Dreams (Edited)

His eyes slowly closed and darkness clouded the man’s mind. Suddenly, a heavy gasp for air. His eyes opened up wide.

“What?!”, he exclaimed.

“Hello”, a glowing entity said, appearing next to the man out of nowhere.

Startled, the man fell to the ground. The entity reached out its hand to help the man up.

“Where am I?”, the man asked. “I thought I d-.”

“Died. You did’, the entity said. “This is the afterlife.”

“I don’t believe this”, the man said in awe. “Then, who are you?”

“This is when things get complicated”, the entity replied. “You know when you’re checking out your groceries, only one item can be scanned at a time. You’re that one item right now, entering the afterlife, and I happen to be the item before you.”

“So, you’re saying you died just now”, the man said confused.

“Yes. Exactly a second before you died”, The entity said with a soft smile.

“How come you look like that?”, the man asked in disbelief.

“I have attained the knowledge of the universe, which I will bestow onto you”, the entity said as it put its fingertips on the man’s temple. A soft glow appeared and receded.

The man gasped, jaws dropped and eyes wide.

“It’s overwhelming at first. That’s because everything is jumbled right now. It’ll sink in soon”, the entity warned.

“That’s what black matter is? Black holes are used for that? And the multiverse is real?.” the man said, astonished.

The entity smiled and said ,”Yes, the multiverse exists both on earth and in the afterlife. In a parallel universe, you’re the entity, passing the knowledge of the universe to the person who just died after you. The same applies to me. In another universe, I’m a human talking to an entity that died right before me. It’s a never ending cycle.”

“How come I have consciousness here and not there?,” the man asked.

“You have consciousness in both, but the mind you have right now only focuses on one life, your life,” the entity replied. “Speaking of life, shall we take a look at yours?”

A window suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It showed the man’s perspective as a child in the backseat of a car. His parents can be seen in front, talking happily. Then, suddenly everything’s spinning and blank. The child’s eyes opened up and there, in front of him, his dead parents, covered in blood.

The man closed his eyes and looked away. His eyes began to water. The man took a long breath and regained composure. “That was the day I learned loneliness,” the man said upset. “I lived my adolescent life at an orphanage and watched the other kids get adopted. When I left, I was on my own, trying to make a living. Even after getting a stable life, I found no meaning.”

The window started showing the man walking on a bridge. Lit up lamp posts can be seen, stretching all the way to the other end. The skies are still dark and there’s a cold breeze in the air.

“Do you remember this day?,” the entity asked.

“Yeah.. I do. I remember it vividly,” the man answered. “The day I tried to end it. I wanted a place where no one could see me nor find me. I climbed over the rail and looked down into the river. I thought I was ready to jump in the cold water, but the sun came up. It was absolutely beautiful. Vibrant colors of red, orange, and yellow, slowing washing away the evils of the dark night. The river below started glistening. It was mesmerizing. As the sun got higher, my cold skin began to warm. I closed my eyes and took a long deep breath. I shook my head, climbed back over and continued walking.”

“And you found?,” the entity asked.

“I found a roll of money. I didn’t see anybody on the bridge, so I took it home. I counted it and it was 20 grand. I didn’t know what to do with it. I found no use for it since I have a stable job. Plus, money doesn’t bring me happiness.”

“So what did you do with it?”, the entity asked.

“I went back to the bridge later that day,” the man replied, “To see if anybody was looking for it, but everything seemed normal. People passed by, minding their business. I went to the bridge daily for a week and still nothing. On the last day, I was watching the city from afar and I started questioning myself, “Why am I even here? What am I expecting to happen if I returned this money to its owner?” While I was pondering, a skinny lad stood beside me and said, “Dude, what are you staring at, man? Are you checking out those marshmallows too?” My mouth opened as if I was about to say something, but nothing came out. I was speechless. I didn’t know how to respond to that. The skinny lad continued, “Doesn’t it make you wanna fly up there cause that would be gnarly.” “Have you flown in the sky before,” I asked. “Nah, man. That would be a dream come true though; to be that high,” he said, chuckling. “Here, take this money. I’m not using it,” I said, handing him $5,000, “Make your dream come true.” “Dude, no way. That’s so righteous. You the man, man,” the skinny lad said, excitedly. To my amazement, the skinny young man suddenly picked me and spun me in the air. I didn't think his skinny arms could carry me. He started running and I looked his way and he jumped up and did a heel click. I was dumbfounded.”

“I continued to go to the bridge and a couple days later, I met a young lad. It was a clear day. He was leaning on the bridge rail and his eyes were closed. I was concerned and I asked if he was okay. He replied, saying, “Yeah.” I was curious and asked him what he was doing and he replied, keeping his eyes closed, “I’m listening to the speedway and imagining myself being there.” I was shocked. The speedway was some distance away. The young lad smiled and excitedly said,”#7 just passed up #9 and took the lead.” I closed my eyes and listened closely. My eyebrows rose. I could faintly hear the announcer speaking, the crowds cheering, and the sound of the engines. I was stunned and I asked the young lad, “What is your dream?” The young lad looked my way and I noticed the sparkle in his eyes. He said, “I want to be a racer! One day I’ll make it happen.” I smiled and these words came out of my mouth without thought, “I believe in you.” I handed him $5,000 and said, “Take this and make your dream come true.” The young lad started crying. He hugged me tightly and said, “Thank you so much,” while wiping his tears.

“Couple weeks later, I decided to watch the sunset from the bridge and I noticed a young man in a wheelchair, a few feet away from me. He took a glass and a bottle of whiskey out and started drinking. I walked over to him and asked if I could take a swig. He poured some whiskey in his glass and handed the bottle to me. I took a swig and thanked him. When I returned the bottle, I noticed a gun on him and asked, “You a veteran?” He replied, “Yeah, but who cares.” I was a bit shocked, but looking at his current state, I couldn’t blame him. ”Thanks for your service,” I said, “Mind if I sit here?” “Go for it,” he replied. We watched the sunset in silence for a bit and I asked him, “What’s your dream?” He didn’t reply for a few minutes and kept drinking. Then, he let out a sigh and said, “Pole vault. I wanted to pole vault in the Olympics.” My eyebrow rose. “Oh, you know, it’s never too late. Some people have done the impossible. You could do it if you believed.” The young man scoffed. He was quiet for a moment and all of a sudden burst out laughing. I handed him $5,000 and he stopped laughing. “It all begins by taking the first step; you can do it,” I said with all seriousness. The man looked at me as if I was crazy; then gave a warm smile. He handed the bottle to me and said, “Cheers man.””

“The last $5,000 I gave to a young woman a month later. It was a little after sunset and the skies began to turn dark. I was heading back home until I saw a young woman climbing over the bridge rail. She reminded me of myself in the past. Without hesitation, I ran towards her, yelling, “Wait! Don’t!” “Don’t come any closer!,” she yelled back. I stopped where I was and desperately said, “Please”. “There’s nothing left for me anymore!,” she yelled, sobbing. “Please, I’ve been in your shoes. I almost ended it not too long ago. You say you have nothing, but you still have your dream, right?” “My dream.. I gave it up a long time ago,” she replied. I responded back, saying, “You gave it up, but you still know what it is. That means it hasn’t left you. It’s still a part of you.” She paused for a moment. Looked down at the river and exhaled deeply. She wiped her tears with one arm, and climbed back over. “Thank goodness,” I said as I helped her get back over safely. “What is your dream?,” I asked. “I wanted to be a singer,” she replied. I smiled and said,” Please take this $5,000 and work towards your dream. Don’t ever give up on it.”

“How was life after giving the money away?”, the entity asked.

The man gave out a long sigh and, full of regret, said, “I made no changes to my mundane life and eventually, my depression got the better of me. I now realize that was a huge mistake.”

“Do you want to see your funeral?”, the entity asked.

“I imagine no one going to be there,” the man responded disappointedly.

“Look again,” the entity said.

A window popped up, showing the man’s funeral. It was on a green hill and in front of the casket were four individuals.

“Wait, is that them?”, the man said in disbelief.

“Yes, those are the four individuals you gave the money to,” the entity said. They grew up and achieved their dreams because they knew someone believed in them.”

The man started to tear up. “Look at them.. they’re all grown up,” the man said as his voice cracked.

The entity continued, “The skinny lad became a sensational daredevil, doing stunts in the sky. The young lad became a Formula One world champion. The young man became a gold medalist in the Paralympics. The young woman became a famous singer. They’re not the only ones who attended.”

The window showed thousands of people standing behind them. All of them were followers of the four individuals. Once they heard the news about you, they asked their followers to pay respect to the man that changed their life and made everything possible for them.

A little black book appeared in the entity’s hand and the entity said, “In this book are the names of every person who attended your funeral. The first page contains personal messages from each of the four individuals.”

The man started reading and fell to his knees. Tears fell uncontrollably onto the pages. He balled up, hugging the black book, and began sobbing.

“No one asked what your dream was. What was it?”, the entity asked.

The man continued sobbing.

“Did it come true?,” the entity asked.

The man nodded and had trouble saying it out loud, but mustered enough energy,

“To be happy.”

-Don't wait until death to make your dream come true. Pursue it now.