(After 12 years)
(YEAR 32012)
The fire was small, but it was warm.
Around it, a few children were sitting on broken stones and old metal sheets. The night was cold, and the sky above them was dark and empty. No stars shined clearly anymore. Smoke and dust always covered the heavens.
Among the children was a boy named Devdutt.
He looked at the old man sitting near the fire. His hair was white, his face full of lines, and his eyes carried the weight of too many memories.
"Dadaji," Devdutt said softly, "tell us again… how the world became like this."
The old man remained silent for a moment. The fire crackled between them.
"You children always ask about the past," he said slowly. "Maybe because you were born in the ruins."
Devdutt leaned forward. "We want to know what humanity was."
The old man closed his eyes.
"As you know, my child, the Earth is no longer the home it used to be. Humans are not fully humans now. Many became cyborgs to survive radiation, sickness, and injuries."
The children listened without blinking.
"Two years ago," he continued, "The Great War began."
Devdutt's eyes widened. "Only two years?"
"Yes," the old man said. "And it ended in just one month. But in that one month, the world died."
Fire reflected in his tired eyes.
"The first nuclear weapon was used by an aggressive northern power against its neighboring island. After that, silence was broken. The superpower from the west joined the war. Its mighty fleet erased that northern power from the map."
The children gasped.
"To protect their interests, the eastern empires entered the war. Some allies from the southern continent joined them. Neighboring states also joined because they were trapped in debt and alliances."
Devdutt swallowed.
"And then?" he asked.
"Then," the old man said, "there were no sides. No good or bad. Only destruction. Powers started using energy weapons. Cities disappeared. Oceans burned. The sky turned poisonous."
The wind blew softly.
"In one month, there were no nations. No governments. No armies. Only ashes."
"Did everyone die?" Devdutt asked in a trembling voice.
The old man shook his head.
"No. The powerful escaped. Politicians, businessmen, scientists, astronauts… those who mattered to power, not to humanity. They left Earth in spacecrafts."
"Left us?" one child whispered.
"Yes," the old man said. "They saved themselves and abandoned the planet."
Devdutt looked down at his hands.
"So… we were never important?"
The old man placed his hand on Devdutt's head.
"You are important. That is why this story must be remembered."
He looked at the dark sky.
"Because what is happening now… began long before the war."