“Oh! Please!” she said smiling, coming down from her porch towards him. He reached out and embraced her, his first human contact in… He didn’t know how long he’d been here, well it was a long time. He and his neighbour went to the next house and more smiles and more hugs ensued. Then the next with more and so on, until soon there was a huge crowd of people standing around excitedly talking and touching and hugging. Sharing in a sense of community that they’d all been craving but that the Network, as good as it is, was unable to provide. He wasn’t sure who noticed it first, but it became apparent that the light was waning, the fire ball had nearly reached the far horizon. Soon, as quickly as it came, it would be gone and they’d all be in darkness once more. They all shared their tears, fears, and goodbyes, and parted, most reluctantly, to return to their houses, none of them sure they’d ever see each other again. He arrived at his house just as the fireball dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in brilliant yellows, oranges, and pinks. It was stunning. Soon darkness would fall, and he didn’t know if he’d ever see the light again. It came into his life in a brilliant flash of light and was gone again the same. It provided him with a greater sense of connection than he’d ever had, and may never have again. Despite how short a time it was in his life, he was just happy it came at all. Later he stood on his porch once more, but this time he shouted out into that black and waited…
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