Short Story - Floating World

A face appeared before him in the darkness bringing light to where there had previously only been blackness. Her smile filled his whole being with a warm comfortable feeling. Her smile made him feel as if he were lying in a warm bed under the covers on a cold winter morning. The same cold he had felt only moments before she had appeared.

"Not yet." She said softly without moving her lips. "It is not yet your time." He did not know what her words meant, but her eyes gave him a comforting look. He relaxed his tense muscles as best he could, studying her a little closer.

"Do I know you?" He said in low whisper.

Her smile widened as she came closer. Her long silver hair disappeared into the darkness around them. Her white robe emanated an aura of light in the darkness, the only refuge from the cold, dark void he felt trapped in. He shivered as he remembered the feeling of despair and helplessness he had felt within it. He had tried to scream, but to his frustration had only heard deafening silence, until the light, and then she had appeared.

"Yes." She said. There was a touch of amusement in her voice as she drew closer.

"Who are you?"

"That is not what is important. What is your name?"

"Ben."

"Ben. That is a nice name. I always liked Ben." She said in a whisper. "Tell me Ben, what are your earliest memories?"

As she spoke the words, he felt pieces of memories, long ago forgotten, become woven together in an intricate pattern. Suddenly, the memory came to him. The smells, sounds, and sights all too real.

"I am sitting in a stroller." He said "It is a bright sunny day, there are no clouds in the sky. My mother and my sister are there. We are at an oval pond that has a pathway around the edge. There are some reeds here and there swaying gently in the breeze, their green fronds topped with white flowers. Black swans swim gracefully on the lake, looking regal, their black feathers contrasting with their orange beaks. Some ducks are there fighting over the bread my mother has brought and gives to my sister and I to feed them. I am scared of the ducks because I am very small and I cannot throw the bread very far or very well. The ducks come close and I do not like it. They smell. I need not worry however as my mother is looking after me." And then, as abruptly as it began, it was over. After a long moment, an eternity it seemed, Ben was able to speak. "I don't understand. What is happening to me?"

"What is your last memory?" She said before he could ask any more questions. She repeated her question when he hesitated. "Ben, I would like to know about your last memory?"

Like his first memories, he felt his last memory come together in a subtle harmony. But while the last vision had affected his emotions a little, this one hit him with a force that made him cry in pain.

"My mate and I went down to the Menaga Café at Kuta on Bali. Our wives were still back at the hotel and said for us to go ahead and they would join us later. My mate and I had only just got there and got settled when I saw an Indonesian guy come in with a backpack. He yelled something and then reached to his backpack. There was a blinding light, then nothing, the world went black."

He looked at her paralyzed in the realization of where he was. He was dead. It all came to him at once, the silence, the darkness, and the cold - death. He looked up to her, his mature manly expression replaced by a mask of horror.

"I am dead." It was all he could say in a voice too small. The strong, confident man that had stood before her had turned into that of a small trembling child. "I am dead." He repeated softly.

"Who do you love?" She asked softly.

"Kelly, my wife" Ben replied.

"Do you want to leave her behind?" Her soft grey eyes held a love that was reflected in her smile.

He stared at her a long moment before answering, memories of his childhood sweetheart Kelly who he had married just four months ago and his love for her warming his heart.

"No".

"She is waiting for you." Her soft voice was comforting to him. "It is not yet your time. Go back to her"

"But how?" He said. "How can I go back if I am already dead?"

"Decide." She said with a smile and a small laugh. "Now, close your eyes and decide what you want to do. Come to heaven with me now or go back to Kelly until it is really your time" Her words came from far away, not the short distance that had been between them.

He did as he was told. He made a decision that he wanted to be alive, to be with Kelly. She had been the lone candle that lit up his world up until now. In the darkness he could see a tiny light as if from a candle a long way off. The candle seemed to get closer and brighter and bigger.

Ben reached for the light. It grew stronger.

"Sir………… Sir….can you hear me?" Ben was confused now for it was a male voice he was now listening too. "Sir… can you open your eyes?

Ben opened his eyes slowly and looked up at the Indonesian policeman. There was dust and debris all around. "What happened?" Ben struggled to speak.

"There was a terrorist attack. A suicide bomber" replied the policeman. "Many people have died but you are not one of them".

Ben started to cry. He felt like the luckiest man alive