23rd March, 3005

It was 23^rd March, 3005.

Murtagh opened his eyes. The morning sun was unsparing. He got out of bed and brushed his teeth with a twig from a medicinal tree he had collected few days ago. He thought of breakfast and opened his zero-energy cool chamber. Murtagh takes pride in his invention which helps him store his food. There was no one in the world to provide electricity to run a proper fridge. It was a very large box like structure made of two layers of bricks with sand in between. A constant supply of water was to be provided to the sand layer so that when the water evaporates out of the sand, it produces a cooling effect and thus the contents of the box are properly preserved by the cold temperature maintained inside. He found that there was no food stored in the chamber, so he went out in search of food.

Murtagh had achieved what many people might have failed to do in his place – to create a home without electricity supply or, to be precise, a home without fan, fridge, phone, electric light, clock, TV etcetera. But that had never bothered him. He made many inventions to replace those things. His house was eco-friendly, yet it had all the necessary things…

… except for family and friends. What bothered him was that he was the last one of his species – the humans.

Murtagh went strolling through the streets of Kolkata, or more like the forests of Kolkata. Yes, ever since the extinction of human beings twelve years back, Nature had taken over with unimaginable frenzy as the flora and fauna of the once congested city had grown almost fifty times. It was remarkable to see the change the world had undergone without the presence of humans. The world seemed to start anew. Who could have predicted that the future world would be like this?!

Murtagh stopped by a mango tree and climbed up to collect the ripe mangoes. A squirrel eyed him suspiciously. A crow cawed from a nearby branch. A magpie sang out in its melodious voice. The trees swayed in the wind. The beauty of nature was incomparable. Murtagh climbed down the tree with a handful of mangoes…only that which he needed for next two days and no more. He put the mangoes in a sack and left.

Next, he arrived by a pond for fishing. He had become extremely skilled in methods of hunting and gathering food. He made several tools for hunting, fishing, and collecting fruits from tall trees. He wondered whether the people he had known would be proud of his accomplishments. He spent the rest of the morning in idle fishing.

After he had hunted down enough fish for the rest of the week, he carried them home. He put the fish and the fruits in his zero-energy cool chamber, leaving only some fish for his breakfast. Cooking was easy enough. He had an old mirror which he used to converge sun rays and leaves, or shredded wood would catch fire in an instant. He roasted the fish along with some vegetables. The vegetables were from his garden. He had learnt to eat without salt; thus, it did not bother him much.

Humans were a clever yet ignorant race, he thought. There was no doubt that they themselves brought extinction to their race. Their extreme dependence on technology and complete ignorance about pollution of nature proved to be a dangerous fatality. Yet there was Murtagh. Why he was the only one to survive, only God knows. His respect for nature and intelligent inventions on eco-friendly means of survival was unique.

But his fate was worse than death. At first, he felt helpless and confused. He lost the urge to live. How could anyone live without purpose? Everyone needed to have a purpose in life, while he had none. The idea tortured him unimaginably. Gradually he began to recover and find purpose in life – purpose to survive, read, gain knowledge, and learn about the world. It was the only thing that had kept him alive. Thus, he spent his time reading, planting trees, inventing new things, hunting, and studying wildlife. There were more than thousands of books in his covered terrace which he had collected from several places.

He finished his breakfast and drank some water. As there was no electronic filter, he created another structure to filter impure water. It was a funnel like structure with a straw at one end and open at the other end with four layers of pebbles, sand, charcoal, and cotton cloth in between. He named it sand – charcoal purifier. By pouring impure water over the open end, the water would be purified, and pure water would come out of the straw from the other end.

Murtagh spent the rest of the day outside with his only companion – his shadow. His only feeling over the last 12 years was that of loneliness. Though there were birds and animals, yet none could replace the friendship he used to have with his kind. He always felt that humans should be given a second chance to redeem themselves. But it was a little too late for that. All hope had gone. Yet he dreamt of the possibility that one day, one morning, all his former family, friends, teachers, neighbours, and even enemies would all reappear suddenly.

It was dark. Murtagh went home and went up to the terrace. There he would stare at the stars and the moon. Earlier only the moon was visible but now all the stars, galaxies and planets were clearly visible and sparkling in the dark night sky, all because of the absence of pollution. The world had become what it once used to be.

Next morning a sudden noise outside his house woke him up. Murtagh sat upright on his bed and listened carefully. He heard confused voices and murmurings outside. Voices!? Murmurings!? Was it really possible!? – he thought. Did his wish come true!? Suddenly he heard a knock on his door. Excitement swallowed Murtagh. His pulse raced. He ran to open his door, with surging hope in his heart.