The car sped through the countryside on a thin road. It was a peaceful evening with no other cars in sight. Out of the front passenger's window an endless sight of grassy plain stretched far enough that it look like it touched the setting sun.
"Hurry we're going to be late!" said Mae excitedly, as she held her phone out of the window to record the sky.
It was announced that there was going to be a meteor shower and a lunar eclipse happening tonight. Mae had planned to see this event years ago when it was first announced.
"I am driving as fast as I can and doing it safely as well," said her husband.
"We had spent a long time planning for this day, I would be very disappointed if we miss this moment."
"I understand, it's a once in a lifetime event and I don't want to miss it also."
The car radio was playing their favorite song. The same song that played in the airport where they had first met each other. Everything seemed to happen in their favor tonight.
The road began to lead up a small hill. A big lake emerged from the left side. In the distance there were mountains. On the opposite side, the endless grassy plains was still visible. They pulled over to the side of the road onto a small patch of dirt.
"I think this is a nice area. Don't you think so Mae?"
"It's perfect."
The car was set into park and it's engine turn off. Mae turned off her phone and slid it back into her pocket. She then reached for the door handle and pulled on it. She got out of the car and began to spread her arms at the sky.
"It's so beautiful!" she said. The sky had a purple and orange gradient. The warming colors of a sunset in the evening. Her husband also got out and walked to her. He locked the car with a remote and they both walked together through the grass.
"How long has it been?" asked Mae.
"The drive was only two hours from our home," her husband replied.
"No, not that. I meant how long we have been together for."
"A long time..but it feels like I asked for your dad's permission yesterday," he laughed.
She hit his shoulder with her left hand. There was a small area in front of them where the ground looked flat. The ground was very soft and dry, it looked like a great spot to lay down. Mae slowly sat herself down on the soft grass.
"I can't wait to see this…"
Her husband paused for a moment and then he sat down beside her. He laid back flat onto the grass and cushioned his head with both of his palms. They laid on the grass for a long time, staring at the empty sky. The moon beamed through the clear dark sky. It was a full moon, but this time it seemed quite larger than on other days.
"Hey look I think it's happening!" he said as he pointed towards the sky. The moon slowly turned reddish-orange. The moon's color matched beautifully with the night blue sky.
"Wow! This is so beautiful!" said Mae.
"I think it's a good time to take some pictures."
"Oh, you're right!" Mae pulled out the phone from her pocket and began to record a video. Suddenly, little tiny specks of lights appeared. The specks then became a bigger and moved across the sky. A glowing trail followed each one.
"It's the meteor shower. I have never seen one in person before," said her husband. "This is amazing!"
Mae panned her phone across the sky, trying to capture all of the moments. The meteors drifted across the sky and over the moon. There were at least one-hundred of them covering the sky.
She slowly lowered her phone and continued to stare at the sky with her mouth opened and eyes widened. Mae did not want to focus too much on her phone that her real eyes would miss the spectacular moment. The night sky was lit up with hundreds of tiny lights and the faint red glow from the moon, the scene was remarkable.
"Hey, check that one out," said her husband. He raised his arm and pointed at one of the meteors on the right. It was slightly bigger than the rest, but this meteor was not flying in the same path like the others. It seemed like it was heading towards them.
"That's strange, isn't it?" asked Mae. "Is it coming to us?"
"I believe it's going to fly over us, but don't worry too much. If it does come closer, it won't be able to reach us before turning into ashes."
The meteor got bigger and bigger. It started to worry Mae.
"Maybe we should head back to the car hun."
"Don't be so silly," he laughed. "We should record this for memory."
Mae squinted her eyes as she continued to stare at the meteor. It was getting so big that the flaming glow from the meteor made it uncomfortable to look at. It was like staring at the sun.
Suddenly, she felt very warm. There was a hissing and crackling sound, similar to a live campfire. It was coming from the meteor. Mae got up and began to walk backwards slowly. The sound grew louder and her body began to heat up from the unnatural temperature.
Before she could blink, a bright light exploded from the meteor. The light was so strong that closing her eyes made no difference. It was pure white. There was no sound, just absolute silence. Nothing was visible, like everything had vanished and the only thing left behind was an empty white void.