Talk before sleep

         An old man lies on his death bed; and while laying there in the complete silence of the room. There appears an angel with wings of white and the garb of one that doesn't have much money. Well the man rubs his eyes muttering to himself "I must be hallucinating." to this the angel smiles and shakes its’ head. Its’ features are soft yet nondescript coming off as very androgynous.



When it speaks, the man visualizes only color and light in his mind, and quietly he asks "is it time?"The angel nods its’ head. The elderly man moves his hand to the angels and speaks. "For countless years in this life I've studied the hard practice of science, I've Had no religion. I've spoken with no priests or rabbi's about sin." he takes a breath and coughs "they say death is when the DMT welled up in your skull dumps and you dream while your awake, how can I know any of this is real?" The angel responds in that voice of light, this time making sentences. "You fear the nature of reality though you lived in it all of your life? How...curious. Do you remember when you felt fear at anytime in your life, or maybe felt the bliss of just being here alive and living? Both experiences are one in the same; it's a way to test the consistency of the reality around you. In life you are exposed to the stimulus that changes the body & mind. In death you will understand how those feelings you harbored can change the world you see completely. Heaven is a world of perception, as well as hell. A violent mind will harbor dark intentions whereas a pure mind will harbor pure intentions." The man though about what the angel had said, he brooded for a moment and said. "Then wickedness is not punished! It’s as condoned as the pure!" the angel then shook it's head and spoke again



"Imagine a place where no one dies, where life is abundant and eternal. Imagine you died with all the sin and grief, and heartache of the physical world," the man nodded his head trying to follow with a bit of an idea. "You wouldn't want to leave until you let go of that baggage would you?" he shook his head "I want to die knowing that everything was resolved." the angel spoke again "what if I man wronged you or a woman for that matter?" he thought for a moment. "Well they would have to die eventually, but what of it. After-life isn't just the harboring of who’s right and who’s wrong. It isn't the collection of negativity. But say you let go of the pain and suffering you felt on earth. Your heart brings you to your heaven, a place where all souls can gather. What you feel there is bliss you've let go the mortal coil overcome the human predicament, and left a cycle of pain. You’ve left what the man or woman has done to you on earth, and when he comes to the conclusion he would join you." The man looked skeptical "so what you're saying is what happens on earth stays on earth, But doesn't that give way for people to get off scot-free of their sins?" the angel nods "Many a prophet, messiah, and savior have come to this planet. In the short time they preached the best they could try to make the human race a better people through their messages, but they themselves were only just one person; and the evil of man is great. Twisting words and distorting the truth making sure that we'll dwell on earth forever." The man squinted his eyes. "I'm getting tired; can we... continue this when I wake up?"

The angel grasped his hand the monitors for the man's machinery started to die down and the beep of his EKG slowly went flat. Without a sound the angel lifted the man from his bed in a shimmer and took him to his next life.