a cup of coffee

I'm actually planning on turning this into a book, but I didn't have time to write more so I'm leaving it at this for now

I squeezed my eyes shut, and heard nothing more than silence. I must have died; it was shockingly painless. Slowly my eyelids opened, and I took a peek at what I thought would be some sort of afterlife place. To my surprise, I was exactly where I was when I died-- should have died. Everything around me was still; people weren’t moving, and cars were positioned on the street like scattered pieces of a puzzle. But I was about to be killed; the bus was three inches away from my shaking body. What the hell, I thought. I was unable to properly process everything I was seeing. Time couldn't stop, it wasn’t real. It defied everything that was logical to me. We weren't supposed to cheat death. I looked around, completely perplexed. Is this what happens when we die? I wondered.

There wasn't an answer to anything; it frustrated me. I glanced into the windshield of the bus beside me. The driver’s head was thrown back a little, and fear was stuck in her eyes. I hadn’t moved from the fatal spot yet, perhaps I was scared of something. I looked at the silver watch around my wrist and saw what I didn’t want to see. Time really had stopped. My next question, why the hell?

My mind urged my body to move, walk around, maybe I’d find some explanation. But I felt a strong feeling of guilt in my stomach for being alive, like I’d be cheating if I moved.

After what felt like a few minutes, if time was passing, I resorted to believing this was a dream. “Wake up Dexter.” I mumbled. I saw no reason why talking to myself was crazy, time did stop after all. “Wake up.” I said again, only louder. I tapped my palm against my forehead repeatedly. It didn’t wake me up; it gave me a headache.

“For crying out loud.” I muttered under my breath and checked the time. For a moment I’d forgotten. I looked up at the sky, birds were stuck, and I chuckled. “Oh why couldn't I have just died.”

I shook my head with amusement, although there wasn’t much to be amused about. As the amused smile left my face I heard whispers; they were too quiet and echoed for me to understand. I listened carefully, and closed my eyes for concentration. The whispers got louder, but they weren’t clear. “I can’t understand you goddammit.” I shouted with annoyance.

Move.

Finally, out of the jumbled echoes one word was clear; move. The voice was strong, demanding; it sent chills down my spine. My eyes shot open and I quickly moved away from the bus. To my surprise, it started moving again, abruptly stopping seconds after. I looked around with shock; time was passing again. The screeching when the bus stopped grabbed people’s attention. I was just wondering what the heck happened.

Many looked at me with wide eyes. The man who was crossing the street behind me when time froze wore a confused expression. “I was so sure that bus was going to hit you.” He said, furrowing his brows. I was still out of it, but managed to form a response. “So was I.” The man, with his suit and business bag, shook his head with a grin. “Well you’re a lucky man, you’ve got God on your side.” Nonsense, God wasn’t real. The man walked around the bus and the driver stepped out. The fear was no longer stuck in her eyes, for it was replaced with relief. She rushed over to my side and placed her hand on my back. “I am so sorry sir, my carelessness almost killed you.”

“I’m okay, it’s okay.”

She nodded and returned to the bus that many people were getting off. I walked away from where I was headed prior to this unexplained experience. When I woke up, I had no idea it was supposed to be the last time I’d wake up-- except it wasn’t the last. I was simply out to get a cup of coffee; a cup of coffee was supposed to be what killed me.

Somehow I was still walking.

Reviews

[3X3MPLER]

owesome piece.cant wait to read the rest of the story