Light Bearer I

A man in limbo finds himself help from an unlikely being.

A man is crying. His head buried in his hands, his back hunched as he kneels on nothingness in total darkness. He cries not because he is lost in an unknown place, but because of his loneliness in an unknown place. He recalls driving with his wife and two children towards the beach. They were looking forward to an overdue vacation. As he was driving, a car from behind pushed against his car bumper and he lost control, causing the car to fall off a cliff. For a long time, he has been crying in this unknown darkness. “I wonder what became of my wife and children,” he sobbed. “If I’m here, I’m most likely dead. But what about my family? Are they dead too? They must be if I am dead! But if they died as well, then why am I the only one here in this darkness!?” The man is in pain an agony, not knowing what happened to his family and not knowing why he is alone.

After a long time, he heard a voice call out to him, “Fear not, for I am with you.” The man did not bother look up from his hunched position. The voice then says, “You are no longer alone. Pray, lift your head.” The man however refuses to lift his head. The man replies, “Why should I lift my head? I am alone here. You are only a voice my madness is producing and nothing else.” The voice responds, “Believe in me, for I am with you now. You have been alone a long time. Let me cure you of this loneliness.” The man then sees light through his eyelids. He opens his eyes, lifts his head and sees light behind a pretty man and a pretty man in front of that light. The light is vibrant and full of warmth. A sight and feeling the man has long forgotten. The pretty man has ruby red hair and piercing eyes. This is the first time he has seen light for a long time, and the first time he has seen another person for a long time.

“Who are you?” The man asks.

The pretty man then says, “Do you now believe? I am now with you. You are no longer alone.”

 “Now I see you are here. But why are you here? Are you here to save me? To set me free?”

The pretty man ignores his questions and then asks, “What is it that you want? Pray tell me and perhaps I may grant you your desire.”

“I want to know what happen to my family. You see, I was in a car accident and I believe I died in it. However, I do not know how my family is. I want to see them again and see how they are doing. Can you do this for me?”

The pretty man smiled amiably, closed his eyes and says, “Yes, I can let you see your family again. However, it is difficult for me to help you alone. Won’t you help me help you? In order for you to see your family again, I will need to borrow a portion of your soul.”

“My soul?” The man stammers.

“You see, I am also using a portion of my soul to help you, but the amount is not enough. If you will permit to be the guardian of your soul, you can see your family again.”

The man hesitated for a moment; however he has been alone and in darkness for a long time. He becomes desperate and so accepts the pretty man’s offering of help. The pretty man then takes the man and holds him in an embrace.

“Then let it be so, with your powers and mine, you may now see your family again.” The pretty man declared.

“Thank you. What did you say your name is again?”

“I did not”

“Then please tell me your name so that I may tell my family the name of the man who helped me.”

Before the pretty man can answer, the man disappears.

The pretty man stood up and looked around the darkness. He lets out a sigh and closes his eyes. “My name is…Lucifer.”

Author's Note

My first story. All reviews and criticisms are welcomed. Although I am particularly looking for criticism on my use of grammatical tenses and grammatical voice. Be as brutal or as gentle as you see fit.