The Other Superman

Lunana Annua

So she said to me:
"He died yesterday."

"Who died?" Last I had checked, no one I knew had passed.

Her breath hardened, and her voice mellowed. "That little boy who had been fighting cancer for the past year. God finally took him."

Is it strange that I find when God is brought into a situation like this it becomes awkward? I've never been one to speak about him myself. Discussing my passions with others have always been difficult, and well disturbingly awkward. My brown creased and little if any more emotion showed, but I pursued the conversation. She had discussed him not a few days before, I recalled. The child was referred to as 'Superman', and super he might have been. Now, he's but a reminder of how cruel and wonderful life is, and I suppose that's what I told her:

"I felt sorry for him three days ago when you first told me about him."

She wanted to curl her lips, but she didn't. "You don't feel sorry for him now?"

I turned to walk away, possibly, but I starred at a white floor for moments. "I feel sorry that he never made it to seven, yes, but I don't feel sorry that he has passed. It has to be so much easier to die than it is to live.

"Dying is an avoidable force of nature, and living is the pure opposite of an avoidable force.

"He has accepted a gift that most of us fear, and at an age where it is hardly understood. I envy his strength even though it technically wasn't enough.

"No, I don't feel sorry for him, but I feel sorry for his Mother and Father. In ten years they will wonder what kind of car he would have wanted for his sixteenth birthday. And in ten years for me, I'll be struggling with life, maybe and/or hopefully.

"I think it's incredibly sad. But I think Superman is brave and indestructible, may the hero himself be an analogy for life and/or improbable death."

Author's Note

So I'm not entirely sure where to go from here. I'm hoping it can sit as is despite it's shortness. It's mostly dialogue, and a bit more personal than most of my pieces. I ask that no one take any offense. I may take offense to your offense. Lol. But hardly likely. Above all, thank you for reading.

Reviews

[M. Davenport]

Beautiful and thought provoking. I enjoyed this piece.

[James E. Peterson]

Very thought provoking.

[Poe Redd]

Oh this should sit as is. Nothing more needs to be said. It's a pure and realistically beautiful piece about that which we can't avoid.. and you're right! Or, at least I feel the same way when someone dies.

[MandaBear]

I enjoyed reading this. Really makes me think! Thank you for sharing

[Pete Langley]

Because death is inevitable eventually, de facto it is acceptable. All contemplation of possibilities becomes cancelled - while life persists, so do possibilities of hopes and fears. Interesting and provocative. P.

[Hypnos]

you make good point that death is unavoidable, but here's a thought, you said that you didn't feel sad of his death because he dead a such a young age. would you have felt different if he had died in his teens when his life was really just beginning?

[Christoph Poe]

I suppose the point I tried to make is that I feel bad for people who are in the act of dying, but I don't feel bad once they are dead. Does that make sense? And I'd feel the same for an adult, teen, elder, etc.

[Hypnos]

ah i see that does make sense.

[The dark story]

"It has to be so much easier to die than it is to live."
"Dying is an avoidable force of nature, and living is the pure opposite of an avoidable force."...

stunningly thought provoking lines, highlighting the your view of life and death, the struggle, the victory and the failure. perhaps, i agree to the former dialogue, because living one's life in it's true sense is actually quite difficult and one has to carry it off with sheer struggle.
for my part, this is really intriguing and interesting and fiercely thought provoking. the start was nice and so was the ending. and yeah i think "mostly dialogues" part is been quite nice for me!
thanks for this ravishing piece of writing

[Christoph Poe]

Wow, thank you very much for looking this over. I first regretted posting this this morning, and was tempted to remove it, but I might let it stay for a little while.

I just love controversial subjects though. Always have and will. It gets me in trouble though from time to time. But I'm getting off subject. Thank you again for reading. :)

[The dark story]

your welcome. but i'm relieved you didn't remove it! that would be very bad. you should be confident about your work as they are very nice.

[The dark story]

"It has to be so much easier to die than it is to live."
"Dying is an avoidable force of nature, and living is the pure opposite of an avoidable force."...

stunningly thought provoking lines, highlighting the your view of life and death, the struggle, the victory and the failure. perhaps, i agree to the former dialogue, because living one's life in it's true sense is actually quite difficult and one has to carry it off with sheer struggle.
for my part, this is really intriguing and interesting and fiercely thought provoking. the start was nice and so was the ending. and yeah i think "mostly dialogues" part is been quite nice for me!
thanks for this ravishing piece of writing