Hospitals won't help a dying man. At least not one who is truly dying. Most hospitals will rush to help a man who's body is dying but very few will ever stop to nurse the man who's life is dying. Right before the eyes of his friends and family, he begins to fade away. Slowly at first, but then more rapidly until one day, he is no longer alive. Sure, he will still walk around, eat, sleep, talk - all the things that are needed too be considered "alive". Anyone who has ever felt truly alive, like you do when...
One minute she was on the page of a manga novel and the next she was standing in the rain. I stared at her from my seat in the cafe. One minute I was reading about her and the next I was watching her loo around, confused. I jumped up out of my seat and raced outside. "Sumi! Sumiko!" She turned to look. It was her, I was certain. Sumiko, from my favorite manga. She was not of this world. "Sumiko, I am here to help you..." What else could I say? She was lost in the middle of the...
It was the fall that surprised me most. I had never been a graceful person, and I was no stranger to the more than occasional stumble and bumble, but to actually lose my balance, to land hard on my rump, feet splayed out in front of me with no chance to catch myself, that was a surprise.
Luckily, I didn't land on my trombone, which was strapped to my back in a relatively unprotected cloth gig bag. Trombone players are marginally useful as it is, and trust me, NOBODY needs a trombone player with a flat bell or bent slide....
"Ice Snakes! I will not let you beat me into the Olympics!" Woolly Mammoth shouted as he watched the Ice Snakes perform their gymnastics trick. He was shushed by the judges. "Be quiet or you'll be disqualified." The Ice Snakes smirked as they completed their routine. Woolly Mammoth was next. He stepped up onto the trampoline and stated his name. "I am Woolly Mammoth." He started his routine. He flipped, jumped, and twirled. He blew away the judges completely. When it was time to announce who would be going to the Olympics, "Polar Bear, Sloth, Penguin, and Woolly Mammoth." The...
The scene was peaceful, serene and calming. I stood at the base of the light house and pressed my back against the solid wooden door behind me. I felt the cool mist on my cheeks as the fresh, inspiring air entered my lungs. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. The sounds of gulls flying overhead, of the playful waves spalshing against the rocks, all of these soothing sounds filled my mind as I allowed myself to get lost in the wonder of it all. This is what life was meant to be - finding enjoyment in the simple things....
"Adam! Give me the Pelican! Now!" John half screamed half sobbed. "It's mine!"
"No mine!" Adam clutched the Pelican to his chest. "My turn!"
"But mommy gave it to me! My Pelican!" John grabbed for it. "Mine!"
Adam would not relent. "No!"
"I'm gonna tell mommy that you took my Pelican!"
"Boys!" Both men looked up. "You are 30 years old. Adults! You should not be acting like 3 year olds!"
Both men hung their heads. "Yes mommy..."
"Now Adam. Give John back his pelican. I'll get you your Teddy bear, alright?"
"Yes mommy..." Adam slowly gave his brother back...
Once, in Beijing, a young girl in a red gown huddled in a doorway. She held a bowl in one outstretched hand. Her eyes were studying the gravel on the road, not rising to the gaze of passersby who occasionally dropped a coin into her bowl. Her mother was dead, her father was missing, she had no siblings that she knew of, she had only a red gown and a bowl. When the bowl filled with money at the end of the day, as it often did, she would take it to a nearby shop and exchange it for rice...
It was the fall that surprised me most. One minute you're standing and the next you're plummeting towards the earth. Time seemed to slow. I counted the stories of the building as I whizzed by them. Twenty, twenty one, twenty two. My last thoughts probably shouldn't be counting.
I thought my life was supposed to flash in front of me. I closed my eyes for a moment but nothing popped into my head at all. In fact, I was slightly irritated that I had stopped counting. I was probably about forty floors up. I should have paid more attention in...
The sunlight pushed its way through the heavy curtains at my enormous window and I shut it out. I need to be alone, I tell myself but I know that I can never be alone for long. After a while someone is bound to come along and try to cheer me up. I might smile, might even laugh but we all know that laughter can't last forever. I force myself to peek out the window and observe the street below. A cluster of small children play on the sidewalk, laughing. The joy on their faces lights a spark in me...