Latest / Shallow Nights: Scary Bedtime Stories / A Second Chance - Encounter with Death and the Power of the Human Spirit

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A Second Chance - Encounter with Death and the Power of the Human Spirit · Shallow Nights: Scary Bedtime Stories

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I died once. This is what happened.
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I was 23 years old, laying there in the hospital bed, surrounded
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by my family and friends. There was plenty of equipment
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around me keeping me alive, but only barely.
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My time was coming and I knew it.
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They were there because the doctors had said anytime now and
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survival through the night was very unlikely.
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My dad was doing his best to be strong like he always had, but I
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could see him breaking. Nurses surrounded me, trying to
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make me feel comfortable I guess.
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I was certainly drugged enough to not even feel the bed I was
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lying on, let alone any pain, at least at that moment.
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The last couple years had several lengthy periods where
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pain was all I felt. The last year or so of my life
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had been a never ending swirl of agonizing torment.
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My mom was on my left. She was crying like she was the
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day I was diagnosed with leukemia.
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I had never forgot that day. I was 14.
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My doctor said my chances were about a million to one.
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I did my best to focus on that one chance to make every day
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worthwhile and to remind everyone how precious life was.
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I travelled, I spent time with my friends and my family, I
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modelled, I endured the surgeries and every time I took
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a turn for the worse, I smiled. A lot of people told me I had
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inspired them. I did my best to make a
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difference and from the attention my Facebook got, I'd
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hoped I'd least made a small one.
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Even now I had a smile on my face and I was doing my best to
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comfort my mom and the few of my friends the hospital had allowed
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in the room, the ones who really wanted to sit with me until my
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time came. Just writing this, I remember
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the feelings I had and I must work hard to fight the tears.
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My time came then, like it will again.
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I remember the light fading and it was getting hard to focus
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even though I was trying to joke around with everyone present.
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My breathing became more labored, my eyes went crossed
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almost as I fought hard to keep sitting up.
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The room was spinning. I started to fall backwards as
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my vision blur to my eyes closed for what I expected to be the
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last time I saw someone. I didn't really recognize, but
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he seemed kind of familiar, someone with dark hair and a
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look of deep thought on his face.
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I figured he must have been a doctor, maybe a male nurse from
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his clothes. He didn't look like it.
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It's hard to describe what happened next.
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I remember my eyes closed and I heard a noise that kind of like
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those hospital shows when someone flatlines.
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It was a solemn experience Realizing that was probably the
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equipment I was hooked up to. That noise was a sign that my
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heart had stopped. Someone yelled We're losing her,
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and my mom made a pained scream. Suddenly, I was nowhere.
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I couldn't see anything, not even darkness.
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As difficult as that is to explain, I saw and felt nothing.
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All at once. I was in a dark place.
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A haunting creature stood over me, but it was a peaceful one.
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I can't put its visage into words because there are no words
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in any earthly language that can describe it.
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I can't even guarantee my mind could properly conceive what I
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was looking at. I remember having the impression
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before I knew for sure that it was in fact death, and it was
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coming to take me away. He reached his hand down,
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seemingly to take mine. I'm not sure why I did what I
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did next, other than the human brains built an instinct.
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I ran. It followed me, gliding over the
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darkness as I ran. I was running into blackness.
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There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.
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I turned and zigzagged, but it seemed like it was used to this
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game adjusting itself effortlessly to get around me or
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in front of me. My breath grew labored and short
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as it stopped in front of me and held up its hand in a stomping
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motion. I was frozen in place and I
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could no longer move. This was the first time I
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realized all the pain that I had felt every day for the last year
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was gone. I offered my hand to him.
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I was ready. I had prepared for this moment
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since I first learned I was sick without ever really knowing it.
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However, something that wasn't normal happened.
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Before Death could take my hand, a bright light erupted forth
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from my hand and seemed to push it away without hurting it.
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Death moved backwards, letting out an unearthly cry, unable to
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force itself through the veil of light defending me from it.
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I was back in the hospital. The room seemed dark, as if no
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light was permeating it. My friends and family weren't
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there, nor were the doctors or nurses, but I wasn't alone.
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The man with dark hair I had seen before I faded away was
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beside me. He was holding my hand between
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both of his and he had a smile on his face.
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Death was circling you, but don't worry, I chased it away.
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He said, almost as if this was perfectly normal.
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What, why, how? I asked.
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Now that he was close and my vision was no longer blurring, I
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could study him. He didn't look much older than
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me, 25 or 26 at the oldest. His skin had a kind of olive
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tone, maybe of Greek descent or somewhere in that area.
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Because I wanted to talk to you, he replied.
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But this setting is uncomfortable.
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He looked around at the hospital room and the equipment around
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me, seeming disturbed. He waved his hand and the room
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morphed and changed. We were surrounded by sandy
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beaches and palm trees. The ocean crashed up against the
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shore. I was no longer in a hospital
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gown, but my favorite outfit, a blue tank top and a rainbow
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skirt. I hadn't worn it since the last
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time I'd modeled a year and a half ago.
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I'd gotten too sick and lost too much weight.
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The skirt had no longer fit, but it hung on me now as tightly as
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it ever had. That's better, he mused, the
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half smile growing a little wider.
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Where are we? Is this heaven?
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I asked, amazed. It was quite a spectacle, to say
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the least. Well, to some I suppose it might
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be. It does seem like what many
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consider paradise. He replied.
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May ioffer you a seat? He waved his hand again, and
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like that, two lounge chairs appeared, as if materializing
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out of the sand itself. He took a seat and sipped from
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Margarita, relaxing as he looked out at the waves.
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I took a seat as well, laying back and studying him, not sure
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what to make of any of this. I took it in for a while.
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I had done a lot since I'd gotten sick, but one thing I
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could say I had not done was relax and take my time, because
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I was so used to not having much of it to spare.
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Take as much time as you need. We have all the time in the
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world. Death cannot find you here.
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He looked at me, seeming almost to have read my mind.
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He stretched and closed his eyes, pushing a sun hat over
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them. The items appearing out of
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nowhere had lost its wonder at this point.
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I wasn't surprised by it anymore.
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I heard him snoring lightly and I thought for a moment about
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running away, but I had died. Or was I going to go?
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I didn't even know where I was now.
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I stood up and watched the waves for a moment.
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I got closer to the water and touched it.
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It was warm and perfect for swimming, but I couldn't see any
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other land in the horizon. I heard seagulls squawking very
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loudly. This place was very peaceful.
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This being I had gotten past the idea he was a normal man a long
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time ago was right. These surroundings were much
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more pleasant than the hospital, to the point that it was
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unsettling. I moved around, discovering we
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were on a small island. There were no animals but the
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birds flying overhead. There was nowhere to run to.
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Finally, I let out a long breath and walked back to where the man
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was snoozing. I had finally thought of
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something to ask him. I sat back down and poked his
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side. He grunted, acknowledging me.
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Are you God? I asked.
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He pushed the sun hat over his forehead and looked at me.
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His eyes were brown, but seemed much deeper than normal eyes.
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They held an understanding no man has of the universe or ever
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will. And he laughed at my question.
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Laughed at me. What's so funny?
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I said, standing up and turning red out of embarrassment.
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I think it's a perfectly valid question given the
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circumstances. Fair enough, fair enough.
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He said, still laughing but getting more control of himself
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with short gasps of breath. I suppose to some I might be
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considered that, but nobody has called me or my kind gods in a
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very long time. There are more like you.
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I asked. This has been a lot to take in.
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The idea that there might be more than one being that can
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chase death away and turn hospital rooms into perfect
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beach islands like you would see in a photograph was a bit much.
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There were once. He said thoughtfully.
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The others were a little less selective than I, so maybe they
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aren't. Maybe they are.
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Let's just say family reunions for my kind don't tend to go
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over very well. I haven't seen another in what
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feels like eons, but I've been watching you for a long, long
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time. It was then I realized why he
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looked familiar. I'd seen him before.
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I'd seen him a lot. Now that I thought about it, he
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occasionally liked to post on my Facebook.
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At times I'd seen him in the street.
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We lived in the same town, I think, but I hadn't only seen
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him there. In fact, the more I thought
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about it, the more I realized he was plastered in the background
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of a lot of my memories. Restaurant trips with friends,
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places I traveled, kind of like an extra in a movie they reuse
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for a lot of scenes. Except it was my life.
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You've been following me. I said, standing up and over
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him. I felt kind of sick, almost
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nauseous. The idea of a normal stalker was
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scary. The idea having a stalker that
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was seemingly all powerful was beyond any fear I could have
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possibly had. Yes, but not for malicious
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intent, and while that is flattering, I am not all
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powerful. He said, appearing to read my
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thoughts again. He didn't seem angry, I'm
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guessing anger was a feeling he had outlived.
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OK then why? I said, feeling a bit miffed.
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I was like an open book before this thing, but he was like a
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diary with a voice activated lock.
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You fascinate me. You're an amazing person, the
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likes of which I haven't seen in a long time.
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He said this as if it wasn't one of the creepiest responses
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possible. That's it?
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I asked, baffled. I thought it was fairly
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ordinary, apart from my diagnosis.
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Well, no, I suppose not. He said.
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I long for something, something I know you can help with.
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You've been helping with it for a while now.
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It is what drew me to you. But so many people, so, so many
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can produce it for a moment that I normally don't even give them
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a glance. But then there was you.
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You're going to need to back up. I said very seriously.
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I wanted an explanation before. Now that he told me all of this,
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I definitely wanted one. Very well, let me show you.
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He grabbed my hand and images flashed in my mind.
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My diagnosis, my smile. Memories of me comforting my
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friends, my parents talking to larger groups and other people
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that were sick like me. Hundreds of Facebook posts
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shared hundreds of thousands of times.
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People I had never met nor will ever meet, reading them and
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crying. Feelings of inspiration,
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feelings of hope, feelings of love, feelings of loss.
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I saw my family crying over my dead body as an orderly moved a
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sheet over it. My funeral friends posting about
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me, photo of memories being shared.
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More people moved and touched than I could have ever thought
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possible. I let go of his hand and step
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back, slightly dazed and more than a little dizzy.
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It was a good kind of dizzy, though.
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Whoa. I mustered out and sat down.
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I shook my head, trying to clear it.
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It was very overwhelming and I could feel my eyes tearing.
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You are dying. If this was my last chance, I
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wanted to show you that your life was important and you
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mattered. His half smile now accompanied
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by a gleam in his eye. Thank you.
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I managed. But why?
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I have a question for you. He said, ignoring mine.
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I was a bit too dazed to be assertive.
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Go for it. I replied.
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If you weren't going to die, what would you do next?
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He asked. There was so much I'd still want
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to help people. I'll travel to places I
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couldn't. I'd go to friends, weddings and
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birthday parties. I'd take care of my mom and dad
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when they get older like they hoped I would.
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I'd marry my boyfriend. I'd have kids.
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I said without really thinking. My day state didn't really allow
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for deep thoughts, so I just rattled off anything that came
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to mind. I see, he said.
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This answer seemed to satisfy him and the beach faded.
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There was no sand, no more tidal waves or blue skies, no more
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trees or seagulls. We were back in the hospital
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room. I was lying on the bed with him
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next to me. That it?
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I asked, a little content that this weird experience was
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rapidly approaching its clothes. Just one more thing.
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He raised his hand and offered it to me.
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This is a one time offer. If you say no, then I will
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happily allow you to move on. Death will be back shortly after
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I go if you don't take this chance.
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Do you want to go back? Do you want to live through all
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those little parts of life you were afraid you'd miss?
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What's the catch? I asked, studying his hand, not
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entirely sure he could offer me such a thing.
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My soul. The question seemed to amuse
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him. No catch, you must simply keep
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doing what you love and never lose who you are.
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He said quietly, still with that half smile.
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Well, I suppose just a little more time wouldn't hurt.
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I said, raising my hand and putting it in his.
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A bright light shined from his hand, passing into mine,
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brighter than the light that had pushed death away.
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The light traveled through my body, moving up into my arm,
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passing into my heart and my head.
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As the light passed over me, I watched as his dark hair grayed
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and his young face became wrinkled.
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Years seemed to go by like seconds, but only for him.
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My eyes closed, I couldn't watch.
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For some reason, I felt his hand let go of mine.
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I lost consciousness. When I gained it again, I heard
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the slight boop boop of a heart monitor.
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I can't believe this. She's coming too.
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I recognized the sound of my normal doctor's voice.
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I opened my eyes, my mouth was a little dry.
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I coughed. What happened?
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I asked, lifting my head a little.
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My friends had cleared the room, only my doctor, a few nurses and
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my parents were there. It was obvious from their faces
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they had both been crying. Their wet tears still glistened.
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We lost you for a moment, how are you feeling?
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The doctor asked. Pretty good I suppose,
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considering that. I said, laying back down.
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I could see an older man sitting next to the door with a cane.
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His face was different, but I recognized the deep brown eyes.
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I was the only one who seemed to be able to tell he was there.
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He winked at me and stood up and hobbled out of the room with his
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cane. That was almost two years ago
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now. The hospital kept me a couple
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weeks for monitoring, but amazingly my leukemia had gone
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into full remission and they stated it seemed like it was
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almost completely gone. They called it a miracle.
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I'm happy to say I did in fact get married and I have a little
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one on the way. I'm currently going back to
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school. I'm working to become a doctor
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so I can travel the world and help people where medical care
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isn't easily affordable. My husband loves the idea and is
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very supportive as long as I take them with me.
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He already imagined the rest of his life without me and doesn't
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want to spend much more than a moment apart.
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I have not seen my benefactor again, well, at least not
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directly. I see him every day in the
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kindness people do to others and in every good deed that inspires
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me. I do not know if he was God or
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devil, Angel or demon, good or evil, monster or beast, living
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or dead. I know that my time will come
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again. But He gave me another chance to
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witness and to spread all of life's tiny miracles.
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That is good enough for me.