Night fell upon the world with an expectant silence. Millions of eyes were fixed on the heavens, as if all of humanity were waiting for the beginning of a celestial spectacle. In streets, rooftops, balconies, and squares, people raised their phones to record.
The asteroid shone like a red star in the darkness. At first, it was just a distant dot, then a growing spark that dominated the night sky.
From the hallway of the hospital in Montevideo came the excited voice of a child running among the people:—"It's starting! Look, look at the sky!"
Martín, lying in his bed, heard the commotion. It had been more than two years since he could move his body, paralyzed from the neck down. He could barely turn his head and lift his gaze a little. With effort, he raised his chin and turned toward the window.
And he saw it.The sky seemed to open in flames. Luminous fragments tore through the atmosphere, leaving trails that turned the night into a canvas of fire. Martín's heart pounded hard, as if trying to remind him that he was still alive.
In Guadalajara, Mario wiped his hands on a greasy rag and stepped out of the workshop. He lifted his eyes to the sky. The celestial body no longer looked like a dot: it grew larger with every second, as if descending directly toward them. Mario let out a bitter laugh.
—"Didn't they say it would just brush past us?" —he spat on the ground, mocking the TV astronomer—. "Well, it looks like it's coming in for a French kiss."
The mutt howled again, as if to confirm his words.
In Madrid, Elena had just finished cutting vegetables in the kitchen when she noticed a strange glow by the window. She wiped her hands on a cloth and called her little sister:—"Sara! Come quickly, let's go to the yard."
The girl rushed out, and together they looked up. The meteor grew on the horizon, brighter with every heartbeat. Elena felt a knot in her stomach, an instinct whispering that this was no simple spectacle.
In Osaka, Kendo was in his room, the television on and showing live international news. His mother entered with a worried frown.—"Son… I don't like this meteor. They say it's safe, but… I'm worried."
Kendo turned down the volume of the anime he was watching and stayed silent for a few seconds, watching the reddish glow spilling through the window.
In Berlin, Hans was tending to an elderly patient in the emergency ward. The woman, her voice trembling, pointed toward the window.—"Doctor… I didn't think it would look so bright. They said it would be far away… very far away."
Hans stopped, looked at the glow piercing through the clouds, and didn't know what to answer.
The sky itself seemed ready to collapse.
Live broadcasts of shows, soap operas, and series were suddenly interrupted. On every screen, from phones to televisions in shop windows, appeared a red text that read: "GLOBAL EMERGENCY."
The face of Richard Coleman once again filled the screens. Sweat glistened on his forehead; the voice that once sounded confident now trembled.
—"My friends… we can't believe it. The data is clear: the meteor… the meteor has changed its course. It's heading straight for us."
The signal cut to Dr. Luis Hernández, the astronomer interviewed days earlier. He was no longer in a comfortable studio, but in a hallway, fastening his coat with trembling hands. His face showed deep anxiety, and yet he stopped for a few seconds to speak.
—"I only have a few moments, Coleman… I was wrong. I was completely wrong."
He lowered his gaze, as if those words weighed heavily on him.
—"The meteor is coming straight for us. Its speed, its mass… it hasn't lost anything on the way. It barely fragmented. This won't be a show. It will be a cataclysmic event, something that will mark the history of life on this planet."
The astronomer swallowed hard and raised his eyes, his voice breaking.—"Spend your last moments with your families. Be together. That's the only thing that matters now."
He slipped on his coat, gave the camera one last glance, and whispered:—"I'm sorry. Good luck."
The broadcast cut off.
Then a new wave of images filled the screens: presidents, prime ministers, and leaders from all around the world appeared, giving improvised speeches. Their words tried to convey calm, hope, faith. Some urged people to pray, others recommended unity and staying home. But behind every message lurked the shadow of fear.
In Montevideo, Martín heard screams in the hallways. Desperate voices shouted, "We're going to die!", "God help us!", "There's no way out!" He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the chaos wash over him.
Then, in his mind, came a cold, almost serene thought:
Of all the ways to die… I think this one isn't so bad. Better this than staying trapped in a dead body. How ironic… at last, death finds me.
He opened his eyes. The window showed the fiery monster falling from the sky, larger than the moon, as if it would crush them all. Martín stared at it without blinking, awaiting his end.
And then it happened.
The meteor exploded high above, like a star bursting into a thousand pieces. A shockwave of white light covered the entire sky, blinding millions of eyes around the globe. For an eternal instant, shadows turned into day.
Then, thousands of shining particles began to fall, like a magical rain of silver fire descending upon cities, jungles, deserts, and oceans.
The end of the world… never came.But something far stranger was about to begin.