Death and the Art of Dying

Death and the Art of Dying.


The most fundamental fear. It permeates the human existence. It transcends cultures. Space and Time have yet to slow it down. The inevitable consequence of life. Nature creates it. Physics demands it. And here it is, crawling up his back. Claiming the prize. A reward of blood and potential. Leaving a residue of shattered possibilities.

Tobias is dying.

The Earth is angry this day. The crust of the Earth has thrown a tantrum, and the city is torn in half. Cloudy, crushed eyes search for clarity through the chaos. He finds none. Reality refuses to function properly. Concrete and re bar have made a new home.

He attempts to wipe the dust from his eyes. He fails. Instinct finally makes an appearance.

Run.

The idea dies quickly. Reality takes over the situation. Pain is a powerful lesson.

His legs do not exist. In their place, a bridge. Her name is I-94. His weak struggles do little to interrupt their love. They have found each other, and they will hold one another forever.

They are not the only ones.

There is a war all around him now. Flesh battles concrete. The fighting is fierce. Some crawl from the battlefield unscathed. Others rush to help, finding only futility. This was an ambush. There was no chance of escape.

Death is here, and panic is her name. Screams for help break their hearts. One by one, they begin to realize. They are going to die.

With that revelation, Tobias becomes numb. No pain. Only contemplation. Family. Friends. Lovers. He never learned how to change the oil in his car. The guitar has set in the closet
for years. The grass needs to be mowed.

His mother will never know how much he needed her. He can never pay her back. He'll have no chance to tell his lover that their plans must be put on hold. Perhaps, only for a while.
Tobias will never know his father. Not even his face.

Tears.

The screams of the dying shake him from the stupor. Their torn flesh is a new agony for them. They fear pain and death. Now they are being strangled by both of them. They strike and claw the boulders, attempting to share their pain with their oppressors. Clenched fists smash against pillars and braces. Spectators witness their final moments.

This isn't fair. It's not my time. I have a family. I have children. Help. Please. Help.

Most turn to God. Some beg for deliverance. For time to reverse. For the stones to lift and their bodies turned anew.

Others curse God. He did this. It's no coincidence. He put me here, so that I may be crushed. Damn you.

Others ask forgiveness. The rubble a welcome and earned weight. A weight equal to the weight of their sins. They do not fear this pain. They do not fear this death. They are ready for the change.

Tobias' last moments in flesh are an epic event. Every aspect of the human experience lies before him. This is humanity, in it's truest form. There is only honesty here. As he slowly escapes his body, he ponders the multiple roads to death laid out before him.

And as he dies, he comes to realize, that death is truly a form of art.