CHAPTER I
The first
sojourn from life to death was
very much the epitome of birth. Brilliant flashes of light were aglow
all
around bathing snapshots of memory, minute but hardly trivial.
When the ride
stopped and
the suspension of disbelief released him, Bryan was curious to find his
own
corpse stretched out at his feet. It lay on the grassy lawn in front of
his
office building, twenty feet from where he had initially been walking.
The corpse, his
corpse,
stared up at him through one wide eye. Sightless now it still echoed the
feeling of shock that he had felt the very moment the vehicle had struck
him.
Though he wanted
to look
away from the tragic scene utter terror and confusion gripped him still.
Pedestrians and motorists surrounded the accident and sirens wailed in
the
distance. He was oblivious to it
all.
All Bryan wanted
to do was
crawl back inside his body, stand up and say, "Hey, look at me, I'm
fine. Not a
scratch." Then there were strong impulses pulling him into the belief
that this
was just a nightmare. At any moment he was going to respond with a
shudder and
a cold sweat but he would wake, frantic at first, until he found himself
in bed
next to his lovely wife, Holly.
He hadn't bothered
to wake
her that morning. She was radiantly aglow in her pregnancy as she slept.
It was
their very first child and they were overjoyed to be experiencing this
miracle
after only one year of marriage.
Bryan had kissed
her on the
cheek and gone on his way to the law firm. His place of business was
another
joyful experience to be able to share with Holly. Bryan was the youngest
of his
class to seek and sustain a substantial position within a reputable law
firm.
Of course it helped that his father had owned and maintained the firm
since
Bryan had been a boy. But now it was his own, inheriting it when his
father had
passed away just two years after Bryan had graduated from law school.
It was an
unusually cloudy
day in Stanford, but nevertheless Bryan was in an upbeat mood. Whistling
as he
crossed the street to his offices he had never even seen the drunk
driver's vehicle coming. Perhaps he had not wanted to. As the saying
goes he had been
looking upon the world with rose-colored glasses up to that point. No
harm
could befall him, he was indestructible. Throughout life Bryan had truly
felt
blessed, now it was all gone. In an instant his entire life had been
snuffed
out. His promising future was no more. All that was left was another
casualty
in the war of drinking and driving. He was no longer Bryan Adam Caleb
outstanding lawyer, loving husband, expectant father, and genuine nice
guy. Now
he was just another statistic.
But Bryan didn't
understand
what was happening. If he was dead, why was he still on this Earth? What
happened to the other side? So many unanswered questions tore through
his mind.
He refused to
believe it.
As paramedics
encompassed
the accident scene Bryan turned and ran. His mind was in frenzy and he
just
needed to get away, get some space to determine what in the world was
going
on.
His pace quickened
to the
point where he felt as though he had wings and could lift off. Finally he came to a stop at the end of
the block and to his surprise he was not at all fatigued.
His leg muscles did not ache and he was
not breathing heavy. In fact, he was not breathing at all.
Still in disbelief
he went
to check his pulse for some sign that he was still alive. His fingers
passed
straight through his arm. There was no solidity to his wrist at all. He
tried
two more times with nothing but the same result.
Bryan looked
around
frantically for help. With his head on a swivel, something above him
caught his
eye. Lights gleamed up in the sky like as though a great crystal was
wedged
between two clouds precariously placed for the sun to shine off it.
He stood awed
looking at
the magnificent colors waning in every direction. It brought him a smile
and a
sense of peace. After a moment he even thought he glimpsed his loving
father's
face high above beckoning him to come forward and join him.
Bryan began to
imagine just
how nice it would be to be at his father's side again and to see his
mother
again in perfect and simple bliss.
The lights shone
brighter
and began to descend down towards him. Bryan stood stock still as they
came
closer and closer. The bright glare was such that he had to close his
eyes but
the pleasant images still remained. He felt his feet lift off the ground
and he
began to rise up with the jubilation.
Many wondrous
memories were
encompassing him now. Simple joys he new as a boy, more substantial and
rich emotions
of love and faith and virtue that he'd experienced as a man. Those worlds of days long since past
were uniting on a grand scale and lifting Bryan up higher and higher
into
ecstasy the likes of which he had never known before. But with this
cataclysm
of extraordinary peace came relevance and a fear.
This illuminated
structure
of memories was a portal allowing him access to the other side. It was the ever after, bounty and life
everlasting would be soon to come. Bryan's time here on Earth had been
full but
was now over. But he wasn't ready to leave yet.
"No," he stated.
His voice
was low at first as he still clung to the tranquility of the descending
portal
and the majesty of what it was.
He tried hard to
shake it
off, feeling indifference of a strong nature. Something was wrong. He
did not
belong here, not now. There was too much left for him to do. He did not
want to
leave his unborn child fatherless. The Caleb Family Law Practice was on a
steady rise; Bryan needed to leave his legacy before he left this Earth.
As his will to
stay grew
stronger and stronger he shouted "No!" more defiantly than before and
this time
it broke him away from the suction of the light.
To find out what happens, order your copy of Life, Death, and Back right now.
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