Gray mist loomed ahead as the ferry came to a stop, waiting for his command. Turn left or turn right? Indeed, another choice to be made after a lifetime of choosing. None had prepared him for this, his final choice.
Or was it? Did life go on in a different form after that last breath – perhaps many times over that one no longer recalled?
The ferry floated in silence; the mist began to obscure his surroundings. Time pressed in, as if the moment to decide was fast ticking by on a celestial clock. Would the decision no longer be his if he waited? Would the mist itself be his final choice if he did nothing?
He gazed to the west. Pale blue sky reigned over a grassy knoll, peaceful and serene. Friends and family waited for him there, smiles beckoned in static tranquility.
The east portrayed something different altogether. Ever changing, much as his life had been. An orange sky shimmered behind a gateway of stone. Water rushed beneath the gate, disappearing over a cliff to a fathomless destination. The wind whispered of adventure, danger and loss. A siren's call to be sure.
The grassy knoll remained unchanged as he stole another glance. The people he loved waited there with patient smiles to welcome him home, promises of peace upon their lips, a chance to rest his weary soul within their arms.
He raised his hand in silent farewell and turned east, slipping into the unknown.
©2010 Laura Eno
