The Sloth's Voice

Already Dead Before Death

An elderly man lay in his bed
Thinking, thinking of whether anyone

Would find him
The train to pick him up was coming
He didn't need to rely on his watch
There was already one in him
Protected by his eighty year old cage
Made out of bones

It had been a long journey
But before he could finally take his Well deserved break,
The old man reassured himself
That no one would mourn over him
No one in the neighbourhood

He had no friends,
No one to depend on but himself
No one in the neighbourhood actually knew his name so his goodbye would not make much difference
His children had left him decades ago
He had no idea why
His children had to leave before him
It wasn't fair
And just the month before,
His wife left him
It seemed her stomach failed her
Oh well, it did not matter
He was going to join his family soon

Before his once in a lifetime departure officially commenced,
The old man looked around the four walls he and his wife called home
The walls were almost bare,
Except for the cheap plastic clock
He didn't own a TV, he didn't have to entertain himself
The kitchen was a simple one with a few pots, pans, plates and utensils
The toilet nearby was badly in need of a fresh coat of paint
The walls demanded it
Oh well,

When everything was in place,
The old man wore his best clothing, Not like he had anything formal to wear
He also prepared his best bedsheets, pillow case and blanket,
It was the least he could do to look decent
When everything was in place, the old man laid down in the mattress and waited for life to leave him so he waited

It wasn't a bad life actually,
Yes, there were setbacks
But at least he could be loved
And love

The only proof of his existence was in his breast pocket
The family photo taken six decades ago, good times
In the picture, there was a young and attractive couple
And two good looking children with innocent smiles

"Do you have any regrets?"
The old man wondered out loud
Was there?
Well, there was one
He never saw a jellyfish before
Some time ago, he heard of this bizarre creatures and was curious on how they looked like
His son described the creatures as mystical beasts and he was captivated by his stories
His daughter too was mesmerised
Oh he longed to see her dark eyes once again

The time was arriving, the old man prepared himself on what to say
When he sees his family again
He could not find the words though,
That was alright,
He would just pour his heart out then

The train arrived on time and the old man hopped on board
Before departing for good, he looked back at his body and said a final farewell

John was wondering about the smell,
It was getting unbearable
He intially thought his neighbour
Just accumulated some trash
And was lazy to dispose it
He was rather old
But after a whole week,
John couldn't take it anymore and
Decided to speak to his neighbour
He knocked on the door
No response
He called
No response too
He wanted to to turn away but
Something was wrong
The door and gate were unlocked
John took a deep breath,
And opened the door quietly
Before he knew it, John was
Screaming his head off
What he saw wasn't a person,
It was what was left of a person

Shortly after,
A funeral was held for the old man
Almost every one in his level paid
Their respects
They all gave their condolences,
But it was too late,
The old man was gone