Hospital Bed

        Laying in the metal framed bed, a last cage for a departing soul, was an old man, they patriarch of a close-knit clan. Through the large, clear window opposite the door, his loved ones might see outside. Colors seem strangely so much more alive and the room, despite the chilling sadness, was warmed by angels ready to guide the man to Heaven. Each child and grandchild spoke words of love to him, and he smiled at each and offered his own in return.
         A woman, as wrinkled as the man who lay now in the metal bed, wept with great passion and begged him not to go, not to leave her. The man speaks with comforting words. With each more and more shrouded by the specter of death, he guaranteed that they would see each other again soon, and that he would make sure that their new home was to her liking. The woman continued to weep, but his courage warmed her, and she nodded and kissed her ailing husband on the forehead, whispering that she will be looking forward to their grand reunion in Heaven.
         The youngest grandchild now takes his turn, showing the dying man a picture all in crayon and chalk pastel. Cows with stick-like legs grazed in an endless field against jagged, distant mountains. Below, in shaky manuscript, were the words “Too Pa-pa, Luv Michael”. The man wept quietly as the child explains that he had drawn Heaven for him and places the picture on the nightstand.
         “What eyes the child has,” the man says quietly, “He has seen Heaven, and I will see it too.”
         A gust of wind blew though the open window, bringing with it the sweet smells of summer and blessed life. The man smiles once more and, for the last time on Earth, tells each of his loved ones a heartfelt farewell. With no more pain, no more sickness, he looks out of the window and says, with his last breath.
         “I am ready.”