First Line Friday: “As the stars began to flicker out of the night sky, I felt the world ending around me.”

In our quest to encourage creativity, we post a writing prompt every other Friday. Write a story with the prompt as the first line. Share your story below or on social media using the tag #FirstLineFriday. We can’t wait to see your stories!

“As the stars began to flicker out of the night sky, I felt the world ending around me.”

As the stars began to flicker out of the night sky, I felt the world ending around me. I should be panicking, praying maybe, like everyone else. But I don’t feel anything except a strange freedom. I watch the townspeople from someplace else as they rush around like helpless ants. My mother shakes me violently, pulling me out of my daze. The cargo freighter. We bolt across the loading bay and scramble into the hovership. We reach the cockpit and I strap down, unable to comprehend my mother’s easy maneuvering of the vessel. Suddenly the remnants of our planet drop away as we shoot into the galaxy, leaving our home’s unstable core to eat away everything we knew.

Ariana Adams

As the stars began to flicker out of the night sky, I felt the world ending around me. The glow from the city vanished as did the sound. No hum of cars or whistling wind. Like a black and white movie, I made my way through town frantically searching for him. I had to tell him. I opened a cab door. There was no driver; everyone vanished. Tears blurred my vision as I sprinted. My foot caught under a fallen street light knocking me breathless. I looked up to see him walking the other direction. “I love you,” I said reaching for his shoulder. Some kind of invisible force blocked my voice and touch from him. He walked away.

Collette Whittemore

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About Jillian Murphy

Jillian Murphy served as the Assistant Managing Editor of the UNG Press from 2017 to 2021. She is a writer and editor who specializes in kid lit, copyediting, and lame puns. Murphy is a UNG alumna, class of 2016.

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