A Fatal Sneeze

I was 19. It was a rainy day. The mood was moody, just like those clouds. It was stirring my emotions, and I am not good at handling my emotions only when it comes to mama.

She insisted me to have my dinner, and that was enough to spill out the mood of that day.

I shouted at her, saying, "Don't I have the freedom to decide when I should eat?"

She calmly replied, "You have, but it's past 11!"

The moody mood was telling myself that I am not validated enough just because I was jobless.

Tears started to accumulate in my ultra-dry eyes. No one can barely see my tears. My mom is not an exception.

Without noticing that, she again said, "I want to sleep. Come! Have your dinner! Let me serve you and go to sleep."

"If you want to sleep, just sleep! I don't need parental supervision, even while I'm eating. I just need some alone time. So, please go to sleep," I yelled at her just to control my tears from reaching my cheek.

She didn't take a moment to notice that, and she yelled back, "I am your mom. You can't yell at me like that, and you can't be bossy. Don't tell me what to do! This is my house!"

Oh! Now it's hurting so much, like someone is chocking my neck with a thread.

The term "This is my house" is actually hurting a lot. She didn't hurt me; she just reminds me that my heart is already broken.

With a broken voice, I said, "I don't know what to do here. Do you want me to die? Death is even better than being struck up here." While uttering this, I just took my wallet and rushed outside.

My mom tried to stop me, but I didn't care. I was crying, and so were the clouds. I walked in the rain to reach the nearby convenience store.

It was cold. I was freezing. After all this fighting, I was in the urge to have my dinner. So I bought a cup of ramen and took a seat to feed my soul.

But from somewhere, something came up to disturb my disturbed state of mind.

What was that? Who knows? Was it the weather? Was it the rain? Or was it Mama's anger that's stopping me from eating outside food?

I don't know. I sneezed so hard that everything went blank.

It just took a moment to regain my consciousness, but where am I?

Why am I in the middle of a railway station? It's not an ordinary railway station. It looks like a station made in the 1900s. The train had a steam engine.

 
What has brought me here? Is it the sneeze? Is that ramen a magical one that has given me teleportation powers?

It was hard to decide what was happening there until I met someone.

I saw my dead grandma sitting in the train. How come I had the power to see her? It's giving me chills. Though it's my grandma, I was afraid to step further to talk to her. I was frozen right at that very place.

She saw me, and her reaction was more terrifying than mine.

She said, "Oh, baby! What has gotten into you? Why are you here?"

I said, "I was eating ramen in a convenience store, and a sneeze came that took me here."

She looked so pale, and she was about to cry.

I wanted to pacify her. So I went close to stepping on the train.

She got really terrified and stopped me from getting on that train. She said, "This is not where you belong, baby. You have got a lot to do. So, don't step on this train."

I couldn't understand what she was trying to say and asked, "How come you are here? Is it heaven?"

My question lightened her mood, and she said, "No, dear! This train will take you to heaven! And it's so soon for you to get there!"

I was frightened and asked a series of questions, "Why was I taken here? Who took me here? Am I dead? I have a lot of unfulfilled wishes. I might roam as a ghost. I don't want to be a ghost. I am afraid of it. I am hungry, and I want to get back to that convenience store." While saying that, tears filled my eyes. I started to grieve for my death.

My grandma calmed me by saying, "You are not dead, "DEAD". Your soul just left your body. If you are truly dead, grim reapers might have come with you. So, now it's up to you to decide whether you should be dead or not."

"But why? Why should I suffer from this? I did nothing wrong. I need to get back alive." I said this with lots of fear on my mind.

She replied, "It must be you who wished for it. God is just granting you your wish. He wants you to know the cost of your words."

"I didn't wish..." Suddenly, fighting with my mama came to mind. "I did say I wished to be dead, but I didn't mean it. Please take me home, grandma," I pleaded with her.

She smiled and asked me, "Now do you regret your mistakes? If yes, you will be taken back. But never ever repeat this mistake because what you say is what you wish, and what you wish is what you will get. So have that in mind and lead a positive, healthy life."

My mood lifted after hearing that, and I said, "I will never ever say those words again. I want to go home to apologize, Mommy."

She replied, "I will meet you soon."

I was shocked at her reply. Then she said, "She is also getting off this train, as she is about to be reborn."

I smiled at her and closed my eyes to plead with God to get me back, and then when I opened my eyes, everyone was staring at me in the convenience store. It must be a very hard sneeze, I guess.

I didn't even touch that ramen and rushed home to see my mom's face. While I was entering the house, she was eagerly waiting for me on the sofa. I rushed to her arms, held her tight, and was flooded with tears.

I realized the power of my words that very day.

Now, I am 90, and I am preaching the same to my grandchildren.

-Araminta Flores