Asteroid
Chewed up and spat out by another day,Larni and Kyle watched impassively as Princess,their mastiff,emptied her bowels onto their sun-bleached back lawn. “Apparently,an asteroid might collide with Earth in a few years,” Larni said,sipping a bird-bath-sized glass of riesling. “If it hits …” She gestured an explosion. “Wouldn’t be the end of the world,” Kyle responded. Larni cocked an eyebrow:“Um,it literally would be.” “Sure,” Kyle said,gesturing vaguely with his beer bottle,“but it wouldn’t be the end of the world,would it?” Larni,catching on,nodded. “Nah,I guess not.” Words by Paul Connolly. Illustration by Jim Pavlidis.