Lex stood in front of his old mirror, tying his worn tie. His face looked haggard, and his eyes revealed his exhaustion and grief. "Today is the day," he murmured, the words barely leaving his lips.
Today, he was going to the cemetery to bury Ms. Mlinda, a gentle soul who had dedicated her life to caring for the children at the small orphanage where he had grown up.
She died just three days ago, quietly surrendering to relentless embrace of old age. She was one of the few people he truly considered family.
From his earliest memories, she had been there for him. With a nurturing spirit, she guided him through the ups and downs of his education and helped him reach the university level, despite his academic and financial struggles. Though he was only somewhat above average in his studies.
The void that her departure created in his heart was insurmountable. For the past two days, Lex had done little more than sit in silence, his heart heavy with grief.
He and a few friends from the orphanage gathered to hold a small but meaningful funeral in her honor.
Although they couldn't afford anything grand, they were determined to celebrate her life and legacy as best they could.
Lex shrugged on his old brown coat, grabbed the remote from the couch, and switched off the TV just as a news anchor mentioned the rising death toll from the recent earthquake.
He stepped out of his modest apartment, the door creaking softly shut behind him. Three minutes later, he reached the roadside and raised his hand to hail a taxi, unaware that the ground beneath him was already shifting.
"To the city cemetery, please," he told the driver, his voice tinged with sadness.
As the car moved through the bustling streets, Lex gazed out the window. His mind swirled with thoughts and memories.
The city moved past him in a vibrant blur, but he was lost in thought. He wondered what she would have thought of their efforts.
He wished she could feel the pride and gratitude he felt for all she had done in her next life.
As they approached the cemetery, the ground began to tremble violently.
"What's going on?!" Lex shouted, gripping the seat tightly and turning white-knuckled as his focus returned.
The old taxi driver panicked. His eyes widened as he clamped down on the steering wheel, fighting to maintain control. But it was no use as the road burst open beneath them, and cracks spread like a web as the earth itself split apart.
The car careened wildly off course and collided with a massive truck in an explosive crash that drowned out all sound.
Lex felt the force of the impact slam him forward. His body was thrown like a rag doll against the hard and jagged surface of the truck it had collided with.
A searing, white-hot pain exploded through his chest and limbs as if every bone had been crushed and every nerve set on fire.
His ears rang with a deafening roar, drowning out the chaos around him. Screams, sharp and desperate, pierced the air, blending with the cacophony of shattering glass and the sickening crunch of metal folding and twisting in on itself.
The world seemed to slow down, and everything became a blur.
Warm, sticky blood trickled down his forehead, pooling in his eyebrows before dripping into his eyes. His vision clouded and the world around him fractured into twisted, indistinct shapes.
He blinked, trying to clear the red haze, but the blood kept coming, mixing with the sweat and dust clinging to his skin.
He took quick, uneven breaths; each one introduced a new surge of pain in his ribs and lungs.
He tried to drag himself out of the car, but his body refused to obey him. His arms felt like lead and his legs were numb and unresponsive. Panic clawed at the edges of his mind, but he pushed it aside, forcing himself to focus.
"Don't fall asleep," he muttered through gritted teeth, his voice barely audible over the chaos. "Stay awake. Stay awake." These words became a mantra, a lifeline to which he clung as the darkness threatened to pull him under.
His thoughts turned to the family he had always dreamed of having: a kind-smiling wife, bright-eyed children, and a warm, welcoming home filled with laughter.
He imagined holding his child for the first time, feeling their tiny fingers wrap around his and hearing their laughter echo in his ears.
He wanted that more than anything. He wanted to give his family the love and security he had never known and shield them from the loneliness that had haunted him his entire life.
But dreams were just dreams at the end of the day.
The pain he felt was overwhelming. It struck him constantly, pulling him deeper into its cold, unforgiving embrace like a relentless tide.
His vision darkened at the edges and the world shrank to a narrow tunnel of fading light.
The screams around him grew muffled and distant, as if he were sinking underwater.
His eyelids grew heavy. No matter how hard he tried to keep them open, they refused.
The last thing he felt was his own warm blood pooling beneath him. The last sound he heard was the faint, fading sound of people rushing to help him.
Then, his vision turned to darkness.
When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the wreckage. The chaos, pain, and screams were all gone. He found himself floating weightlessly, as if the world had released its grip on him.
Below, he could see the twisted remains of the car and the people removing the old driver's body.
His broken and still body lay inside the car, surrounded by shattered glass and pools of blood. The sight should have horrified him, but it didn't. Instead, it felt distant, like watching a scene from a movie.
A strange calm washed over him. It was as if all his emotions—fear, pain, and regret—had been stripped away, leaving only a hollow stillness.
He felt nothing: no terror, no sadness, not even relief. Just nothing. He stared at his mangled, lifeless body, trying to make sense of what was happening. His thoughts were slow and drifted like leaves on a calm lake.
Before he could fully process the situation, he felt a sudden pull. It was an invisible, powerful force gripping him and pulling him away from the scene below.
He tried to resist and fight back, but it was useless. The world around him dissolved into a void so dark and vast that it felt endless. He was moving faster and faster; he couldn't tell if he was falling or ascending.
Looking around in the darkness, he realized he had no sense of direction. He felt there was no up or down, just the endless void and a sense of utter powerlessness.
The calm he'd felt earlier began to fade, replaced by a creeping unease
Where am I going? This unbidden thought came as he realized he was moving somehow.
What's waiting at the end of this? he wondered, feeling like this might be the transition to the afterlife.
But then, another part of him whispered something worse: What if I'm not going anywhere? What if this is it—just darkness forever? Forever?
He had no answer. Only silence.
Still, he braced for the worst.
And deep down, he quietly hoped for something else.