About the Contest

This story is for participation in @bananafish and @calluna’s “Tell a Story to Me” contest. If you choose to participate, you can get started here.
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Prompt

I am looking for a fictional story set in the future that explains "Why Mankind Left Earth".

I want to hear a story set in the future that addresses the question Why Mankind Left Earth? Not all of mankind needs to have left earth, it could be a whole species migration, or a small group that strike out, or anything in between. How many people have left earth and where they go/have gone is up to you. You could chose to follow that journey or set your story at some point after, but you don't need to directly address why in the body of your story and the prompt could be met with a single sentence that explains what motivated them, as long as there is a reason in there somewhere. The people who have left must have left permanently, although this doesn't have to rule out return visits. I would like a fictional story included a reason that mankind has left earth. The perspective you chose and the story you tell is entirely up to you, this could be the focus of your story, or you could weave it into the background, you know I love prompt pushing interpretation, so let your imagination run wild!
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The Story

Hazel felt as light as the breeze and at times could feel the wind gently pushing her. The wind was a friend, and she could choose to allow it to flow through her. However, she loved to solidify her essence to stop the wind flow and in the process, float with the wind. The sun was beaming so bright that it appeared that the Earth would just melt away. She was grateful that she couldn’t feel a thing, nor could the terribly mutated insects harm her. However, the humans on foot were doomed to experience all that she couldn’t experience. The wind, the heat, the radiation bites of mutated insects were destined to make them want to join Hazel’s world.

“Hazel,” a familiar and soft voice called from behind. In Hazel’s world, everything was soft, calm and cool. It was in stark contrast to how it was on Earth before her transition to the new world. It was Hazel’s great-great-grandfather whom she had never met in her lifetime on Earth; it was just not possible with the life expectancy of just 60 odd years on the planet. But on this new planet, everything was possible.

“Granddy,” Hazel called out by a term which she had coined. It was shortening of the real relationship name great-great-grand-daddy to granddy. Hazel flew opposing the wind and crashed into her grand-father. He solidified his essence enough to hold her, lest she just passed through him.

“No amount of you is enough for me. I love being around you,” Christopher, Hazel’s granddy said.

“I love you too, granddy,” Hazel’s essence glowed bright, conveying her feelings without having to express it with words. That was another advantage of the new world. No one had to hide things; in fact, no one could hide things or feelings. They either felt good or neutral. The single biggest advantage of the new world was the absence of what Hazel and others remembered as negative feelings.

“So, what do we do in the current eternalness?” Chris asked.

“Let’s do what we did in the recent past eternalness. We will go see your field, granddy.”

“Let’s go.” Chris held Hazel’s hands and closed his eyes in concentration. In the blink of an eye, both of them were in front of huge concrete structures which filled their sight as far as they could see. Hazel remembered calling them buildings back in her Earth days.

“But granddy, where’s the field?”

“Hold on, my darling,” Chris waved his hand in a circular motion, and the settings started to change. The buildings began to degrow until they remained no more, the roads and the pathways contracted, and tree stubs began to appear. In a few more seconds, the stubs grew to form trees, and many more trees appeared from nowhere until Hazel’s essence felt cool just by the presence of so much greenery around her.

“This is how the field was before generation after generation things changed and all those concrete structures came by,” Chris explained to Hazel.

“Oh, granddy, this is so beautiful, fulfilling and happy place,” Hazel said while unable to hold her essence lighting up once again. “Why would we have let this go for the concrete structures? They aren’t so pretty.”

“That’s because of a human feeling called greed,” Chris said.

“Greed? How do I feel greed? I can’t feel it.”

“That’s the good part. You don’t get to feel such feelings in this world, and I am pretty sure it is the best thing that this world has to offer.”

“But granddy, I don’t remember feeling this emotion back on Earth, either.”

“That’s because you transitioned when you were twelve years old. That is too young in Earth terms to feel that emotion,” Chris smiled at his angel of a grand-daughter, “and let me tell you, you missed nothing.”

“Okay, then I don’t want to know it,” Hazel smiled.

“Granddy, why are the humans on Earth constantly hiding?”

“That’s because the Sun is too intense for them to bear. They cannot stand in the sunlight and live to tell the tale. That’s why they hide. They come out in the night to meet, greet and collect food.”

“The sun doesn’t feel so intense to me, granddy.”

“That’s because you see it from the new world. The sunlight just passes through you. It is not so with the humans,” Chris was fascinated by all the questions that Hazel had. Had he been a human, he would have felt bad that Hazel transitioned so soon; but now, he can’t feel ‘bad’. “Also, we are on Earth too. It’s just that we are in a different dimension on the same Earth.”

“Different dine mention?”

“Mwahahah,” Chris burst out laughing. Thankfully, laughter was still an accepted expression in the new world.

“Di-mention,” Chris tried to correct Hazel.

“Di-mention. Di-mention, okay, got it,” Hazel appeared cheery and in a moment slid into less than cheery.

“Hmm.. but what is a dimension?”

“It is a big word that scientists back on Earth invented. But for us, it is as simple as a veil put on Earth to separate us from humans.”

“Veil? Oh… oh… oh.. I get it. That’s why they can’t see us,” Hazel suggested.

“Exactly, my smart little eternalness,” Chris beamed.

“But why can we see them?”

That’s because we are in a stronger world than theirs. This world automatically makes our senses stronger than humans. So, we can see through the veil, but they can’t see us behind the veil.”

Hazel took a moment out of eternalness to think about what granddy just told her. Chris could see that Hazel was trying to make sense out of everything. Then she glowed again.

“The veil also protects us from the Sun, the insects of the Earth and all ungood things.”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to descend to the old Earth?”

“Yes, granddy, let’s do it.”

“Okay, so solidify your essence enough till you can feel soil below your feet,” Chris pointed to Hazel’s legs. “We are floating right now, so we will have to get our legs close to the soil. Careful, don’t go too low, or you will go below the soil.”

“Okay, granddy,” and Hazel started to solidify until she could feel the soil below her legs.

“That should be enough. We are here.”

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Planet Earth

“Granddy, I still can’t feel any of the things that you said about Earth, and we are under the Sun.”

“That’s because though we can transition to this world, we still aren’t of this world. So, none of the things from this place can affect us.”

While Hazel couldn't feel or smell anything, she could see things which were not seen in the new world. The Sun's dimming light was casting shadows on what appeared to be decaying carcasses of... humans. She wasn't sure for how long they would have been there. They were burnt, probably by the Sun's heat, and whatever remained were decaying. There was filth all around and no one seemed to have cleaned things. Earth was dirtier than what Hazel remembered as dirty.

“Oh,” just then Hazel saw a human approaching as it was close to sunset. “Granddy, I am going to say hi to him.”

“No, wait,” but before Chris could say anything, Hazel flew to the man. The man was dumbfounded to see a hazy looking girl in front of him. And as Chris expected, he expressed the exact emotion that he thought he would.

“Oh s**t. It’s a spirit. Help me,” and the man ran in the opposite direction.

“What happened, granddy?”

“He got scared of you.”

“Scared?”

“You remember the emotion you felt when your friend pushed you once on the stairs?”

“Yes, I remember. I could have got hurt.”

“This is that same emotion.”

“But why?”

“Here’s something you need to know, Hazel,” Chris knelt before her. “For people of this world, we are dead. We do not exist for them. The bigger problem is that they don’t know what happens to dead people.”

“So, we are dead?”

“Yes.”

“Why? How?”

“How is different for both of us. I transitioned because of age, and that was way before you were born. But you and every other human who transitioned…”

“Transitioned means died?”

“Yes, my smart angel. In your case, it was the Sun expanding and heating the Earth. Many many humans died, and the remaining will die too.”

“But why are they afraid of me?”

“Because what humans can’t understand, they only know to fear.”

“So, is our world where they will all come?”

“Yes, but that is not the last resting place. There is an even better place where we will all further transcend, once all humans join us.”

“Oh,” Hazel looked at Chris without the ability to express dejection, and therefore, caught in-between. “Is dying bad?”

“No, dear. That’s how we came here, didn’t we?”

“Hmm. Why do many of us from the new world come back here now and then?”

Chris smiled. “You transitioned when you were twelve, but there were many who transitioned when they were the age of twenty and above. Many of them still have their loved ones back on Earth, so they keep coming to see them.”

“I do not have many to come back to, is that why I don’t feel the need to come here often?”

“Because your parents and friends all transitioned at the same time. They all are in the new world, and hence you don’t have the urge to go back to meet anyone. No one is left on Earth.”

“Did you also go back to Earth often, granddy?”

“Yes, I did. But then that was only till granmmy and others were here. Once they transitioned, I stopped coming to Earth.”

“I get it now, granddy,” Hazel’s glow reappeared. “Let’s go back to our world and wait for all humans to join.”

“Let’s do it.”

“I am eager to see the world that we would finally transcend to,” Hazel smiled.

“I am too, Hazel,” Chris said.

They both softened their essence and transitioned back to the new world.

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Explanation

I am sure a bit of explanation is required. The story is about the Sun growing in size, which is scientifically proven to happen, as it ages. While it does grow, the Sun will swallow Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Just imagine how big it will grow. The distance between the Sun and Earth is 149.6 million miles, and it will grow way beyond that. Scary, right?

But don’t sweat, it will take four billion years, at least, for that episode to happen. So, chill! 😊

We are safe, hallellujjiiaa!!
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Image Courtesy: Pixabay