A minute before death

"Don't be afraid! I'm right here with you! I've always been."

"But why? I don't deserve you to be here. I don't deserve the valuable time you're sacrificing for me. There are others in trouble. They need you. You can go..."

"And why would I leave you? You deserve attention just as much as anyone else."

"Please just go... I know you've got work to do more important than me. I really don't understand why do you care about me... I turned away from you. I denied you. I cursed your name... I left you without a word... Why don't you just simply do the same?"

"Because I'm not like that. You know it well. Look, if you really want to spend your last few seconds with debating and questioning my presence here, then I won't stop you to do so. Go ahead, I'm listening."

I went quiet...

"Ca-can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"You said you were always right next to me..."

"I was."

"No, you weren't... Why are you here now? Why weren't you there when the accident happened? You should've been there and help me!"

"I did."

"You did? How? I don't see it... and now that I'm dead... how does it help me?"

"lt does, trust me. I do everything for a reason."

"FOR A REASON? Then tell me what is the reason of taking someone's life?"

"Please don't raise your voice. It's okay to doubt. I completely understand what you're going through..."

"No, you're NOT!!!" my gaze softened as I went silent for the next few minutes "..ohh, sorry, you really do..."

"Yes."

"Then explain me..."

God sighed.

"Are you sure it's what you want?"

"Yes, definitely."

The next moment we stood in my house. Everything seemed to be the same as usual. I could even smell the fresh flowers and hear the radio playing a classic jazz song. I noticed nothing weird until I looked out the window.

"Oh my..."

The beloved city I've known since I was little soaked in blood. Most of the houses were burned down, the friendly streets were now a whole battlefield, where people, my friends were desperately running for their life.

"Where are we?"

"In the future..."

"I mean how much are we in the future?"

"Mmmm, weeks, maybe days"

"So this is what's waiting for us? This is how it ends? But why did you save me? Why me?"

"I've warned the church and asked the priests to spread the word. Only a few believed me. They left in time. However many thought that it's nonsense. They called my people stupid and insane..."

"There was no sign of war..."

"It's true, it all happened unexpectedly for the residents at least. But this is still not a reason to lose faith and ignore my word."

"What do you mean by residents?"

"You couldn't know what will happen. Your country had a lot in debt. The government kept this in secret for a long time."

"I didn't need any other explanation... I clearly belonged to those who didn't care about the church... In my whole life I relied on myself so much that I forgot there was a god that watched every step of mine and maybe helped me build up a career, a house, a family... and now everything is gone, because I didn't have faith in him..."

"How... would I... have died here?" I asked with tears in my eyes.

"You don't want to know it."

"What if I do...?"

He looked at me and stayed quiet for a bit.

"Your house was partly destroyed during a bomb attack. You would've watched while your kids were stuck under the beams of the roof, but you would have wanted to help them. However when you would've tried to escape, the roof have torn down and closed the only exit. You would've burned till death. I couldn't let that happen."

I remained silent. I didn't know what to say honestly...

I looked through my house. It was spacious, elegant, expensive... The work of my whole life. But what is it worth during a chaos like this? Nothing... Everything loses its value, no matter how hard you wanted... how hard you've worked for it...

When I was little, I went to church every Sunday. The priest who held the ceremony was so kind and preached with so much energy and enthusiasm. I loved listening to his words. However there was a quote from the Bible I've never understood as a kid. Now that I'm an adult, I finally knew its meaning, but I've never thought that I would experience or witness a situation like this. This quote goes like...

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal..." – God smiled at me – "Come with me, I'll show you a better place"