We were in another dimension, almost dreamlike, surrounded by the cosmos and supernovas the size of one’s palm. Miles underneath us was a ball of molten lava resembling that of the sun’s core. Below it, a dark pit of nothingness. Drifting stars paved way to a dark and inscrutable matter that appeared before me in a reversed, smoky dispersion manner: it was Death.
“Here we are.” Death spoke.
“Here we are.” I mimicked with a shrug and half a smile.
“Do you know why you’re here?” Death asked. I shook my head. “You are in the realm of choices. You choose where you’ll stay for all eternity. “
I pondered for a bit. “Realm of choices? I thought that when I die, I die. No choices whatsoever.”
“Dying is a choice.”
“No it isn’t.”
“Yes, it is. At least for mortals like you.” Death said and continued, “Everyday, humans roam the Earth…going about their daily routines, breathing….the Earth has so much to offer and each sunrise promises a discovery, as each sunset promises the stars and the glow of the moon. A human’s life is sufficient enough and yet, they chose to die. They end their lives too early and some found themselves buried a few feet underground. Many others, however, wander the Earth as marionettes whose movements are driven by routine, not by their choice to live.”
“But I don’t want to die.” I answered and realized my mistake. “Not yet anyway.” I added.
Comets collided with the heavenly bodies that fenced us. Specks of yellow, orange, and red light engulfed my vision.
“You are a funny mortal.” Death exclaimed. “You are a nobody. You left no mark on Earth. Your name is not known to many and many do not care. You are no one and yet, you want to live.”
“Not everyone who is a no one wants to die.” I said in a nonchalant manner.
It was silent for a moment until Death made everything disappear into a black space with just a snap of a finger. Voices spouting various verses slowly upped its volume until noise consumed my ears.
Useless.
I should just die.
There is no meaning to life.
Why do I keep on existing?
Why am I even alive?
“Sounds familiar?” Death asked. “These were your thoughts while you still had all the time in the world. You wanted to die. You found no meaning to life.”
I was silent.
“That is another reason why you are a funny mortal. You are a nobody and you, yourself, knew it. Why would you want to go on living when you have no reason for doing so?”
I let out the sigh I was holding in before I gave my honest reply. “At that time, yes…I didn’t have a reason for living. Life was just a cycle of waking up in the morning and going to sleep at night. Every day was just another day. But…I don’t think that way anymore.”
“And why is that?”
I gave a lopsided grin. “Guess I’ve found a reason. Reasons, actually.”
It was Death’s turn to be silent and, upon doing so, the noises vanished. It was just Death and me in this dark emptiness.
“When you were alive, you were just another lifeless being roaming around. When you were in the path to dying, you slowly found reasons...and it wasn’t because you were dying that you found them. These reasons, miniscule as they were, opened your eyes and made you want to live. These reasons were enough to keep your heart beating for a few more times before you heeded my call. You are indeed a funny mortal.”
“Indeed I am.” I replied cheekily.
Contrary to popular belief, Death wasn’t as unkind as others would portray.
Perhaps it was just a matter of how one welcomed Death.
“There are many humans more accomplished than you yet they fear me and will do anything to avoid me. Others with power bring their fellowmen to me even if it wasn’t their due time. I am despised by many, more so since I am inevitable. I have seen eyes which loathed me, eyes which bargained for more time, and eyes which showed a deep emptiness and apathy. Yet you…you looked at me as if you had long expected me…as if I were a guest when in fact I am a stranger. You want to live, but your eyes do not shun me.”
Death looked at me, amused. “What a pleasure it is to meet someone like you.”
The once dark place flashed a blinding white.
I opened my eyes, and I have woken up.
