Sunday, December 31, 2006

WHEN A NEWBORN BABY CRIED

(First in a series of short-short stories.)

The limb stripped trees stood straight upright through the everlasting night. There was no moon, no stars, no sun. There was no wind, no breeze, just empty air. There was no-one there.. There were no footprints in the snow clad fields where nothing grew so nothing died. Although there was no ear to hear, no eyes to see, no soul to care, from somewhere in the stillness a newborn baby cried.

I know this happened. I was there to share the silence, sense the intense desperation in this infant's isolation. I had been born without the ability to hear or see or recall whoever had abandoned me in my infancy. But I remembered the warm embrace and taste of tears that fell on my face as I was placed on this ground where I found myself another day undressed in all my nakedness,

I felt this child's frustration in my heart, felt a part of its desperation to be held, just to be, to find another just like me. The infant cried again and I knew, instantly, the child was me, the sole remaining voice of all humanity.

I knew I could never be seen in another's eyes, never be recognized, denied the right to just be Me. I realized my voice inside was telling me I was about to die. I lay next to my infant self and began to cry, then closed my eyes and waited patiently.

I opened my eyes and saw the sky. I felt a breeze and heard leaves rustling in the trees. I saw angels floating by. My wife, at my side, looked at me with love and pride. Is this heaven? I wanted to know. Have I died? I saw her nod and knew it was true. I could see God smiling down on me.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home