by Jester
The man stumbled into the clearing, blinking and shielding his eyes from the bright sun. Particles of dust and pollen danced lazily in the soft breeze, and a rich, earthy scent filled the air. Suddenly there was a sound, not unlike an elevator when it reaches its floor, and a soothing female voice rang through his head:
ding
"Welcome… to Eternity."
Eternity? Was he dead? Surely it couldn't have been that quick. The doctors had told him he had had at least three months left. But he never listened to doctors anyway. To Hell with the medicine, his life was too busy for pills.
Or, at least, it had been too busy.
So that was it. He was dead. Standing alone, in a sunlit field.
Well, he thought, if this is my eternity, I might as well look around. He examined his surroundings, and was struck immediately by the majesty of it all. He stood at the edge of a large clearing, which was bounded by a lush, thick forest. The soothing sounds of crickets surrounded him, and the temperature was warm, but pleasantly so. In the center of the clearing was a large rock, covered in soft moss and ivy. The sun's light cascaded down in rays, illuminating the field with a warm glow, and lending a soft golden luster to everything he saw.
He walked further into the clearing, noticing the soft springiness of the grass, and lay down beside the rock. So this is it. He was amazed by the very idea of it. The toils, the pain, the fighting, it's all behind me now. I'm dead. For a while, he lay still, letting thoughts of his life travel through his mind.
Soon, his thoughts turned to all the others, the ones who had stood in his way, and he felt nothing but spite. Do you see me now, you bastards? He thought. Do you see where I am? You can't touch me here, and no matter what you say, I did things my own way, I lived for me, and it got me here. He thought of them all individually: his partners, his competitors, and his wives. They had been obstacles in life, but he had overcome them, and succeeded, and now there was no way they could stand against him. As he thought, visions of their faces flew past his eyes. They all bore the look of defeat; he took a moment to laugh at them, then went back to his thoughts.
After a time, he got up, and went to explore the rest of his paradise. Truly, this was what he had always dreamed it to be. It was beauty, grandeur, peace; all combined, and it was perfect. The colors of the plants shone in brilliant contrast to each other, and as he ventured into the forest, the song of a babbling brook only added to the symphony of living sounds. He knelt down to its silver waters, and saw a group of fish swimming lazily. Next to him there was a cluster of magnificent flowers, and he reached out to pick one. He grabbed it, and broke it off at the stem, shaking the dew off of it.
As he picked it, a sudden pain shot through his arm and he let out a yell, dropping the blossom. Puzzled, he rubbed his arm, and walked back out into the clearing, wondering what had elicited the reaction.
He wasn't preoccupied long, though. A flock of indigo blue birds soared above his head, taking his breath away. He decided to forget the pain, which had subsided by now, and simply enjoy the beauty. Each step he took caused his feet to tingle, as if feeding off the glory of it all. He lay down, and went to sleep.
******
He awoke, feeling hungry. Standing, he surveyed the area around him for a source of food. Finally he found one: a cherry tree, standing alone on the edge of the forest and dangling plump, ruby fruits. As he saw it, his hunger grew, and he picked a single cherry.
Pain hit him again, more powerfully this time. He fell to the ground clutching his hand. He stood up, confused, and grabbed at another fruit. As soon as the stem broke away from the tree, a fierce sting shot through his body, knocking him down. Sobbing, he stood and pulled an entire branch of the tree, with a result even more intense. He staggered backwards and collapsed into the grass, panting.
He regained himself and stood, confused and frustrated. His hunger had grown, but he did not want to pick any more cherries. Instead, he staggered back to the stream. At each step, a strange sensation surged through his body. He ignored it and lumbered on. Reaching the stream, he crouched, and waited for one of the fish to swim close to him. When it did, he shot his hand into the water, but quickly yanked it out as he felt a burning sensation overtake it. His fingers ached to the point of numbness, after simply breaking the surface of the water.
What's happening?! His mind screamed, as he tried to run back to the rock. But the tingling he had felt with each step had since turned to a searing agony, and he only made it a few feet before collapsing. He grabbed at a branch to steady himself, but it broke off, sending bolts of pain to the very core of his being. He curled into a ball at the edge of the clearing, shivering.
He didn't move for at least an hour, for fear of damaging something else. Abruptly, he heard the ringing sound again, and the woman's voice echoed in his mind once more:
ding
"Welcome… to Eternity."
Only now, there was a different tone. The soothing tone which had welcomed him when he first entered was now one of laughing irony, but also pity.
And suddenly, horribly, he understood. He had received exactly what he had asked for: complete, undisturbed beauty. But that beauty was something he himself did not possess, and he had no place within it. His simple presence tainted the glory of the land with his every movement, and he paid dearly for it. He crawled out to the center of the clearing, feeling the pain of each individual blade of grass as it bent under his passage. He reached the stone, panting and crying, and collapsed again.
Looking up at the sky, he wondered what he had done to deserve such a punishment. And immediately, they appeared. The faces of those he had stepped over and left behind, trodden on and insulted in his quest for glory, floated once again in front of his eyes. But their faces no longer showed defeat. Instead, each and every one of them was smiling, triumphantly damning him to this fate. Hunger and pain tore through his very soul, and he let out a wail to shake the heavens, but was answered only by a soft voice, echoing in his mind.
ding
"Welcome… to Eternity."