unspoken

The Unexplained

"Ah, death. Such a mystifying thing, is it not?"

I turned to face the man who spoke behind me. He was the first to break the deafening silence, which I was secretly grateful for. "Excuse me?"

The man smiled, deepening the wrinkles on his face. He was old -- probably around his eighties or so. "Technology had surely advanced greatly, yet the reality of life and death have never been clearly understood. It remains a mystery. Haven't you ever wondered about it?"

I shook my head as an answer. Strange it was, indeed.

"Death is inevitable," the old man continued. "Once it comes, it is final. And you never know when it will. It comes unexpected, like a thief in the night. One can never be certain if he shall still live the next day."

I nodded slowly. I have never really put much thought about the subject, but now I realized how intimidating it truly was. I shifted my gaze to the people around me. They seemed, well, full of life: the children flying colorful kites, couples taking a wonderful stroll at the park, the stout young man selling ice cream at the corner of the street. It was quite sad to think that all of them would someday meet an end.

"As they say, all good things must come to an end," the man said, as if reading my thoughts. "But have you ever wondered what lies behind endings?"

"Nothing," I stated. How could something be beyond an end? I couldn't imagine what it would be like.

The old man chuckled. "Nothing? Does nothingness even exist? It is the absence of existence, yes, but then how could it exist?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but no words came out.

"Think of it this way, lass. Coldness is nonexistent, hmm? It is only the absence of heat. Also, black is not a color -- it is only the absence of colors. This applies to nothingness and existence as well, do you not think?" His dark eyes met mine, and for a second I thought they seemed to be a thousand years old, like they had seen everything in the world.

"I--I don't think I understand," I admitted.

"Of course. Even the smartest men in the world only know as much about death and endings as you do -- simply because no one has been through it. But you will someday. Some things are simply better unexplained. You would have to find out yourself, just as I did."

I stared at the smooth gray pavement where we stood on, trying yet failing to comprehend the old man's words. And then it hit me, making my hands turn cold. I whirled around to face him once more, but the strange old man had vanished.