Just Another View On Death by Tony Benware

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"Just another view on Death"
A short story by Tony M. Benware

It's funny how we perceive death. Some of us believe in Heaven and Hell, some of us believe that we all move into a Garden of Eden like Adam and Eve. And yet others still believe that we cease to exist, that we become dead matter buried or cremated and we, well, we cease to exist. Well let me tell you from experience, none of these things are true. I died last night and it seems like it started so long ago, let me start at the beginning.

Yesterday morning started out so normal. I went to my boring desk job as an accountant for a mid-sized company. It was about 10 a.m. when I heard an argument between a man and a woman in the office across from mine. It was the only other office on my floor and I was sure they knew I could hear them, but I'm also certain that they didn't really care.

I tried to ignore them by humming a song to myself and burying my face in my work, but they just kept getting louder. I'm usually a mild mannered man, but being a child of divorce, listening to people argue ticks me off.

I got out of my chair and opened my office door and they were right there fighting in-between the two offices. They didn't even have the decency or self respect to go into his office. For some reason this lit a serious fuse in me. "What the hellis you two moron's problem?" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Man, I was so angry I felt like killing someone.

"Do you mind this is personal" he said. What was his name again, Karl, or something like that, I didn't really care at the moment.

"IF IT'S PERSONAL, THEN DO IT SOMEWHERE PRIVATE YOU ARROGANT SON OF A BITCH," boy, I was so very angry, I could feel fiery hot blood pumping into my head.

Both of them looked at me as if I had done something to offend them, and there was a long, awkward pause. I walked back into my office and sat down. I drank some antacid and tried to calm myself. I was starting to feel better when they started arguing again. This really set me off. I had never felt so angry - I lost control of myself. For the next 20 minutes it was as if I was watching myself from a safe place. I got out of my chair and walked out into the corridor. Karl,(or whatever his name was) looked at me with angry eyes.

"You know what, go back in there and mind your own business, I won't ask again," he said, now he looked very angry.

I didn't say anything, I'm pretty sure I was too angry to talk. I watched myself raise my fist and punch him in the back of his head which he had just turned away from me. (It wasn't until later that afternoon that I actually felt the pain in my knuckles, but anyway.) He fell to the floor and mumbled, "What the hell buddy, calm down."

What came over me that moment was much worse than what had been there the moment before. If there is such a thing as pure evil, it was in me in the next moment. I fell to the floor next to him. What was in his eyes was fear, pure and simple fear. I grabbed his head and twisted it sharply, what a horrible sound it was. It wasn't exactly a cracking noise, but more of a crunching sound.