No one knew how long the event had been going on or when it started. Because the change of days could no longer be perceived. Neither day nor night. Not even dusk. And if dusk never arrived, it would seem futile to wait for the dawn to appear on the eastern horizon as a sign of the change of day. That’s how time seemed to stop moving. The sky was indeed clear, but not bright. Because there, no sun or moon or stars could be seen emitting or reflecting light. Not a single ray of light or shine was seen above the earth. What existed was only dimness. As far as the eye could see, only dimness was captured. And only that dimness overshadowed the earth, which, as far as the eye could see, only resembled a dusty purple carpet.
And who knows how many of them there were, no one could tell. Maybe thousands. Maybe millions. What’s certain is that the line of people was so long. Very, very long. It continued to snake from one end to the other. And how long it had been going on, no one knew. Because the rotation of the earth seemed to have stopped, and it seemed like there was never a change of days.
At first, they lined up neatly, walking orderly. They always walked side by side, almost holding hands, with their gazes fixed straight ahead. Many of them seemed to be murmuring, but no sound came out. So, the atmosphere was so quiet and solemn. The only sounds heard were the sighs of breaths and the sound of their footsteps. They continued to move forward.
The only one who didn’t move was one: a dog. It just sat across. Across the boundary of the line of moving and silent people. The dog sat crouched, with its hind legs bent, and its front legs remained straight to support its body and head. Although its body was motionless, its eyes never stopped moving. Its eyes kept moving, swirling around, following the movement of the line of people, watching each and every person who was part of that line. No one knew how long it had been sitting there, but that wasn’t important. Because, wouldn’t the meaning of time be lost if the earth stopped rotating?