Fate

The man opened his eyes. He jumped up onto his feet, startled at where he found himself. The last thing he remembered was driving his truck down a windy road. Were there flashlights? … he wasn’t sure. His head hurt a little, he felt disoriented, dazed.

He looked around.

The man was standing on what appeared to be the shores of a sea or an ocean. Not an ordinary one, mind you. The water seemed to go on forever, in all directions ahead of him, but strangely, the water seemed to be still, not moving or disturbed by anything. No waves, not even ripples, just plain, still water. The man could feel the water at his feet. It was warm and yet cold, relaxing and also agitating, he had no way of describing it. Confused, the man slowly walked away from it and onto firm land.

What lay ahead of the man did not seem to look welcoming. The land felt hard, rough. There was a thick fog that enveloped the entire land, so much so that you couldn’t see anything ahead of you. The man felt afraid, afraid of this dark and mysterious place, but there was nothing else he could do, except to keep moving forwards, and so he did.

The man walked through the fog. It felt like it was attacking him, trying to suffocate him, but the man fought on. Battling through the living fog for what seemed like a very long time, the man finally emerged out. What lay in front of him was in stark contrast to what he had seen just a few moments ago.

The sun was shining brightly here, on the land, covered with lush greenery. He could see two large golden gates, glistening under the sun. Behind them, the man could see a city, filled with wondrous colors, all mixed together to form a spectacle that the man could not comprehend. That was the third time in just a few minutes. The man was in awe, confusion, and fear, all at the same time.

As the man stood there, befuddled, and still in a state of fear and shock, a woman could be seen, walking towards him. She was beautiful, her face seemed to radiate joy and celebration, to turn any gloomy day into a joyful one. She was clad, fully in white robes, and carried a staff with her. “Who are you? Where am I?”, the man asked as the woman came near him. “I thought you would have realized where you were by now.”, the woman said, leaving the man confused. “Is this a dream?”, the man asked. “No”, the woman said slowly, “No it is not.”. “Then where am I?”, the man was getting impatient. “It has many names for different people.”, the woman said, “I suppose for you, this world would be called heaven, or the afterlife.”. The woman’s voice and the words she said, seemed to show great wisdom, which only came with age, and yet, she looked as beautiful as a woman in her prime.

The man took a step back. He did not expect this world to be the afterlife. After all, his time on Earth couldn’t be done so quickly, could it? “This can’t be heaven. It must be a dream or something.”, the man said out loud to himself, but the woman heard him. “Yes it is, my child.”, the woman said. “So am I dead?”, the man asked, hoping and praying that it wasn’t true, but deep down, he knew the answer. “Some would call it death. Your soul has simply passed on to the next stage in its existence.”, the woman replied, confirming the man’s fears.

The man closed his eyes tightly, to hold back his tears. He stood there, motionless, for a few moments. The woman, seemingly understanding what the man was feeling, placed her hand on his shoulder and spoke, “Don’t be sad my child, you have come here under the guidance of the Creator, to experience eternal happiness and joy. You have fulfilled your purpose in the mortal realm.”. The woman clearly meant to comfort the man, but it only seemed to agitate him even more. The man fell to his knees and began to sob uncontrollably.

Trying to understand what was troubling the man’s soul, the woman kneeled down in front of the man and slowly placed both of her hands on either side of the man’s head. She then closed her eyes. The memories of the man’s entire life began to flash in front of the woman’s eyes. She could now search for what was agitating the man’s soul, for an agitated or troubled soul could never truly belong in heaven.

The man’s life had not been very remarkable in terms of money or status. He was not rich, or prominent in society, in fact, very few people truly knew him. He worked as a truck driver for a large company that made billions of dollars, but he barely earned more than the minimum wage, with which he could barely afford to take care of himself, let alone his family comprising of his wife, and his young daughter. The man hoped that he could one day get his daughter into a nice college or university so she could become successful in her life, so that she could be happy, not to live his life, in fact, he had promised his wife so. He worked extra hours to earn enough money for the private school they sent their daughter to, and he was doing exactly that the night he died, in that accident.

The woman took her hands away. The man was still crying, his face red, his eyes filled with tears. “You have nothing to worry about. Your wife and daughter will be fine.”, the woman. “What do you mean?”, the man said, his face lifting up to look at the woman, his eyes now red. “You fear that you have failed your wife and daughter, that you have sacrificed their future by leaving them, and in return, you get the gift of heaven, which you feel you do not deserve.”, the woman said, her face showing great compassion and understanding of the man’s plight. “How did you know?’, the man asked a little surprised, but he had come to expect that now. “It doesn’t matter.”, the woman said, “I understand what you are going through. I’ve…lived for eons now, and I’ve seen everything that has ever happened on this Earth, and while I do not know what the future holds, from what I’ve seen, whatever the creator does, he does for a reason.”. The man did not say a word. The woman continued, “I know you feel like you’ve failed them, I know you want to go back, but you have to trust that your wife and daughter will be taken care of. You have done your part in that world, there is nothing more you can do.”

The woman helped the man up to his feet. The man looked crestfallen, a beaten man. The man looked into the eyes of the woman with his blood-red eyes. “I hope you’re right.”, was all he could say. He then began to slowly walk towards the gates of heaven.

The woman stood where she was, looking as the man walked towards the gates. She was feeling something inside her, it was happening more often recently, but she could not describe it. She guessed that somewhere inside her, something did not feel right. But who was she to question the motives of the creator? She was just another formless being, created to serve one purpose and one purpose only.

The woman began to walk away. As she walked, her clothes began to change. Her white robes began to turn black and her staff turned into a menacing scythe. A tear began to flow on her cheek, but she brushed it away. She then lifted her hood to cover her face completely and walked away.

She had left to serve her purpose. Death.