Aplaya

A Short Story

     The old man closes his eyes, possibly for the last time. He inhales deeply, as deep as he can muster with failing lungs, holding it, knowing that it is his last. His arms, once sinewy strong, reach out to grasp….something. He was not sure what it was. He feels the little needles and tubes struggle to pull him back. He cannot help but think, "I have become a tree, rooted to the ground. Or a piece of chewed gum, stuck on a shoe." He lets out a slight laugh, hoarse but humorous.

     He opens his eyes. A man in white walks into the room, accompanied by a tall figure in black. "Yin and yang", he thinks, and wonders which of the two would approach him first. They stand by the door, both silent, looking at him. He stares back, his brown eyes moving back and forth between the figure in white and the figure in black.

     He turns his eyes to a small group of females in the corner, six slender figures huddled, embracing each other. Six pairs of eyes look back at him—five with understanding, one seemingly lost. "You look confused, my Angel", he tries to send a mental message to the smallest one with the bright brown eyes. "Come sit by Lolo."

     She takes four slow steps, clutching a stuffed reindeer, mangled and sooty. “Here you go, Lolo. I don’t want you to be lonely. Mama tells me you’re going on a trip, and Rudy is usually good company.” She motions to the reindeer, whose one beady eye seemingly punctuates the private joke with a button wink.

     He takes the reindeer, now knowing what he was reaching out for. He sees the black figure move and walk towards him, still silent. He sees the figure’s mouth move, but his poor hearing allows him very few words. "Lord…my Shepherd….green pastures….shadow of death…."

     "Death", he wonders, "Has it really come for that time?"

     The six female figures all move toward him, as does the figure in white. He feels a blanket of feelings envelope him—pain, relief, joy, sorrow, warmth, cold, all crashing into him. "Aplaya.", he thinks, all of a sudden reminded of a place where he spent many childhood years.

     He looks up to see the figure in white, staring down at him with a smile. "Aplaya it is."

     He closes his eyes again. Feels cool, foamy water lapping at his ankles, feels his feet sink into wet gritty soil. He opens his eyes, looks to see the white figure laughing. He laughs along, and fully clothed, runs towards the water and dives into the waves.