“I am a prophet,” the man said. Young, tired-looking, dressed in plain clothes, he looked out of place in the decorated visitors’ chair, but there was some kind of determination on his face.

I said nothing. I was just waiting for him to say something sensible, while wondering what he wanted from me. He came to my office, God only knows how he had managed to go past my secretary. I’m the editor-in-chief of one of the biggest newspapers on the planet, “Universal Today”, and I am a busy man. The competition never sleeps and all of my time is dedicated to the task of staying ahead of them. That’s why I was in no mood to listen to some strangers and their funny claims. Yet, I’m too polite to even dream of throwing him out the door. So I waited.

He took my silence as an encouraging sign and went on. “I’ve had a vision. It was about the end of the world.” He paused again.

Obviously, he expected some reaction from me. Again, I said nothing.

“It will be terrible,” he continued, and his eyes shone like diamonds in the dark. He seemed unperturbed by my silence. I guessed he was used to much worse. “First, there will come the rain. It will pour for weeks without stopping. The whole Earth will be flooded. Most of the people will drown. There will be some survivors in the highest mountains, but they won’t last much longer. Because then, there will come the cold. They will freeze to death, probably wishing they had died earlier.”

“And there will be no one left?” I asked.

“No one,” he confirmed. “As I told you, this will be the end of the world.”

I didn’t know what to say. It was evident, that I was wasting my valuable time with some psycho. I guessed he wanted me to publish his story, as some kind of publicity for him. I would do no such thing. There were enough other newspapers (dare I call them “newspapers”?), which would gladly eat him whole, but mine was not one of them.

“What do you want from me?” I asked him, though I was sure of the answer.

“To warn the people.”

I knew it.

He continued. “I came to you, because ‘Universal Today’ is the most distinguished and popular newspaper in the world.” I was about to tell him that flattery would not get him anything from me, but he seemed to be gaining momentum with every word. “People read you newspaper and believe you. They will take heed of my words if they see them on your pages. We must save as many of them as we can. Not all of them, we won’t be able to do it, but as many as possible. We-”

I interrupted him. “Wait a minute. You said it would be the end of the world, right?”

“That’s right. People will die with billions-”

“So how do you propose ‘we’ save even some of them?” Don’t think that I was seriously considering publishing his story. He didn’t have a chance. I just wanted to expose his lies through his own words. As I said, I was too polite to just kick him out. But my patience has its limits, though.

He shifted uneasily in his chair. “There’s the Methuselah. I know it won’t be able to take more than 10,000, and there will have to be enough free space for the animals and the plants, but it is our only hope. Otherwise, the sun will set upon humanity. We will enter a long night, we’ve never imagined possible, and no one of us will live to see the next morning.”

I lit a cigarette. I usually don’t smoke much, but this guy was starting to get on my nerves. I guess, you have all met people like him, who just irritate you on a subconscious level. He referred to the new spaceship we, the whole humanity, have built. We, indeed, intended to travel across the stars and spread our seed in the other galaxies, but everything was still in experimental stage. They haven’t even chosen the destination yet. Still, for some unknown reason, this lunatic wanted to force things. Thank God, at least it wasn’t some aliens, who would come to rescue us, like some knights in shining armor.

I looked through the panoramic window, as if in thought. Yes, I was thinking, but the only thing that came to mind was that this man would probably want to be one of the first to step aboard the Methuselah. Instead, I was enjoying the view, trying to calm myself. One of the privileges of being a top executive is the spacious office, on the highest floors of the building, as a rule, and with a great view. Mine was no exception. It was situated on the thirty-seventh floor of the skyscraper that housed “Universal Today”. I could see half the city through the window. In most of the cases, it was enough just to look at the scene, and it was enough to soothe my mind.

At last, I said. “Very poetic. Have you considered trying to write professionally?”

He probably got the message in my words, because he retorted agitatedly. “It doesn’t matter how I put it, what words I choose. We will all face grim oblivion if you don’t take me seriously.”

“It’s hard to take you seriously. As you said it yourself, my newspaper is one of the most renowned,” I replied, after I had regained my inner composure. “There are newsprints that will be interested in your story, but unfortunately for you, we publish nothing but cold, hard facts.”

“That’s why I’m here,” he started again. He didn’t look the least uncomfortable now. “What I’m telling you is the truth. I don’t want it lost among the countless so-called ‘true stories’, told by ‘witnesses’. Besides, if I have it published in one of those newspapers, not many people will pay attention to it. And the warning will be lost.”

Ah, yes. Not simply publicity, as I had thought. The man wanted it on the largest scale possible. Suddenly, I started having fun, so I decided to play along some more. I could always show him the door when I wanted.

“I think I see. What you say sounds quite logical, after all. What’s the point in a warning that will not be heard.”

“Exactly…”

“But, in case I decide to publish your story — I’m not saying that I will, mind you. You haven’t convinced me yet. But, in case I decide to publish your story, you must tell me some more about this ‘end of the world’. I don’t think I heard you say one thing that is the most important of all, in my opinion. When is it going to happen?”

The man seemed to consider my words. He shifted uneasily in the big chair. Finally, he said.

“I guess you’re right. I must have missed it. I haven’t slept for three days after I had this vision, you know. All this time, thinking what to do, I am pretty tired. I tried to make the national television broadcast it, but they just threw me out.” Like I wouldn’t do it, I thought. The man continued. “Then, I tried the radio. No luck there, too. You’re my last hope. If you turn me down, I don’t know what shall I do.”

Get a good night’s sleep, I suggested in my mind. Instead, I said. “You didn’t answer my question. When is it going to happen? Or maybe your vision didn’t provide you with that knowledge?” I tried to keep the edge off my voice. I don’t know if I was successful.

“In two days,” came the unexpected answer.

Now, that made me angry. For all I knew, I thought he was some maniac, who wanted to fly away aboard the Methuselah, and who would give us at least several years to make things ready. But he wanted it now. Today or tomorrow, to be exact. What if he was suffering from some lethal disease and he couldn’t wait? That would explain his desperate attempt. I was angry nonetheless. What he had told me was absurd, but his last words were more than ridiculous. He had played with me, but I was about to put an end to it.

I rose from my chair, my eyes were glowering, and I couldn’t keep my voice down.

“Young man,” I shouted at him, “I don’t think your game is funny anymore! I suggest, it’d be best if you leave my office at once! Don’t make me call the security to escort you to the exit!”

I turned away from him and stared through the window. Its magic wasn’t working this time. I was boiling inside. My rage was looking for an outlet. If this man remained here a second longer, I would gladly kick him out myself.

He didn’t start for the door, though I had made it clear that our meeting was over. Instead, he went to the window and said. “I saw you watching outside a few times. You really like this view, don’t you?” I just glared at him. He continued calmly. “I was thinking of a way to make you believe me. As I said, you are my last hope. I have nowhere else to go, no one else to talk to. With what I will do now I guarantee you that my words were true, down to the very last of them. Warn the people, before it’s too late. Otherwise, enjoy your view for the next two days, for they will be your last.”

With these words, he opened the window and stepped through it. I stood in my place, as if a lightning had struck me. I made no move to stop him, and I wouldn’t have been able to, even if I had tried. He didn’t jump out, he just made one step and fell, with calm determination on his face. He didn’t scream either.

The police came. I told them everything, they wrote it down and said that they would check my story with the television and the radio. A couple of hours later, they called and told me that the same man had been to the other two places and the people there had confirmed that he had told them the same crazy things. The police said that it was a suicide and that the case was closed.

I remained in my office for the rest of the day. I told my secretary that I didn’t want to see anyone. I just stayed there and thought. I didn’t know what to do about all this. The man had made a great sacrifice to make me believe him. If he wasn’t crazy, of course. I couldn’t spread panic amongst the people because of something that might not be true. Finally, I decided to publish a small article about him.

It was published in the next edition. It was not on the first page, as he probably wanted. It was on one of the last pages. Its title read “Madman jumps from the office of the editor-in-chief”. There was a compromise with my conscience and it was the subtitle: “He claims the end of the world is coming tomorrow”. I opened the newspaper and read the article once again. I was probably one of the few people who did so. I folded the newspaper and I forgot about the young man.

On the next day, the second after the suicide, I woke up as usual, I shaved, got dressed and went to work. Everything seemed normal. There was not a hint of a cloud in the skies. It was a beautiful sunny spring day.

Then, the rains came.

The End