On Dying

A man's final thoughts before he leaves for the afterlife.

There is no better place to think than on a deathbed. It may seem morbid, or eerie, or just plain frightening to think this, but nonetheless it is true. When all you’ve got to do all day is lie in a bed your mind wanders more than it had ever been able to before. His father had muttered this to him before he’d left, and he didn’t believe it until he experienced it himself.

               

He felt lost in a forest, when really he was just wandering the corridors of his own mind. He never realized how much room there was for thought. When it was late and his daughter had retired to her room for the evening he would struggle his way to upright position and stare into the dancing flames of the fireplace across the room.

               

That is Hell, he would think to himself. Then he would let his gaze trail up to the mantle, where photographs of his parents and his wife and his daughter were cozy in wooden frames. That is Heaven, he decided. He would picture a rope dangling off the mantle, hovering over the fire dangerously. He could see himself, miniaturized, clinging to that rope, inching upward slowly. Each huff of his breath and reach of his hands brought him closer to his goal, but he had to be careful. One wrong move, one little slip, and he tumble down, down, down into the pit of fire below.

               

Maybe that’s what the afterlife would be like. He would be presented with a challenge. If he succeeded he’d be sent to Heaven. If he failed, he would be damned to Hell.

               

Perhaps someone would help him climb. Angels, possibly. Or his parents as a final act of kindness for their son. Maybe even Jesus himself would assist him. Or maybe…he would be on his own. Maybe that’s all life, and death in turn, really was. An individual sport, a solo act, a challenge that only you can overcome.

               

On one particular night, while his thoughts were running wild in his head, a storm raged outside. He strained to see out of the single window in his tiny room. Lightning flashed, a jagged sword cutting the sky in two. Thunder clapped, like gunshots. The pitter-patter of the rain was a drum beat keeping time, signaling both thunder and lightning. Drop-drop-drop-rumble-flash-drop-clap-rumble-flash-drop-drop-drop…The world, he thought, is a battlefield.

               

He tapped his fingers on the bed each time a droplet of rainwater tapped his window. He closed his eyes each time the thunder sounded overhead, and when the lightning illuminated the black sky he would open his eyes and be temporarily blinded by its white light.

               

He’d heard stories of people who had been pronounced dead who had woken up minutes later claiming to have seen a great light. Was that what greeted you on the other side? When the war of life was over were you welcomed that way? It was a peaceful thing to think about. After a life of hardships, fading into something so beautiful seemed comforting.

               

He felt a pang in his heart, felt his body sink deeper into his mattress. Was this it, then? He’d always wondered if dying would hurt, if he’d be aware of what was happening to him. He felt another pang, and then he sunk down deeper. He grabbed onto the sheets with as much strength as he could muster, as if he was trying to hold onto life.

               

The door creaked open, although he could barely hear it over the rush of thoughts in his confused mind. He heard soft footsteps on the floor, felt a warm hand touch his skin.

               

This, he thought, with a long, deep sigh, is an angel.

               

He opened his eyes as much as he could and he found that he could still see the flickering flames of the fire across the room. They cast shadows all about the room, and as they died down everything seemed to darken around him until the only things he was sure existed were himself and a single lonely ember in the hearth.

               

  He blinked once, and the ember was gone.

Author's Note

Short little story I came up with in theology today. Comments and crit greatly appreciated. ^^

Reviews

[John McGrael]

i really like this!!!

you have theology class too?!?!

no way!

[Drakana Wind]

That is quite powerful, I have to say. Not only is your writing amazing, as always, with the imagery and the flow, but the concept and the storyline are thought provoking and quite interesting, especially in the way that you told it. Good job!!

[Marlena]

Great! I found a typo again .... XD but I definitely like it, I mean, the ending, it all was great but the ending line was perfect for this. Good job ^^

[Winter Poison]

WOAH. Dude.

Awesome. I really have no other words for it. Sad, emotional, provocative, and just plain ol' epic. 100%.