[Tanka] A World Without Anyone

After work, I was refueling at a self-service gas station.
It was around 10 p.m., but the surrounding shops were closed and dark, there were no cars on the road, and no one else was refueling.
All I could hear was the sound of gasoline flowing in and the mechanical voice of a commercial playing from the pump.
The lack of people was so extreme, and the situation was so quiet, that I felt worried before I felt scared.


Could it be that, without me noticing, everyone else has gone somewhere?
Could it be that I am the only one left in the world?

While I was lost in such thoughts, the refueling seemed to finish, and the lever in my hand clicked and stopped with a clunk.
I returned the nozzle to its place, took the receipt that came out, and hurried home.
On the way, cars were driving as usual, and at home, my family was there as usual.

For just a moment, I felt like I had been left alone in the world.
What I felt was fear, impatience, and a slight sense of excitement and exhilaration.
There was no sense of loneliness.
Was it because I believed deep down that it was impossible to be left alone in the world, or is loneliness something you only feel when others are present?
I recall now that there was a sense of sadness.