Mundelein High School - Voices Magazine - 2020

V o i c e s 2 0 2 0 | 27
Before My History Ends
Maximus Castillon
As I lay on my deathbed in old age and grey, Death offers a revelation.
My final breath approaches quickly, but focus slows down time as still as a thick fog.
I stare into his cold dark eyes, then to the stars, traveling the realm of enlightenment.
My whole life has been spent entrusted with the words of my mother.
From birth we are taught the beliefs of our ancestors through archaic stories and texts.
Most accept this fate and travel the fixed path, as did I.
I wish I did not.
Forever encased in a sphere of limited knowledge, I never let myself see
The truth. The truth I never felt the warmth of. Now Death clears the fog.
“Will I ever know the truth?” I ask. “Maybe you are about to find out.”
Somber and unperturbed he speaks. “Unfold the mystery of the ancient past, and you
will discover the roots of all faith lead to the same tree. This is the tree that truly gives
purpose and life itself. Without it, you would be lost. Most follow shattered paths of
religion or science -- some make their own paths.”
I wish I did.
Now I long to go back, to take a different turn. Our secrets are fossils hidden beneath
ash and stone.
I can no longer find them before my history ends. It is too late.
I must leave my final mark on this earth before I venture to the unknown.
“You consider your ancestors ignorant compared to your knowledge -- they were
profound.
They spoke of philosophy.” He looms closer, taunting me. I respond complacently, “We
can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men
are afraid of the light.”
I am not.
I do not shiver, I do not cry. I am not afraid. He is only a shadow of myself.