° ənɓo|oɹd °

The Angel of Death, the Dark Angel, the Grim Reaper; the personification of the power that destroys life, often represented in art and literature as a skeleton or an old man holding a scythe. These are a few things you might associate with what I'm going to talk about. The first thing that comes to your mind, when you think of death is what I'm asking about. The reaping of souls? The transportation of souls to hell or heaven? Could it possibly be the rite of passage to the next life?

"The ambassador of peace can trickling
While I lay in nature's embrace
The faint sheen of greyish hue
That made me inhumane and grim."

Let me stop you right there. What you gathered in the former one of the questions was right. Yes, death is when we reap the souls. It is a fool-proof method and people do have set time spans that they are bound to live for, no matter how much earlier or later they want to die.

As about the second one, I will be a little hesitant to nod a yes to that. It's not hell or heaven, dear ones. It's never that. It is always the notion of submitting to living rebirths as an act of atonement. Some might agree, some might not. But it is not my place to shake the beliefs that your entire existence was based on.

About the third one... Well, I have an obscured vision about that one. Some of you might be antipathetic to accept the fact that your Egyptian ancestors did discover a path for the souls, that might not seem to be practical at all. At least, it doesn't seem plausible for a soul to gather the worldly things and ride on a boat to the afterworld. Some parts of it, however, are true.

You can espouse the causes of death and liberation for all, or a few, in whatever manner that your innate conscience chooses to stick with. It has nothing to do with me, or the facts and statements I make. You feel antsy trying to cope with my pace? Do not fret, for you are free to leave.

"The grip on me loosens and
My feet leave the earth
Jokes on the soil I lay in
Never will I ever be back."

The soul does go on wandering into the afterworld, where it matches with another soul of the exact opposite energy. You could call it Yin and Yang or the Ankh and the Eye of Horus, that's totally up to your will. But, the truth is... Swirls of the souls with the disparity in the greatest amount causes the renaissance of a newer soul, arising from pre-existing ones.

The biology enthusiasts could call it recombination. I, for one, do agree with such a term. Only because it's more apt than any other word could be. Nothing better could ever name this process. Beyond the scope of a regular human mind, but definitely within the scope of my vocabulary to make you understand this.

Despite the probability of getting a wide variety of characteristics according to Mendel... Here, things are different. There's only one ever possibility and will always be that way. Half the souls interact and the newborn souls will replace the older ones.

Did I mention how hard it was for me to grab Gregor's soul? He had been pretty fussy, his analytics embedded right into his soul. Wouldn't leave his revelation alone in the material world. Well, I'm not here for him, am I? Let's save his story for later.

"No longer for me are you mourning
Because vile is the world
Death's grasp could cease
But never will your mistrust and greed."

Humans, as I've gathered, are quite reluctant to change their thought process. And yes, I'm aware of it, because it's been so long. I've seen you die, then born and then die again. In fact, I've seen all the unnecessary ruckus you cause in the name of whatever you believe in.

The world wars; the stupidity of believing a single talk can't solve an issue just blows my mind. It is, in fact, true that conflict is bound to arise. But that does not mean you try to burn down half the world living alongside.

Trust me when I say this... In my opinion, it seems more like you're just trying to prove yourselves the most important. But I'm not accusing you of anything. So don't come running at me with those ruthless weapons. It won't do anything.

It only seems futile to be fighting and quarrelling for things that seem superficial. You need more land... But why? So you can carry it to the afterworld? Oh, please. Nothing can be more lame than that excuse. You come alone, you go alone. That's the end of the deal.

"Guile is the way you think
For all I know I'm whizzing past
Bidding goodbyes to all I know
Will I be remembered? No."

Why do you have that penchant to call me dark? Death and gore and things that fall into the same category, am I right? Did I really put up that bad of an imagery over the years? After all, have I not been described with crows, that you associate with foreboding things?

Sure, I do agree it's not the most phenomenal of things to suddenly witness someone's skin go insipid, their eyes roll up, their stomach gets bloated, their chest stop moving. Glorifying me is one thing you consider as a dark concept, is it not?

I assure you, if you've made it this far and not hesitated to touch that back button, you will soon find yourself in the safe tendrils of my story telling. I, for one, am aware that my approach may be different. But it's all coming to one and the same conclusion. Trying to tell you a story is what all narrators do, ain't it?

While you do call me a dark wave of menace, I am also something that's morbidly fascinating, aren't I? You are all going to die one day, and most of you are going to experience some level of loss along the way. And yet, nobody can tell you what it's like to have your body lay lifeless; what it's like to be dead. I leave your minds open to exploring what happens once I reap you. And you love to think of the stark possibilities that may drive you to a certain peak. Am I right, or am I right?

"Can you wave your hands?
So I know where you are
But don't bother, dear
Because I know you don't care."

Among all these years I've spent wandering like a wanderlust traveler, I've found one thing. The huge prominence I've gotten in all those scriptures you find holy. So many texts, so little explanation, yet lesser facts. It is what it is; I could help, but it's much more fun to ridicule the theories that are born in your ingenuous minds.

In Buddhist doctrine, I function as a reminder of the value of having been born as a human being. Being reborn as a human is considered the only state in which one can attain enlightenment. Therefore, death helps remind oneself that one should not take life for granted. I am a part of several key Buddhist tenets, such as the Four Noble Truths and dependent origination.

Christianity says the soul leaves the body entering a realm of spirits. Following this separation of body and spirit resurrection occurs. Representing the same transformation Jesus Christ embodied after his body was placed in the tomb for three days, each person's body will be resurrected, reuniting the spirit and body in a perfect form.

Hinduism has a vast outlook as well, I've noticed. The soul exits this body when the body can no longer sustain the conscious self, which may be due to mental or physical reasons or, more accurately, the inability to act on one's material desires. The soul, then enters a compatible body based off karma and Dharma.

"Except for the wisps of mist
That guard me from you
Nothing could ever make it up
For what you did to prove."

Now that I've informed you of what you should expect from my presence, I'll reaffirm it once more. Yes, I'm death. Or as you say, the doom that you can't escape. But, no. Not the typical ones you see on the small electronic device you keep erected in your rooms. I'm not that cause of doom that has no mercy on people.

Some say many people wish for is an instant, painless, inexperienced extermination. Or shall I say Philosopher Galen Strawson says so? In this unlikely scenario, the person dies without realizing it and without being able to fear it. One moment the person is walking, eating, or sleeping, and the next moment... The person is dead. Peaceful, I must say.

Most of the time, it isn't me who doesn't have mercy on you. It's people like you, ones of your kind I mean, who make it simpler for me to gather you and send you on your way. Who's been telling you to mercilessly annihilate others of your own kind or things inferior to you? Not me, I'm sure. That fire seed of an inexplicably loathsome episode is basically why you fear me in the first place.

Try writing or creatively describing me, I say. It is almost therapeutic. You can't stop me, neither can you try to delay me even by the second. What more can you do than avoid, alter, accept, adapt; realistically speaking, avoiding isn't exactly a viable option either.

"I wasn't new to the untimely chasm
An unfathomable depth of senselessness
In braces of nature I laid
Whilst waiting for it to pass."

Well, drifting away from criticizing some of your actions, let me just tell you how to frame my visuals. Because I'll be there throughout the story, and it's kind of necessary that I remain a little... Explicit. Isn't it?

It's quite hard to describe me in terms of what is easy to visualize for your gullible minds, but I'll try doing it anyway. Success is achieved by those who try incessantly, is it not? So, I'll probably not fail until I stop trying. Though you don't need much of this information further on, it will help you. 

You know those aromatic wisps that float above a cup of hot coffee? That's how I appear. My frame is fragile, scarcely even visible. I've disappeared into the horizon. Your untrained eyes won't be able to see me, but I've met a few people who have figured out even my outlines. But like I said, it's extremely rare.

I'm just trying my level best to remain a memorable experience of readers. Makes more sense, since: one, I like the attention I'm getting; and two, you'll have to bear me throughout. So better you get used to me and my foreboding presence now, than nag way ahead in the narration. I seriously loathe that.

"For all I know the man I've just met
A better experience than anything else
To be welcomed into an embrace
More than anything will I grace."

And don't be afraid if you have that skill. To be honest, I'm not that intimidating. Apart from the fact that I don't have a ton of flesh within me, I like to think I seem very humanoid. You may consider me a friend. At least for the duration of the tale. Trust me when I say that if you hold on to the helpful hand, I'm offering, things will get easier.

Before you get on ahead... Let me tell you, I was a serial liar. I am, rather. I lie. To get things done my way. I could be an unreliable narrator, but I'm not sure how many of you will notice that as the narrative progresses.

----------

"We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will."

- Chuck Palahniuk

════════════════════