The earth is burning…
The air is burning…
The sky is burning……
No matter how hard I look, everything is burning.
The cries of countless people reaches out to me as I traverse the sea of flame. The pained cries of men, women, and children alike lamenting their powerlessness before perishing is something no man should ever have to experience. But, in spite of that, fate conspires to keep me alive just long enough to bear witness to this tragedy. Despite even my most basic of functions withering away… Sight, smell, touch… The sweltering heat does nothing to hinder my ability to hear, allowing this chorus of agony to be engraved into my dying memory.
My knees buckle and, soon after, my legs give out from under me. With no energy left to resist the heat, all feeling stops and the fact that my body is dying finally starts to sink in. My vision fades, and the weight of my own body easily overpowers my charred lungs. And as my mind itself begins to make its way into oblivion, the thought that I’m drawing my last breath crosses my mind.
“…”
Though I’ve already resolved myself to death… Though I’ve already come to understand the weight of this crushing reality… This singular thought manages to stir something up inside of me.
---I don’t want to die…
It’s a simple, earnest thought that I can’t even put to words now. And if I were still capable of forming the tears, I’m sure they would accompany my voice.
But, in the end, there are no words…
There are no tears.
All that is… is a miserable waste of human life.
*****
During your final moments, what is it that fills your heart?
1. Hatred [Seething rage. Unrelenting anger. An agent of destruction that curses all it touches.]
2. Guilt [Remorse and shame. Inescapable reproach. A heart that condemns itself to hell.]
3. Emptiness [A lack of meaning. A life unfulfilled. An inability to feel for oneself.]