Flash-fiction
Sean gazed at the sky and wondered if it all really did matter.
Above him, rolling over the gloomy, grey expanse, the black thunderclouds boomed. Below him, the sleepy earth hummed noiselessly. In front, the forest stood silent vigil, as dismal and inscrutable as ever.
A crow cawed. A raven took flight. A dove died in a distant city. One of the rats escaped a keen cat. One of the rats did not. A venomous snake bit a human. A human beheaded a venomous snake with a shovel.
A star died, a thousand stars were born. A planet collided with a planet. A star collided with a star. A galaxy collided with a galaxy. The universe expanded.
Sean looked up at the sky and stamped his unsmoked cigarette under his boots. Sean looked up at the sky and lit another Marlboro from his pack, wondering. Wondering if it all really did matter.
A meerkat twitched in South Africa. A flower bloomed in a garden. Dust settled on the ground. Atoms vibrated. Electrons flowed. Bosons crossed each other and did not collide.
Sean looked at the sky, the clouds, the forest, the earth, the stars, the crows, the cats, the rats, and the flowers, and wondered if it all really did matter.
He was happy; the indifferent universe rolled on. He was sad; the indifferent universe rolled on. He lit a cigarette; the indifferent universe rolled on. He did not light a cigarette; the indifferent universe rolled on.
Sean looked on and wondered. He stamped out his half-smoked cigarette and wondered. He lit another cigarette and wondered. He pocketed his empty cigarette carton and wondered.
Sean wondered; the indifferent universe rolled on.