When I Cry When We Die: A Short Story

People so often wonder what happens to us when we die, but all humankind can do is speculate. Mother used to tell me that when people we love die, they go to heaven. They are never truly away from us and soon we will see them again. I remember sitting alone on a creaky fold-out chair at Father's funeral looking around at the tear stained faces. I couldn't help but wonder: if we really believe this is true, then why do we cry when they die? Was there something inside us that always knew that they were lost forever, and one day we would be too? "Sammy," she would say with a harsh voice, "don't say those kind of things! Faith is the only thing that will matter in the end. It's your ticket into God's kingdom!" The warm wind grazed my face before moving along to cycle the world like a conveyor belt of air. Each breath we take will eventually be given back, churning, never ending. The fact that every bit of air I release would one day fuel another being made me feel better about taking too much of it for myself, when I used take it that is. I always liked the Forest, I remember fondly as I lay in it's lap. The excessive noise of the city always made me nervous. Xavier and I loved coming here to play tag or …show more content…
Cars whizzed past me but none seemed to notice or even touch me. I was just a empty shadow making my way to wherever I was going. I traced the yellow marks down the concrete, dragging my feet through the dirty snow. I had been here before, I knew it. The dark sky, the cars, the trees. It was all so familiar. I looked down at my feet and watched as my shoes cut ditches through the black and grey snow and car wheels sped past me merely inches away. The air was dirtied by smoke, gas, and loneliness. I glanced up and saw Xavier standing just ahead of me in the road. He stood perfectly still, watching