Interminable
Do you believe in reincarnation? What if we were sent back time and time again until we achieved a life of worth? Stuck in an endless cycle of death and rebirth, Daniel has given up hope of ever being good enough.
Excerpt:
When a bright light became visible at the end of the tunnel, he fought against it in panicked desperation, but the increasing pressure was too much for his frail form to overcome. The first breath that entered his lungs was expelled with a screeching cry of frustrated anger and despair. Latex covered hands poked and prodded as he continued to wail, then cocooned him in warmth insufficient to soothe his misery.
“Do you want to hold him?” someone asked.
“No,” came another voice, feeble but adamant. “Take it away.”
The rejection was nothing compared to the torturous memories temporarily remaining in his possession.
His existence was confined to a small space with more hands poking and prodding, offering sustenance but little comfort. Meanwhile, with no other way to express his anguish, he cried.
“He never stops does he?” someone asked.
“Rarely sleeps either,” said another. “A couple came to see him yesterday, but turned him down. Said it felt like he hated them.”
“Poor thing.”
Immeasurable time passed with more hands and more rejections. His memories were not as sharp as before, but were still strong enough to fuel his incessant wailing.
More time, more hands, more rejections, but then something new! Someone held him differently, spoke to him differently.
“I’m here,” she whispered in his ear.
His cries stopped mid breath, causing a shocked gasp nearby. With the last of his failing memory, he identified the woman holding him as the gatekeeper’s attendant.
Author’s Note:
A glimpse of this story came to me over a year prior to writing it, but never grew into anything more. After finishing the project before it, no new ideas were forthcoming and I feared perhaps the well had finally run dry. Then I remembered that tiny little thought I had put away on the shelf and decided to dust it off.