Halved

Maybe it is two humble planets. Passing by, they glance at a shallow angle, each gaining a fresh scar on their surfaces. With but millions of years, all traces of their short encounter erode away. 

Maybe it is a planet and a brilliant star. The light is irresistible, as the star knows well. The planet hurdles through emptiness towards the shining beacon, until it is torn into a billion fragments and consumed without even a sign of hesitation. 

Maybe it is two stars, each mesmerized by the other. Their hellish flames lick the other as they consummate their desires, and a fiery display decorates one small corner of the evening sky. Both are scattered in a cloud of cosmic dust, the birthplace of a new generation of ill-fated bodies.