They broke it down one day, our humble little universe. They documented it all with equations and charts. Some of them even drew pictures. Atoms, particles, strings – they showed how it all tied together, how everything was connected and why the choices you made had consequences.

Then, when they were finished breaking it down, they built it back up, piece by piece, from the invisible to the unseen. They showed how it got bigger and bigger until there was nothing save an assortment of dots, and the further you went, the harder it was to connect them. Pretty soon, all you could see was the emptiness.

And yet, whether all of it mattered or none of it did, whether it was part of a grand design or just the way things were, the one thing Sonja knew for sure was that the universe was working against her. And when dealing with a world that actively hated her, she figured the best thing to do was not make any plans. The less she tried to make happen, the less disappointed she would be by the outcome. So one day, she just decided to shut herself in.

With each passing day, the world outside grew smaller and smaller, and the space inside her apartment grew ever so big. She wondered if perhaps she was shrinking, turning so tiny that none of her roommates could see her. In the end, Sonja wasn’t sure if this made her a planet or an atom, nor could she decide which one she preferred to be.