A Second Chance

The date was October 3, 2003. In the sandy regions of Iraq, past the explosions of the M16's and sniper fire could be seen a small figure lying face down in wretched earth. Anarchy reigns about him without the slightest remorse for the dead nor the wounded. Bullets engulf all in their path as the sand rockets upward in columns, as if to welcome the incoming hailstorm of lead and alloy. Oblivious to all but the sand beneath him, his will entirely bent toward his own survival, the figure struggles to roll to his back. He knew that suffocation was the least of his worries as he raised his head cautiously to peer down at his injuries. Pain shot through him as if an enemy soldier stood before him firing round after round into his chest. Excercising even more care, the soldier raises his head, bracing himself against the expected pain. With a mixture of horror and relief he stares at the small gash at his side, fearing for his life yet thankful for the wounds fortunate location. With no injury to his vital organs and a constant threat of being caught in a rain of lead, the soldier pushed his arms to his sides in an attempt to transport himself. Pain shot through him once more, though his desire to live was greater and he forced himself onward.

A mere 20 meters he had managed to travel before his strength gave way to the pain, which threatened to escalate should he press onwards. Scanning the landscape for a sign of hope, the soldier's face fell in dismay as he realized the body count that surrounded him. Without further hope he lay back, his head on the sand, waiting for the end he was sure to encounter. As he stared up at the clouded sky, exhausted and depressed, he wondered what death would be like. Would the white-winged angels be the first to greet him or would the black-winged vultures be there to destroy him. Pondering this, he found himself at the mercy of some unknown force, with his hands before him in prayer. He had never before believed in the so called divine entity that the Christians worshipped nor the demon they despised so what possessed him to do so now? As his only wish he sent his desire for survival, his desire to right all the wrongs he had committed in life as the cliche says. With the final word of prayer, exhausted, the soldier lay still in the sand, still clinging to life but with eyes heavy.

Memories flashed before him in a brilliant display of images and color. His first crush in middle school, his humiliation at having to sleep outside his house after missing curfew, his enrollment in college, all flashed before his eyes in the matter of moments, as if his mind were viewing reruns of his experiences. Time passed by slowly and a subtle fog drifted upon his thoughts. Thickening to a haze, the soldiers thoughts and his vision became weary with fatigue and the effort to stay alive. In a manner not unlike the movement of a tortoise, his eyes shut, the haze overtaking all. Moments later, his eyes opened but a slit once more, as if blinking in slow motion. The haze had covered all but a small cloud in the sky, and yet, even in the stupor of his hallucination he saw that the cloud was drifting a bit too fast to be believed. Without regard to this, his eyes shut once more, no more distractions to divert his attention from eternal rest.

All around him was white as he lay upon an unknown surface. As his eyes opened fully, the world that lay before him became clearer, the haze dissappearing as if being ushered off by a divine wind. To his right he saw a watch labeled October 4, 2003 as the date. As he tried to bring himself to his feet, the pain in his chest brought him back to reality. How could one feel pain if one is without a body. Even as he thought it to himself and questioned the truth behind it he was no longer in doubt. He had been granted his clemency, his second chance.