Only he was left.
He had lost his world. He had left his world behind him.
And, likewise, on this day, had all the others—all the humans that were alive this moment.
They might not know it yet, but they, too, had left their world behind them. It would never be the same again.
You said good bye to so many things, to so many loves, to so many dreams.
“Good bye, Mary,” he said. “Forgive me and God keep you.”
He sat down at the table and pulled the journal that lay upon its top in front of him. He flipped it open, searching for the pages he must fill.
He had work to do.
Now he was ready for it.
He had said his last good bye.
CLIFFORD D. SIMAK
Winner of the International Fantasy Award for his brilliantly prophetic novel City, Mr. Simak has more than 120 published stories to his credit. He is the author of Ring Around the Sun, Time Is the Simplest Thing, and most recently, They Walked Like Men. He has been a journalist ever since he left college, and for the past fourteen years has been News Editor of the Minneapolis Star. Born in Wisconsin, Mr. Simak lives with his wife and two children in Excelsior, Minnesota.
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