by L. A. Hardt

Created on: October 29, 2007

"Death Wish"

The shadows of death loomed near sometimes he thought he saw them from time to time in corner of his eye. Why hasn't death come for him, he begged for it to take his withered useless body, his suffering had lingered to long. He was so weary his painful limbs can carry him no more; all those he knew are gone they passed away one by one leaving him behind.

He once thought himself fortunate, he was living a long life, but death kissed his wife one night while they slept. He awoke in the morning but he couldn't wake her, death stole her quietly during the night, leaving him to go on alone. He was ninety when he lost his one true love, he thought he would soon follow but the fates be what they may, did not have intentions of relieving him of his mental pain.

Slowly over the next eight years time would play havoc on his body, as if it were trying to destroy his very soul. It was many a night that he thought of taking his own life, but the fear of sin stopped him, although he always feared the grim reaper now he was willing to let him in the door, he would give him everything he accumulated during the years of his life. His money could not buy him the comfort he so needed, he would gladly trade all of it away.

He seemed now to be at the mercy of others, the aids that come and go some were kind and gentle, others would be rough on his old painful body. He had no dignity; there were times his tender things were out in the open for all those to see and they talked about him as if he were not there. Other times he would lay in his own urine and feces, for hours the smell permeating his nostrils his buttocks raw from the acid eating into his skin. Who knew that the last days of his life would be spent so callously?

He prayed day and night for his end. His daughter was making arrangements to come and see him. She talked of bringing him to her home, she would drive him there, it was an eight hour trip. His mind couldn't comprehend all that, all it knew right now was this aid didn't change him, and when she finally did she didn't clean him properly, the sores burned, he couldn't get comfortable. He didn't bother to talk anymore this would annoy her even more. He closed his eyes pretending to sleep; until finally exhausted he did fall into a nice deep slumber.

"Harry, Harry, wake up, he heard the voice but had to shake the dust out of his mind so he could focus.

"Yep, I'm up", he said his voice coated in mucus that built up in the back of his throat as he slept. His

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