Into Eternity

  Haunting gray skies in the distance catch my attention as I drive towards a horizon that I have seen many times.  The slight mist in the air finds itself collecting on the stunning purple flowers brought forth by the mild spring air. The contrast of vibrant spring life coupled with a dying winter sky brings forth unwanted memories of an equally contrastive nature. 

 

  While temporarily lost in that moments beauty, my mind is left fighting off the demons that have emerged through the darkened sky as well as the urges to continue driving towards the horizon until it is no more. The purple flowers poking through the recently dampened ground captivate me, and offer a balance to my rapidly deteriorating thoughts.

 

  A sickening pain envelops me as I grin; staring out the window at the gift the earth has offered me today. A sharp and icy spider web spreads throughout my body and lacerates my soft and numbing tissue. The striking colored flowers begin to fade and match the now blackened sagging clouds. My heart aching over the pain I have caused and I am left contemplating the circular nature of the choices I made; which have left me suffering for the suffering I have created. 

 

  As my conscious mind shuts off, I am left in silence. Merely an observer looking in from the outside, floating down the road together in uncertainty. Unaware of where we are going and hopelessly powerless to the point of no longer having a say in my own thoughts or actions. 

 

  This all too frequently traveled road has desaturated before me. All vibrancy has left the landscape. The air now chilled, my breath hangs heavy. Every expulsion from my lungs builds frost upon my dashboard. A frozen coffin built before my eyes as the last visions of this spring day disappear forever.  The sun burns through the dispersing clouds, seemingly to better illuminate the clearing path before me. Not a sound can be heard anymore. The wind whipping against my accelerating car has gone. Any voice within my head has faded beyond a whisper. The last evidence of my journey down this road can be seen as I float peacefully above my car. I feel the sun's warmth upon my face again as I accept what lies ahead. With an embracing calm, the likes of which I have never felt before, I drive to where the road ends, and into my eternity. 

Reviews

[The Scholar]

This is such a heavy piece! Incredible!
You use simple, declarative sentences and yet fill them with such meaning and symbolism. I love the imagery used in this story as well.

I'm always careful when telling an author exactly what I see in their work just in case it turns out to be the complete opposite or something, but to me, this was a story of depression and eventual suicide. I love the imagery used, and I love how the entire work is a sort of metaphor, or comparison, where the feelings of the individual are parallel to a vibrant spring and then a dying winter. The world gets darker and darker, until eventually, he drives his car off the cliff.

I also like how you described the person as being "merely an observer, looking from the outside." Powerless, aimless, confused, disillusioned even.

Amazing and powerful write!


I hope you don't feel this way though; you're an amazingly talented person with so much to offer. Keep up the writing!