The stars flicker high above him, stretching far and wide across the night sky to the furthest reaches that his eyes can see. A single tear squeezes itself free and escapes the grip of his eyes, gently falling across his cheek.

“Don’t be sad, this is how it’s all supposed to end. Not with a scream, but a whimper,” she says as she squeezes his hand tightly.

He looks over to her and smiles softly, cupping her chin in his enormous hand. “How can I not be, for someone must mourn what was lost. Someone must be witness to the wonders it once sought to show us.”

She presses the palm of his hand against her face and kisses it gently. “Then why should it be you, haven’t you already done enough?”

“I-I, I never meant for this to be, I just w-want to know the t-truth. I-I, I just asked why!”

She smiles begrudgingly, and winks as she playfully pokes him in the ribs. “You think this is all your fault? You think everything is ending because you asked a throwaway question that everybody’s asked since the dawn of time?”

“I know where you’re going with your point, and I’m humbled by your attempt at trying to soften the impact all this is having on me, but at the end of the day it’s lost.” he says sharply as he pulls his hand free from her and casts his gaze back to the heavens. “All those other worthless slackers out there you toss my coin in with never built a machine to ask their questions, whereas I did. I caused the end, by challenging the why, and for that I cannot be forgiven.”

“Why must you be forgiven? Why must you accept the fate you are given? And why don’t you ask your machine if you destroyed existence with your question and see what answer it gives!” she spits, as she tightly clenched her hands into fists and digs her heels into the soil below.

He chuckles softly, as he turns towards her with a disenchanted gaze upon his face. “Why ask a question I already know the answer to?”

“You only think you do, asking it would let you truly know the truth, and in that you will be free!”

“What are you rambling about! How can the truth possibly set me free, when I already know the answer?”

“You only think you do, but the real truth is, is that your MACHINE is a failure, YOU’RE a FAILURE, and everything that’s happening now has nothing to do with you, or your failure of a machine!” she spits with a venom laced tongue.

“Y-Y-You think I-I’m a f-failure?”

She rolls her eyes and lets out a long-winded sigh. “FUCK!” she screams. “Is that ALL you took away from that?”

“IT’S WHAT YOU FUCKING SAID!”

“OH MY GOD! I know what I said, but you’re concentrating on the pointless part, instead of the whole reason I said something! I think your machine is a piece of junk, and the world was ending anyway!”

“So why call me a failure then!”

She screams loudly and laps upon him, grabbing him by the collar and shaking. “BECAUSE YOU FUCKING WELL ARE, NOW ASK YOUR FUCKING MACHINE IF YOU’RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE END OF THE WORLD!” she screams.

“A-A-ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I-I-I’ll ask y-your god damn question, o-okay!” he stammers nervously as he pushes her away and pulls out a small device from his pocket.

They stare at each other as he switches the device on and holds his hand out before him.

“A-A-Am I responsible for the end of the world?” he asks loudly with trembling lips.

Seconds pass before the device blinks, hisses and makes several high-pitched squeezes. “YES!” a disembodied voice declared across the cosmos above them, as the stares slowly burn out.