My Cardboard Balcony

I See The World Ending by Belinda Roddie I see the world ending. I know it's near, with every lightning bolt that leaves a scar across the land. The evidence is clear, and not much strategy will get us far from that. I've seen cities flooded, submerged under Poseidon's salty wrath. I've watched flames spread through trees and fields slowly diverge into split roads from earthquakes. People clutch their loved ones on their roofs, singing their last songs. Prayers tenfold, like rain, endlessly pour as we see futures disappear and pasts seem much more golden than ever before. And when it's done, the sunlight will go gray, and all shall fade, and all shall fade away.

I had been tutoring Glenn for three years now, and he had improved his grades tremendously. Still, he had told his mother that he was not ready to end the sessions just yet. In a way, I understood that. The relationship we had was different than most of his family connections and his friendships. I may have been scrutinizing his academic work, but I never exactly "judged" him. I was an outsider helping him trace out his future in graphite, ink, and computer code, and Glenn, as a result, was extremely grateful for my presence.