by Robert Westfall

Created on: December 17, 2011

Dawn 12/21

Jonathon Baker looked over at his wife that frosty morning as they made their way to Point Pleasant Hill. It was a day he had planned for years, this twenty-first day of December  2012. Up before dawn, he made a thermos of hot chocolate for the two mile journey and a few packs of unsalted crackers to ease her morning sickness if it happened. Six months pregnant with their first child, Gillian was a beautiful as ever to him and would continue to be if this apocalyptic myth was just that. 

At 6:27 they moved into the Scenic Overlook and put their Subaru Outback in park but left it running. The temperature was eighteen degrees with a partly cloudy sky but the appearance of it bring frozen too. Jon poured two cups of the delicious brew and gave her a full, steaming mug hoping that would cheer her up a little. He motioned with his cup a toast and a tap to hers. She still didn’t look as thrilled to be there as he was, but she was with child and the upset stomach to go with it. He tried a little humor. 

“Jon and Gillian went up the hillian…no, wait a minute, that won’t work,” he said, chuckling.

Gillian looked at her husband of two years and wondered—did I marry a nut? Drags me up her, sick as a dog—a freezing dog to boot—to see if the world is coming to an end? Yet, the ornery look in his eyes and that crazy smile that made her fall in love with him made her smile back, if only to appease him. She loved and needed him more now than ever and this wasn’t all that bad, except for the poetry.

“Why don’t you just use our nick-names honey, at least until the sun comes up and we’re both awake.”

“Okay, he said. “How’s this sound. Jack and Jill went up the hill to see…the galactic alignment. But when they got there…the sight was so rare…because it was all to be a…refine…ment.”

“Wow, Jon, where did that come from?” she asked.

“I…don’t know. It just came to me.” He looked down and away from her. This was a crazy thing to do anyway, let alone come up with things that didn’t make sense.

“Oh, just forget it for now, Jon. Look, the sun’s coming up.”

The beginnings of the big, orange ball slowly crept across the horizon and they watched it intently while they drank another cup of hot chocolate. Right at 7:21 it was fully visible and produced the most beautiful

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