Oblivion

Life is all about second chances. Will you take yours?

            “Welcome”, a deep loud voice said. I opened my eyes but the strong blinding light made me close them immediately. It was really hard getting used to it. I had never seen such a bright light in my whole life. Finally, I started looking for the person who welcomed me. There was nothing or no one to be seen. Ideas started running through my head, which felt heavier than ever. “Where am I?” “Am I dead?” “No, Aiden, stop! That is totally stupid. Once you die it’s all over. No next levels. No reincarnation. Nothing. Just dark. Just the end.”

                        I wasn’t in a hospital. There were no machines or anything resembling one. Nothing connected to my body. I had no wounds. No doctors, no people around me. No living creatures around me. “Maybe someone kidnap…”

                        My thoughts were interrupted by a “video” that started showing in one of the sides of the wall, which was huge. I did not know what was happening, and the only thing that drew my attention was the mesmerizing quality of this video I was watching. I was not just watching it, I was feeling it. It felt too real, like I was a part of it. As if I was in it. However, I did not understand what the video was showing, or why it was showing what it was showing.

                        A baby was born, and then his parents were holding him. A few moments later, he was opening gifts under a Christmas tree. As my brain was starting to get clearer, I could see and acknowledge who the little boy was. When I saw who the “main character” of the video was, it felt like the weight of the whole world and what’s beyond it was all on my shoulders. It was me! Aiden Alexander! What was that supposed to mean? Is this some kind of a really bad joke? Has someone been stalking me my whole life? No. That’s impossible. How would they get everything on camera and in such a high quality? Nothing made sense anymore…

                        While the images kept playing, ridiculous thoughts came in to my mind. Death was one of them. “But Aiden, no more levels”, I convinced myself I was not dead. My last memory was the kiss I gave Zena when she said “yes”. I was in oblivion. I wasn’t sure that any of this was happening, that any of this was real. No one was here to pinch me and tell me it was just a dream, so I tried to convince myself that indeed it was. Just a dream. A very bad one. I told myself that I would soon wake up next to my lovely new wife, and this nightmare would be over and everything would be fine.

                        The feeling, however, was too real. The quality of the video that kept playing in front of me only kept improving. Dreams are usually very blurry, so this wasn’t one. A nightmare maybe, but not a dream. By the time I was concentrating on the video again, I was already 16, and I gave my first kiss to this girl Loreen. (Yes, I know 16 is a little late for a first kiss, but I was never good at stuff like that.) You could even see her freckles in the video, so I actually started paying more attention to it and looking forward to the ending of the video, for an explanation as to what happened and where I was.

                        Suddenly, an epiphany hit me like a wrecking ball. I was not watching the highlights of my life. I was watching every second of it. It wasn’t going fast forward or anything, but neither was it taking the time it should have taken. I wasn’t in that room for 16 years. Everything was clear as crystal, every second of the bloody video. The thought that I would be stuck in the room for 31 years vanished before it could even properly develop, because the first 16 only lasted a few seconds, or minutes maybe. I wasn’t sure. I did not know how time worked in here. I didn’t even know what “here” was.

                        More and more thoughts were boiling in my head while the too-realistic-to-not-be-real video was coming to an end. More events that were very clear in my memory were showing. I met Zena. I cheated on her. She forgave me and said that she loved me too much to let go of me because of a “mistake”. My grandfather died, which caused the wedding to be postponed. The wedding was postponed on August 13^th. The day came. As soon as I said “yes” the video became a little blurry, and in the second that she said “yes” it was over. Everything was white again.

                        The voice started talking again. Finally!

                        “I need your undivided attention”, it said. Really? What could possibly distract me? “Okay” I replied. “This was a test” he continued. “It is not your time. It won’t be for quite a while. Aiden, you need to make changes in the way you’re living your life.” My first thought was “how does he know my name”. “Oh I just do. Listen! This is your one and only chance to look back at what you’re doing to you and those who love you.” “Oh no, it knows I cheated on Zena again” I thought. It did. “You need to stop hurting those who care about you. Take this as a lesson. Build on it for your future actions. Life is a precious thing, and you have to try to make the best out of it. All humans are selfish, but some more than others. Do not be one of those who only care about themselves. And I am not saying to put anyone ahead of you, just don’t hurt them, think about them before you do what you are about to. Just know that Zena loves you, and all you have to do to make her happy is love her back, as much as she loves you. Again, this is your final warning. Next time you’ll stay longer”.

                        I had no idea what had just happened. I was absolutely muddled by it all. As the voice started vanishing away and the volume of it become lower and lower, I asked “Who are you?”. “Don’t you worry about me. This isn’t about me. It’s about you and your future. However, I am not who you think I am, neither am I his soldier or anything similar. See you in a while”. “Wait”, I said, but it didn’t listen to me. It went away. The room was white for another fraction of a second, and in a shorter time than that, it was black. Pitch black. The next real thing I felt was a defibrillator in my chest, and then it was white again. But this time different.

                        Doctors. People. Beds. Machines. Syringes. ZENA! She was there. So it was a dream wasn’t it. No. It felt more real than anything else. I could still feel it, hear it, see it. The white room wasn’t there anymore, but its impact was. It made me a better human being, a great one perhaps. It made me appreciate the things I should have always appreciated. But mostly, it taught me that I was more scared of the “real life”, than I was of the white room. It taught me that in an oblivious state, we can learn more than in a conscious one. It taught me that when oblivion is calling out your name, you obey to it more than to your own conscience. 

Author's Note

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