[ ORI2016 } Singularity

The old man was dying.
For the last few hours, and even though his eyes had been closed, he had been seeing strange shimmering lights appearing and fading away into the corners of the hospital room and he had heard voices of long distant relatives talking to him. He knew that his time was close and as he struggled to draw a deep and painful breath, he wondered how many he had left to take.
His family had been gathered around his bed for what felt like days now, although his concept of time was wildly inaccurate. He was ready. The pain was bad and he wanted to be free from it. His family talked to each other in hushed tones as if they were afraid to wake him, he felt their sorrow and their sadness at watching him suffer, he knew that they too were ready, ready to let him go.
As his wife quietly sobbed at the side of his bed, she lightly held his hand, which seemed to have shrunk and he felt her trembling as she cried. He longed to embrace her one more time, to smell her hair, to stroke her cheek, he had forgotten the fragrance, the touch. His body shuddered as he again drew in a long breath, his last one this time. The voices of his loving family became muffled, as if coming from another room. He gradually felt a lightness, the pain was receding and there was a long steady tone coming from the machines at the head of the bed, not the slow regular beep he had been so used to hearing. Gradually even that sound too was fading. Although he knew that there was movement around him he was not sensing this from the vantage point of the bed but instead his perspective had changed to somewhere above it all. Still within the room it seemed….but how...where? Of these questions he wasn't quite sure. He seemed to have floated up above his own self, disconnected from everything , the pain, the crying and the sorrow. He still saw the room, the bed, and a shape of an old man lying in it…..but that, was not him. He was here but not there.
While he pondered this strangeness, a light began to form and spread out over the hospital scene. The light was shining and spinning and seemed to be made up of all colours at the same time and while they merged into each other, together they became the truest white light he had ever seen. As this light spread out like a brilliant, dazzling blanket over the hospital room scene, everything and everyone faded until there was nothing but the light and him. The light was him and he was the light. He floated and swirled within it and through it. As it bathed him in its glow he knew that this was what he always had been and always would be.

A being of light, forever.

Suddenly the light went out. It was dark, a heavy thick darkness, and within his disembodied self he felt distraught and so alone. Images of faces and places surrounded him and he was moving, very fast. He was in a tunnel of blackness and far off in the distance he saw a pinpoint of light. It was the beautiful brilliant light but it was so far from him now that it seemed infinitesimally small. All at once he began rushing towards it, faster and faster, and all the while he recognised the images that surrounded him as his memories. He felt the emotions, the joy and sorrow, the pleasure and pain of all of this life's past experiences. He felt them all instantaneously while he rushed towards the pinpoint of bright white light. The blackness that engulfed him was broken by the kaleidoscopic playback of his life and then that finally shattered, leaving him afloat within the heavy darkness.The pinpoint of light remained a far away prize and he watched it shine and flicker like a distant star, and he longed for it.
A new sensation began, tugging and pulling at him. Whatever this was, he did not care for it. It felt intrusive, alien and he wanted it to stop. The far away light shimmered and he struggled against the pulling sensation. He did not want this ...he felt pain again, a deep pain that was unlike anything he had felt before, it was all over him. Make it stop ..please.. No! I cannot, I will not go back ! He fought against the wrenching pain but it was futile, it was so strong and he felt so weak. He tried to still himself against the rising panic. From far away, he heard crying and sobbing, the familiar sounds of machine beeps and tones assaulted his ears again and he was filled with a terror he had never imagined before. This cannot be happening, he thought.
The moans were becoming more distinct and he was filled with wild panic and solid heavy dread. The light was becoming brighter again and he was being pulled much closer to the source, and although he was no longer so eager to reach it he had no strength left to fight against it. More tugging and wrenching and suddenly he was covered in the light again but this light did not feel good and it hurt his eyes. He didn't want to look into it, and once more his lungs struggled to fill up with air.
He breathed and choked and he felt his whole self lift up and float while a warmth surrounded him, a warmth and a rush of love, and then he heard a familiar voice. It was a voice that he felt deep love for and it was becoming louder as he drew closer to the voice. The pain had stopped, although he still blinked against the all consuming light.
From somewhere above himself he heard the familiar sound of this beautiful voice say,
“ Hello my little one, you have such bright eyes...like an old soul who has been here before, Mummy loves you, my beautiful Baby “

The end
and the beginning

kat shoots.... KAT SCORES!!!!!

Very, VERY Nicely done!
S&F and my very best wishes!


BigG

a reply to: Gordi The Drummer

Thanks BigG !!

a reply to: cosmickat
I enjoyed reading that. Very emotional and descriptive which added so much to the story. Great job and good luck!

a reply to: natalia

thank you Natalia

a reply to: cosmickat

Wow.
From the very first sentence, that was gripping, engaging and poignant. You are a really, really good writer.

S&F and lots of

B x

a reply to: cosmickat

Hi cosmickat! That was great!

Very emotional to read...made me want more!

S&F
jacygirl

a reply to: beansidhe

Thank you for taking the time to read...and for the feedback, much appreciated

a reply to: jacygirl

Thank you so much for reading my wee story and so happy that you liked it

Wonderful!

a reply to: Night Star

Thank you

a reply to: cosmickat

Very powerfully written! S/F.

a reply to: cosmickat

I really liked this! Well Done and Well Written!!

S+F for You!!

Syx...

a reply to: grayeagle

Thank you for stopping by to comment and read !

a reply to: SyxPak

Thank you for reading, and I am glad you liked it !