The things she felt guilty about and the ones she knew she should but did not. She visited family and friends individually, and their forgiveness came easy. They were ready to leave the past where it belonged.Then, it became time to forgive herself. It was a fight that she knew would take longer. Every day, she watched people go. Some left with a smile, their fate accepted. It was pointless fighting it.Peace began to arrive in her soul as, one by one, she forgave herself for the cheating, the lying and the deceit. The pain she had caused her family and friends had eaten so deeply into her being she never thought it would leave. Now, she began to feel free.She also thought about the other things, such as the dream job she had somehow landed. Even if it was using a little white lie, she had always thought what was the harm no one knew, and no one had found her out. She did not regret it.Days passed, and with every passing one, she felt the weight on her shoulders grow lighter, and she became free. She went to see things and do things she had promised herself as a child that she would do.A swim in the ocean, a walk in the snow. With travel being more effortless than ever and, more importantly, free, she travelled the world. Many people did, with families spread to every corner. It was the best way to reconnect.As she went about her own cleansing process, a thought began to cross her mind: where do we go? What happens to us when we leave? She was not the first to ask this question, but at this moment in time, no one knew the answer.When the event was discovered, the world's people asked many questions and became angry at first. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, a great sense of peace fell on the earth. There was nothing anyone could do about it. It was going to happen. People began to forgive and forget the bad things in life. All wars ended, and a more profound peace ensued. The people of the world began to heal.Now, it was almost her time. Every day, several people leave the earth; somehow, she can feel them go. The world was growing quieter now; travel was becoming impossible, and food was beginning to get sparse. Not that it mattered that much. She could not take it with her. She had done all the things she wanted in life. And now she was free of her pain, her mind clear, and her soul cleansed. A calm filled the air, and the weather was always the same, dry and comfortable. The rains came overnight and filled the air with the smell of petrichor. Animals filled the empty streets. They were spared the event, being the purest living beings on the earth and in the seas. She recalled the first person to go; he was there one minute and then gone the next. Someone had managed to capture that moment on film. There was still power then, and the scene played out multiple times. No one spoke. There was just a profound silence. The realisation that it was true hit home.The earth slowly became empty of humans. It did not matter if you were young or old. It took you anyway. Now, just five people were left, standing in the road in the middle of the quiet street. She was one of the last of them.They watched the scene they had been through so many times as someone vanished. The older man, whose name was unimportant, smiled and then was gone. The peace in his eyes was all too apparent. The young girl next she never uttered a word. The teen went next, and a single tear fell from her face, but she still smiled. Everyone had become used to the peace, the quiet and stillness when it happened. Now, the man stood before her. It was quarter to midnight, she thought back to years gone by and the things they used to do at this time of the year: the parties, the drinking, the happiness. Resolutions would made and then broken within moments. She smiled at the memories. Then he smiled at her as he vanished from sight. She knew it was her time as the last minutes of the year's final day began. It was how it was supposed to be, written in the stars long ago. A light feeling began in her body as the time ticked by, and her mind became clear. She stood in the middle of her road, which she had lived in most of her life. To her right, her parent's house stood in darkness. She turned and glanced at the front door, the tree in the garden and thought about the times she had climbed that tree, much to their displeasure. As she stood there, animals came out of the darkness. She could see them in the moonlight, their eyes glowing as they watched and waited. The feeling of lightness crept down her body; her watch was still working. She glanced at the illuminated dial and saw the seconds ticking by. She was now in the last ten seconds of her life of being here in the world. She counted down in her mind. As she approached the final second, she smiled at the sky. Soon, the earth would begin again and renew the life that once filled every inch and every corner. &nbsp;

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Vanished

Mershal

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Michelle

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