The Cycle Goes On

Writer: Zee Salem

Seeing him lying on the floor, blooding running down his figure like the Niagara Falls, my beloved uncle has uttered his last words. I sat next to him to hear what he was uttering. I wasn’t able to hear his voice. All I heard were words forming from his breath. The exhaling & inhaling patterns made me acknowledge only a few words. As I recall, he said, “Take care… family… I depend….” As they hustled to call the ambulance, my uncle’s tears ran down his cheeks with a smirk on his face.

His face was cold like snowflakes; his chapped lips fell into their resting position. His eyes became tighter, making it harder to see his eyeballs. His upper eyelids fell to meet his lower ones, leading to his eyes being shut. I held his hand to feel his pulses. No beats were found, not even a single one for a slight hope. I froze for a while, not knowing what to do. The shock made my mind unable to receive any actions. I wanted to console his sons, but I didn’t have the nerve.

Days passed, each worse than the one before. Every tear shed from anyone of my family members shattered my heart. I thought my heart turned to broken glass; no matter how hard you try to fix it, it won’t ever be as perfect as it was.

But as time passed, I realized that death isn’t as bad as we all think. Life is a sequence; it’s a format that we need to face every single part of. First, you get born into this world, you live it the way you do, then you die.

Getting married, having a degree & other achievements are just accessories in life. Everyone places the accessories they want that make their life more special than the other. Life is a simple road or a complex maze; however, we all start in the same figure & end in the same figure. We all start as babies & end as decaying bones. We shouldn’t cry for someone’s death, we will all face it. Maybe your path is longer; it’s not bad. It gives you time to remember the memories you’ve made & to make new ones.

People come & go physically, but that doesn’t mean they need to leave you mentally. Reminiscing your memories about them would make them still alive. It’s just like distance; you think about them a lot, knowing that one day you’ll meet them. The time will come for your departure. Don’t live your death twice.

Think about the people who left. Would they want to see you cry? Would they want you to enter into a depressed mood? Would they want you to live every day more bitterly than the one before? Why don’t you do what pleases them? I get it; their departure breaks you. It’s just a matter of time & you both will be in the same place. Make them proud of you, & I’m pretty sure locking yourself up in a room, self-harming yourself, or starving yourself to death is not the answer.

Death is the last block in the Lego. You can’t place a Lego before another or the masterpiece will be ruined. Don’t say that they left you because they don’t care for you. If someone loves you, they will never leave. But death is inevitable. No matter what you do or how much you try to stop it, it will happen. That’s life. Live it & don’t make them feel sorrow in their graves. Let them rest in peace. I assure you that your tears won’t make them come back nor will it make them rest.