Hello world, I recently wrote this absurd short story called, “The Passing”. I want to share it with you guys because I’m curious to know y’all reactions. I hope yall enjoy it!
Death brings cowards comfort. I know this because I had to experience it–Death. Such a misunderstood concept. I used to believe Death was peaceful. It was something I wanted to experience, I used to long after death. You can say it brought me comfort because I was a coward.
Each day of my despondent life was the same. I woke up to the same four bland walls that surrounded me. There were no family pictures on the walls because I had no family. No medals to hang and show off because I never won anything in my life. All I had was lost, and I mastered the art of losing. Every day I went by the same routine. Dread waking up, felt the cold, harsh air swarm my exposed skin. Enter the bathroom with the cold tiles. Splash my face with cold water. Brush my teeth with cold water. Take a shower with even colder water. I used to love the cold. It was the bit of happiness that was apparent in my life; I sympathized with the cold. I knew how it felt to be counted out, overlooked by the majority. All my life, there was always someone bigger, better, or warmer than I.
After my shower, I got dressed in the same attire: a black button-up, black pants, black socks, and black tennis shoes. I didn’t have a choice in that matter; it was my uniform. I was assigned the color black and it fit me perfectly The color complimented my pale skin so well. After I was dressed, I ate cereal in a lifeless bowl with the counterfeit milk. I only took five minutes to eat breakfast. I was fast since I had no one to talk to, nor one to think about. When I finished eating breakfast, it was then time to go to work. I got my keys and left my tired apartment. I used to drive to work every morning in my Bug, that was only big enough to hold me. I drove in silence; I only listen to the thoughts that wandered inside my mind. There was always this one thought which I found amusing. When I drove across the bridge that stood above the frozen pond, I thought: what if my tires slide on the ice bridge? What if my brakes suddenly couldn’t function properly, and the Bug stirs off the bridge into the pond? Cracking the ice shield allowing me to enter the world that lives beneath. What if that was my time, the moment of my end. Would anyone notice? Would anyone help? What if?
I closed my eyes and I took the If and made it When.
On the day I died, I was alone. Nobody was near, and I was far too gone for anyone to help.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying naked on the bridge. Everything around me was the same, but it was quiet. Complete silence. The trees weren’t swaying. No animal, not even a lost squirrel, was around exploring the woods. Everything stood still as if they were following instructions. The pond was still frozen, and I saw my Bug diverted into the ice. I started to wonder if I did it right? Did something go wrong? Was I Dead? I didn’t feel Dead; I simply felt frozen in time. I thought that maybe I should try again. I walked to the edge of the bridge and I inhaled, preparing myself for the fall.
I heard a Beep-noise.
It was close but faint. What could it be? I turned around and in front of me, I saw a cellphone. It was black with a small keyboard on the face. I never noticed the cellphone until now. How did it get there? I picked it up and pressed the home button. Nothing happened. I started to press all the letters and numbers on the keyboard, however, nothing. I flipped the cellphone over and slide off the back compartment. What has revealed to me was an emptiness. There was no battery in the phone. There was no way it could have made the noise. Was I alone? I remember I screamed or was it a shout?
“Who is there?” I asked the distance but what was returned was my echo.
A sane person would have stopped, maybe even accepted the fact that no one was there. But I realized at a young age- sane was something I was not. So, I begun to explore my surroundings. Looked for evidence that someone was there. I studied every crack in the bridge, and there it was. A lavender flower springing through the cracks. It was so beautiful, so resilient. The flower lured me. It wanted me to approach it, and so I did. When I reached the flower, I was astonished. It was the only living thing there. Nature will always find a way to survive even, Death.
I wanted to claim the flower as mines, I felt as though it was. I sat on my knees and I pulled the flower from the crack in the bridge. That’s when it started. With the touch of the flower, my body was overwhelmed with heat. It was a forgotten feeling. Suddenly everything started to disappear. The trees vanished into thin air. The frozen pond beneath me mysteriously melted and my Bug was no longer there. I heard booming sounds of rumbling. The bridge had begun to quake and deformed. Everything around me was uncanny. I was perplexed on whether I should run or stay? But where would I go? My thoughts were pointless, before I knew it the bridge had completely vanished, and my body dropped. I fell, and I fell, and I fell. Until my body plastered on a solid surface. I was placed in a space filled with brightness. It wasn’t a room, rooms have structure. This place, however, just had a presence–a known presence.
“Hello, D–” someone said in a deep, vivid voice. I was unsure of who it was, but I knew that this was power. When the presence spoke, their voice came from every direction. I was afraid. I don’t know why, but somehow my body knew to be afraid.
“How do you know my name?” I asked, my voice trembled.
“That is not the question of the matter, now is it.” said the voice, “Ask me your honest question.”
I gulped and resisted the urge to cry. How could they possibly know? A dumbfounded thought, at the time, they know everything.
“I want to know why I’m here. What is this place?” I ask.
“That is not your honest question. You know why you are here. You have one more chance to be truthful, try again.” They said to me calmly. I felt everything now, but at that moment fear was heavy.
“Am I dead?” I asked my final question.
“Wrong! Why must you lie?” exclaimed the presence. “I’m here to help you. You need the help for the Passing.”
“Passing…what passing? Who are you?”
“I am Lavea, an angel sent from Heaven.”
“Then why can’t I see you?”
“Could you see me when you were alive, D–? I have been around, ever since the incident. After what happened to your parents, you were assigned to me to guardian over. I tried to protect you, but I could not save someone from themselves. So, I will help you now. Your body is no longer vital. On earth you are dead, but here you have two opportunities. This is called the Passing. There are three pathways you can take before you can achieve the afterlife. One is called Heaven. In Heaven, you can spend eternity with your family, happy and peaceful. You don’t have anything to worry about, all your problems were left on earth. In Heaven you are free. Would you like that D–?” Lavea asked me.
“What are the remaining choices?” I ask Lavea.
“The other option is Hell. You heard the stories of Hell while growing up. Endless torture, fire pits, screams of misery… I am here to tell you whatever perception you have on Hell–double it. Double the endless torture. Double the fire pits. Double the screams of misery. I can assure you Hell is not the place of a luxury. Hell is the end without an end. Hell is pure evil. Hell is burning fire but the deathly cold. Would you like to go there, D–?”
At that moment, I knew what I was supposed to say. No. It could have been that simple. However, there was something inside me that felt Hell is what I deserved.
Before I could answer Lavea interrupted me and said, “You do not deserve Hell. Your soul is not evil. I want to see you in Heaven, but you cannot pass unless you accept the truth within yourself.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Accept and let it go so you can pass to Heaven. Or you will be deemed to Death.”
“Aren’t I’m dead already, Lavea?”
“As I said before, your body is dead, but your soul is still here. Death is neither Heaven nor Hell. Death is the middle ground. Death is nothing. Death is complete darkness. Those who fail the passing are sentenced to Death. I warn you D– if you don’t accept that you were not the cause of your family’s disappearance, you will be sent to Death. Would you like that?” Lavea says to me. I remember becoming infuriated. How dare Lavea tell me about my life.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about! You don’t know me or what happened. If you were my guardian angel, then why weren’t you there? Where were you, when I needed you?”
“You can get angry at me; however, that will not solve anything. You need to let go and accept.” Lavea said remaining calm.
“No,” I say tearing up. I don’t deserve to feel released. I deserve this Death.
“I beg of you, let go and release. Time is running out.”
“I must not. Not when my family is still out there. I can’t just let go. I can’t accept and let go when it’s my fault. I can’t-”
Beep… Beep… Beep.
The sound from earlier has returned, this time its louder and maddening.
BEEP…BEEP…BEEP.
“What is that noise?” I tried to yell over the noise to Lavea.
“That is your timer D–. You now have only thirty seconds. What is your decision? Lavea asked me. Then the cellphone from earlier appears. I ran to it and I see a timer counting down.
“How do I stop it? I’m not ready yet please, Lavea.” I plead to them.
“It is too late to stop it. It was set when you made the choice to drive off the bridge. I will only ask once.” Lavea says.
BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… TIMES UP!
“What is your final decision D–?” They said impassively. I was given three options. What I said at that moment define my eternity. I know what a sane person would have said. I know what I crazy person could have said. But as I realized when I was younger, I was neither sane nor crazy. I was the middle, so the middle is where I should stay, even if it’s for eternity.
“I choose Death.”
Were the words that defined me, more than I could have ever known. After I said those three detrimental words, the brightness in the room was extracted. It was complete darkness. Silent as it was on the bridge. I was abandoned. At last, I was comforted by the darkness. I felt secure within myself. The darkness, tranquility and I were one. I was Death.
(L-R)