When I Died

First of all, I died.

When I was alive, I thought of death, as you do, as the end of things. That when mine came, it would be the end of me.

What I didn't bank on, was the expansion.

How much of our brains lie idle until those final moments. When we think we're teetering on a knife edge, about to fall into the embrace of oblivion. It's one helluva drug.

Something ends. Maybe many little things. Big things. But they all pale as little dwarfs next to the beginnings made possible by the cage of life finally being unlocked. What you mainly lose are all the gates and chains that keep us boxed in and taking another breath.

The Reaper comes along with that famous blade and slices you away from all the things holding you back and rooting you in the earth. Like a sad little plant.

I got a sip of tremendous potential. An inkling that there was more to know than I'd ever been able to contemplate before. Now, not only was I capable of that contemplation, I could know it as well. All of it! I crested a wave of euphoria and excitement. I saw galaxies. These would be reflected in my eyes, and yet at the same time I felt small at the feet of the mountains of everything I wanted to know. Most of it not even express-able in any language spoken by the living.

The things and people that had been important to me slipped away in those moments of joyous drowning, cartwheeling through stars on a carpet of silent laughter.

It might have been a moment, or a lifetime, but after all, what's the difference, really?

Soon or late, that warm thud and whoosh is so alluring... and once you condense yourself to meet it, it's addictive. Everything you discovered spirals away like dirty bathwater, taking everything you ever knew with it. Not least the sure and certain knowledge that you will find it all out again in due course...

That spidery web of little roots and capillaries go around you and through you, knotting you firmly into this heartbeat, and the next, and the next...

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Word count (excluding note): 366

Submitted on 24th January at 19.18PM

* Quick Author's Note *

Thank you so much for reading! Your thoughtful engagement is very much valued. Please leave a comment so I can reciprocate the read. If you enjoyed it, the best compliment you can give is to share it, or read another. Thank you especially to those who are being so supportive through this project. You are more appreciated than you know!

Pay no attention to the writer behind the curtain: I think this one is self-explanatory, no? Moira is likely to be back tomorrow, or maybe the next day. Her next instalment is stumping me a bit. I have got a couple of others cooking as well.

My "story every day" project: I'm writing a story every day this year. This one makes a 24 day streak. You can find all of them in my Index post, which is pinned to the top of my profile.

If you're joining me on this "story every day" madne adventure, please leave a link to yours in the comments. Whether you're on a creative bent, like me, and writing mostly microfiction/stories, or whether you have your own, self-imposed criteria, I'd love to see what you come up with for today. I'll try to come back and edit this to link to your piece at the bottom.

Edited to fix typo - thanks Hannah!