My Heart Lays Bare

Among the Void

Astronaut Death Story ~
Its astounding to think that the world could be so silent- none of the crashing, banging, clashing chatter of people could be heard here. There's not even a single echo, nor hum or crackle of the great burning stars surrounding you. Direction has become meaningless, save for the view you have of the great expanse we call our galaxy. The stars seem so still, no sense of motion except your constant and slow floating. Gravity doesn't exist here, nothing around you to ground you to reality. All of your senses are useless except two. You can't hear anything, nor did anything around you have a distinct smell. Taste is out of the question seeing as you don't carry food on you in the suits. Sight does you no good except to grace you with the extraordinary sight of Earth and the stars surrounded by the vast darkness of the world around you.

Yet, there's a faint thrumming of your chest that you can feel. Your heart is beating, the only sense of rhythm in the quiet stillness. You can't hear it beat, but you feel it. The blaring silence is drowned out by the faint feeling of your heart. The blood rushing through your veins to stimulate your nerves makes you feel alive, human almost. Even though you can't seem to sense anything in this void.
Your thoughts drift back to your home, nothing special, yet still home. The sounds of children giggling, your two little sisters. Playful fights with the boy you looked up to most of your life, your big brother. Voices laughing and correcting their children's silly mistakes, your mom and dad. You feel so alien and foreign here, yet the memories make you feel so human. Hell, you even start to miss the bitter cold feeling of the sea washing over your feet. The scorching hot sun that beats down on you in mid summer the second you step outside, is a feeling well missed.
"6% Oxygen" the monotonous robotic voice declares, a bitter laugh escaping your lungs. So this was how you were going out. You try to think back to the feeling of nature, relishing in the memory of feeling the rain run down your skin. The thoughts of rivers, lakes, and the sea. The way the wind danced through your hair in the autumn breeze. Glistening snow reflecting the sun above as you make snow forts with your best friends, even at the age of 24.
All of that was lost to you, never again to be experienced nor seen. A silent prayer falls from your lips, a faint ghost of a smile creeping on to your expression. Why try to fight this? Its not like you were going to be found. The transmitter on your suit had given out a long time ago, and you had only continuously drifted further from the space station. Coms had been turned off on your side so they didn't keep trying to give you false hope of making it out alive. You close your eyes for a moment, falling into a resting state up until you jerk awake, the robotic voice speaking once again.
"1% Oxygen"
You sigh, opening your eyes and forcing yourself to keep them open. The world around you seems more peaceful now, more welcoming as you come to terms with your fate. The sight is breathtaking as you take it in, soon becoming hazy. Before you know it your smiling, laughing one last time before just smiling at the lovely sight of the universe. Your vision becomes a haze, eyes still open, yet not perceiving.