The Stranger

In those few moments the faceless reality of death quietly stared at me. Till then it was always remote, distant, something one would encounter in the dusk of life. But in those few moments I acknowledged its silent overpowering presence. Sudden, Unexpected, Certain. In those few minutes I acknowledged life, I hung on to it with all the strength that I could manage. It was hard to let go everything I loved and despised, everything I owned and dreamt of, everything that I lived for. But the helplessness mocked at my desire to live, to see. The incompleteness, the frivolity of it all made me desperate. A thousand thoughts went to & fro, a million images came back but nothing registered. I craved for life like never before.
Then something happened and the blurred images started coming to life again. I was breathing again. Death was an acquaintance now and when we meet again we won’t be strangers.