We gathered beneath it, dozens becoming hundreds, staring up at the spreading cracks in the firmament. Some held hands, some wept. This is what happens when worlds collide. When He made the firmament, he made it fine and thin. The worlds spun upon wheels perfect and inviolate, separate in their bounds. An efficient craftsman - no need to build a strong wall where the finest coat of celestial plaster would do. But when He died, or wandered off, or became senile - whatever it was that caused Him to leave (and he left so many ages ago, it has been millennia since anyone heard His voice from a flaming bush or saw Him appear in a cloud) - who was there to maintain the works? We stand beneath the wound, staring at the cracking sky; we do not know which world fell off its track and careened into our own, but we can see the result. The glowing silver eggshell cracks in the universe spreading out from the point of impact, the whisper of the leaking wind around us. We hope, and pray, and wait. 2007-07-07T09:35:15Z http://ficlets.com/feed/story/4886 <p>Excellent work, literate and inspired and majestic. We know all we need to know in this bit. A perfect little story.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/4886?basename=4229 2007-07-07T09:35:15Z T.F. Torrey http://ficlets.com/authors/tftorrey <p>Thanks.<br />I&#8217;m neither satisfied <strong>nor</strong> dissatisfied with God. But God&#8217;s still an interesting literary idea.<br />The photo suggested a sky cracking even before I saw the title, and I started thinking about what might happen if the sky <em>was</em> a firmament, as the writers of the Old Testament believed, and what would happen if something banged into it from outside. Unfortunately, I couldn&#8217;t quite find the right voice for the story; and I&#8217;m still not happy with the compromise I reached. Still, I&#8217;m glad you enjoyed it.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/4886?basename=4218 2007-07-06T23:45:13Z Howie Amourscow http://ficlets.com/authors/user_396 <p>I don&#8217;t know how to describe this, but it&#8217;s really awesome. Thank you for being dissatisfied enough with God to write it :)</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/4886?basename=4192 2007-07-06T18:16:41Z MeAndTheMoon http://ficlets.com/authors/meandthemoon