The afternoon was painstakingly slow. Sunday always slows
down time drastically. Inside a small church sits just over a couple of dozen
people. Some continuously weep into their handkerchiefs. Others offer their
shoulders to their partners. At the front, a woman continuously wails while her
husband, sitting right next to her, hangs his head in shame, drowned in guilt
and sadness. The corpse lies in a cheap wooden coffin. The light falling on it
makes it look more beautiful than it had ever looked when it still had some
life in it.
The soul stands naked in a corner. It feels light. It feels
relieved. It doesn't remember anything. It understands everything. It
understands god, death, life and everything that goes with it. In one blink, it
sees its parents, who had once given him life and once hope. In another blink,
it sees the shell that it had once occupied. In another blink, the soul stands
at the back of the church, looking down at everyone. It sees everything, away
from the naked eye of all the mourners. Only Death is aware of the Soul's
presence just as Soul is aware of Death's company.
"How did I die?” the Soul finally asks Death.
"Painfully. Hit by a car." The Soul thinks a little more. He still
doesn't recall. He doesn't even remember the day nor does he feel the desire to
think about it. He doesn't know his name. But bits and pieces of his life are
still fresh to him. He still remembers what he did in his life and where he
went wrong. "I wasn't a good guy.", the Soul says. "Why are they
mourning me?" Death seeing no reason in making the after-life easier for
him, replies, in its cold voice, "It's the order of things. That's what
they have been taught. That's why they do it." The Soul felt a bit gloomy. He
remembered the last time he had a conversation with his parents. He had stormed
out of the house. Guilt returns to him. He remembers his last words and heaviness
falls upon him. He had never done anything right. But this, maybe he could fix
this last bit.
"I would like one last word with my parents".
Death, sensing the game, doesn't say anything at first. Finally, in its cold
voice, it asks, “but why?". The Soul mulls over this for a while. Then it finally
says, "I feel that the last time I talked to them, it hadn't been
pleasant. If I could say just one thing to them, I would fix it. It would make
things easier for them and easier for me."
In the very next moment, the corpse opens its eyes. It
shakes its head around. The entire body is in pain. Miraculously, movement
returns to its fingers and toes. It feels like the corpse wants to go in one
direction while the body refuses. There is no weight on his shoulder but he
feels something holding him down. He finally manages to put his hand on the side
of the coffin and tries to raise himself up. Chaos lets loose as the corpse
gets up. People stop weeping and run out of the church. Some remain fixed to
their seats, not sure if they should be happy or scared. The mother faints.
Her husband, not paying attention to this detail, runs to
the corpse. He catches the corpse just as it is about to fall back into the
coffin. The corpse feels all its energy going out. It doesn't understand what's
happening. It doesn't understand why it's in a wooden bed. It doesn't
understand why the bed is inside a church. The corpse gathers all that is left
of its energy. It can hardly breathe. Finally, the Corpse looks at his father.
His father has an uncomfortable smile. His eyes speak forgiveness. The corpse,
still confused, opens its mouth, "dad....what the fuck-". Before it can
complete the sentence, its eyes roll back and the life goes out of him.
The Soul stands naked in the corner again. No one can see
it. A man weeps with the corpse in his hand. A woman lies fainted nearby.
Handkerchiefs, wallets and cellphones have been left behind as if people ran
out in a hurry. The Soul doesn't understand anything. It feels heavy. It feels
like a failure. It feels a connect to all this but doesn't know why. Death stands
next to it, silent.
Fearless, the Soul asks him, "what happened here?”.
Hidden away under its hood, Death coldly smiles to itself. A
smile that is seen by no one, but understood by only Death itself. "We
have to travel a long way. Come." Without saying a word and without
looking back, they fade away.
