When the clouds appeared, what had already become an increasingly difficult task due to the scorching sun and hardened soil turned into a true test of resilience.
In rural Henan, in Huangzhuang, many spent their days racing against time to harvest their crops as quickly as possible. Yet, the sun showed no mercy and the heat persisted even through the night. When the first sign of cloud formation appeared, many sighed in relief, only to soon notice that something was amiss.
The red clouds covered everything, plunging everyone into darkness. The world went dark, and the only remaining light came from flashlights and lamps, along with the faint glow that illuminates the clouds during the day and the lightning that streaks across them constantly.
"Daddy," said Li Ming, nudging his father's shoulder, "it's time to go back; Mom must be waiting already."
"...Alright..."
The clouds had not shone for some time, signaling that the day had ended. However, cast into darkness, it became easy to lose track of the passing time.
At first, everyone persevered with the harvest even as the clouds shrouded the skies. But upon seeing the news that this was a global event, and upon waking the next day to find that nothing had changed and the darkness persisted, speculations and theories began to infiltrate everyone's minds.
Not many left their homes and ran to the fields, convinced they could harvest the wheat. And those who did, acted purely out of routine. After all, if they just stayed home and did nothing, what would be left for them but the fear and doubts that plague everyone's hearts?
"All right," replied Li Wei, "let's head back..."
A place once filled not only with wheat but also with people and smiles, where the sun shone beautifully and intensely, was now illuminated only by small points of light—be they flashlights or headlights. All those who bothered to come worked in complete and heavy silence.
There were no conversations, much less any sign of enthusiasm. They climbed into their harvesters and marched to the field, but their faces made it obvious that their hearts were not in it. Li Wei understood—after all, fear and doubt filled him, constantly stirring the idea of spending these last moments with his family. Yet if he did, he had no confidence he could remain sane and capable of taking care of them.
Cultivating, watering the wheat, and harvesting it—this was all he was capable of at the moment. If he kept it up, when everything returned to normal, even if it took time, his mind would still be intact. A good thing, since many couldn't say the same.
"Honey... will you still come back...?" asked Li Mei. Her hands trembled so much that the rachs didn't stop along her fingers. "...I don't think it's necessary to keep harvesting the wheat now. Hardly anyone is doing it anymore..."
Silence fell. The children continued eating, and Li Wei did not reply at first.
"If I don't do this, we will lose the entire crop..." he said. "Wheat is resilient, but under such extreme conditions, even it can't withstand it for long."
"That doesn't matter!" exclaimed Li Mei. The rachs fell onto the table along with the tears in her eyes. "...What good is it, if we won't be able to use it later?!"
"...I told you to stop paying attention to those internet forums. Look, it's scaring the children."
Li Wei sighed. Any hint of hunger he felt had vanished.
"There's no proof that anything will happen," he said, setting aside the small sticks. "...Don't give up... if you don't want to do it for yourself or for me, do it for our children."
The lamp shines above their heads, yet a gloomy world awaits them outside the window. No matter the hour, they are always reminded of the situation they're in.
Li Wei stopped at the door and looked up at the skies. Strange purple lightning streaked through the clouds.
"Are you coming, Ming'er?" he asked. The boy responded with a nod. He leaped from his chair and ran out the door.
With his hands, Li Wei called out to his daughter: "Take care of your mother..." he said, after kissing her on the forehead. "I'll be right back. I just need to put away the harvester."
"Okay, Daddy," replied Li Jia. The girl trembled, as the lightning frightened her. And when her father turned his back, she quickly hid behind the wall, yet she did not leave.
Li Wei stopped by the car and looked back. The headlight illuminated him, and the lamp on the porch allowed him to see Li Jia. The two smiled, waving at each other—a common ritual every time he left the house.
As he reached for the doorknob, something felt off. For a moment, Li Wei thought he had sensed something pass near his ear. Then, glancing over his shoulder, he saw a droplet.
The sound grew louder, and above the car, several red droplets began to fall.
"Daddy... is that... rain?" asked Li Ming, confused. For Li Wei might not have fully grasped what was happening due to the shock of the moment, yet how could he mistake those red drops for water under normal circumstances?
"Sweetheart!" exclaimed Li Mei, running toward him.
They embraced and spun around with smiles as the crimson rain fell upon their bodies. Consequences? No one thought about that at first, as many repeated the same act.
The rain fell over the world, reaching every small and hidden corner of the planet. It trickled through narrow spaces as if it were sneaking in, seeking, on its own accord, every tiny nook of the earth.
Touched, the soil absorbed it. And when the red drops streamed over every kind of plant, insect, or animal, they neither felt nor noticed, but the drops penetrated their skins and coursed through their bodies.
Then, when the sun's ray emerged in the sky once more, everyone's tears were already mixed with that red, bloody liquid. Their bodies and the world were no longer the same.
Like a shared consciousness, the thought that everything had finally ended ran through the mind of every aware human being at that moment. However, upon opening his eyes, Li Wei pulled his lips away from Li Mei's and ran.
"Li Jia!" he cried in panic. "No, no, no, no, no! Jia, please. Please, don't...!"
What had happened? Li Mei did not understand, and she comprehended even less how Li Wei had appeared where Jia was in the blink of an eye. She ran alongside Li Ming, without time to gather her thoughts. But suddenly, she saw her little son falling by her side, and without time to react or scream, she felt her legs give out.
With his daughter's body in his arms, Li Wei tried to wake her. Nothing worked. But as he ran his hand over the girl's face, the strange cause became obvious: "Spines...?!" he wondered, as he felt a huge number emerging from her face.
"How?! There aren't any spines where she fell, so—!"
A strange sound of something falling suddenly reached his ears. He turned, only to see his son's body being dragged into the ground and his wife being enveloped by the surrounding plants. Neither of them had any life left.
"Li Mei! Ming'er!"
Getting up was impossible, and he soon realized it. His efforts were futile, for his legs no longer moved. The grass around him slowly and subtly wrapped him up, unnoticed. And all around, in a silent place where the sun shone as the clouds disappeared, his screams echoed. Until at some point, they too fell silent.