A stranger arrived from out of town, dread following in his wake. An aura of ancient wisdom and sorrow graver than a funeral hung around him. I immediately recognized death and rushed to embrace it with the despair and nonchalance of youth. But as i did so he collapsed into wisps of smoke and scattered with the wind. I lived a long life before i met him again.
Unchanged and old as time itself he somehow seemed different this time. He smiled at me-a smile that would have wilted anything in its path; with intolerable fatigue and the promise of blessed release somehow conveyed together. Life had been kind to me and i was not so willing to embrace death anymore. But as i froze in terror he glided over and embraced me.
As life ebbed away i saw no white light, no pearly gates nor fires. All i met was nothingness,utter lack of being.As my consciousness scattered i laughed at all those who reluctantly accept death with the false assurance- given by godmen and incorporated into our belief system through generations of reinforcement-that after life what awaits is eternal utopia.
By -Aseem Mahajan