NJ Legends
04-20-2010, 03:54 AM
The pale light of the moon crept in through the dust covered panes of glass that allowed the old man to view the outside world. A square patch on the waxed planks of the floor was illuminated by the silver glow. It was as though the Man in the Moon was gazing into the house, trying to find out exactly what troubled the man who paced about his floor, mumbling to himself as he stared at the spot where he would next place his foot. A lifetime of questions had molded him into a restless man. He found no sleep as he inquired upon his latest thought.
"I'm old," he thought aloud, "there is no doubt of that... And old people die... but with all of the possible outcomes of death... what is truly going to happen?"
His bony fingers ran over his silver beard as he paced. His entire figure was ancient. He looked almost as if he had already been dead for a few years and was slowly becoming nothing more than a skeleton. His silver eyes never left the floor as he considered all that could happen.
"Perhaps the Bible is right..." considered the man. "Perhaps at the time I die, I really will be sent to the Heavens and face God... but what judgment would he place upon me? Would I remain above the Earth with the angels? I can't say I am without sin, so would I be sent to eternal damnation?"
The thought was much too overused. There must have been something more to consider.
"Maybe there is just darkness... maybe you are within the eternal black for the remainder of time. That is an awfully long time to be in darkness... a lot of time to think..."
This thought, seemed too bland. Too simplistic. More, more! The man dug further into his mind. His gaze shifted from the floor to the window as he explored possibilities. A giant silver face stared back at him. The Man in the Moon looked back at the man, trying to guide his thoughts in the right direction, urging him forward to the next answer.
"Do I ascend to you?" the man asked. "Are you going to take me rest by your side? You must know."
The man received no answer.
"I asked you a question. Are you going to guide me? Am I to spend my afterlife among the stars with you?"
The Man in the Moon still neglected to answer. Instead, he stared on, mocking the man's ignorance.
"Damn you, tell me! I demand to know! How am I to die peacefully if I don't even know what will happen to me once it's done? Are you such a cruel monster?! Would you allow me to die in fear?!"
The Man in the Moon refused to respond. The man felt a beast swell up inside of him. In a sudden burst of animalistic fury, he lashed at the round face that could gaze upon him with such smug arrogance. How dare he make a fool of him?
The man just had to know the answer. He could NOT maintain his existence without the answer. He couldn't accept not knowing. He had committed himself to finding the answer. Just as a shark must swim to live, the man must know! He paced feverishly about the room, until a silver gleam caught his eye. He froze in place. How could he not have noticed it before? He took one step towards the gleam, and suddenly, he smiled. He looked upon the gleam as if it were an old friend from his distant childhood. The answer to the question could be found.
"Haha!" he exclaimed to the moon. "You thought you could keep me from knowing! But I have found the way! I WILL know! You can no longer mock me!"
The man extended his skeletal hand towards the gleam. It was smooth on his old, paper skin. He examined it closely. It reflected the silver light that the moon cast down. The Man in the Moon watched intently. He had been waiting for the man to find the gleam. He urged the man on, for he was so close to the answer. The man held his arm high, trembling slightly from the creaking of his bones. The Man in the Moon was even more anxious now. His eyes burned with excitement.
Do it. Do it. You're almost there...
And the man did it. In one swift move, the man had done it. He had driven the solution into his core, and he was granted the answer. The gleam fell to the floor, as did the man beside it. The Man in the Moon smiled down upon him as the man took his long and deserved sleep.
His questions could no longer wake him.
"I'm old," he thought aloud, "there is no doubt of that... And old people die... but with all of the possible outcomes of death... what is truly going to happen?"
His bony fingers ran over his silver beard as he paced. His entire figure was ancient. He looked almost as if he had already been dead for a few years and was slowly becoming nothing more than a skeleton. His silver eyes never left the floor as he considered all that could happen.
"Perhaps the Bible is right..." considered the man. "Perhaps at the time I die, I really will be sent to the Heavens and face God... but what judgment would he place upon me? Would I remain above the Earth with the angels? I can't say I am without sin, so would I be sent to eternal damnation?"
The thought was much too overused. There must have been something more to consider.
"Maybe there is just darkness... maybe you are within the eternal black for the remainder of time. That is an awfully long time to be in darkness... a lot of time to think..."
This thought, seemed too bland. Too simplistic. More, more! The man dug further into his mind. His gaze shifted from the floor to the window as he explored possibilities. A giant silver face stared back at him. The Man in the Moon looked back at the man, trying to guide his thoughts in the right direction, urging him forward to the next answer.
"Do I ascend to you?" the man asked. "Are you going to take me rest by your side? You must know."
The man received no answer.
"I asked you a question. Are you going to guide me? Am I to spend my afterlife among the stars with you?"
The Man in the Moon still neglected to answer. Instead, he stared on, mocking the man's ignorance.
"Damn you, tell me! I demand to know! How am I to die peacefully if I don't even know what will happen to me once it's done? Are you such a cruel monster?! Would you allow me to die in fear?!"
The Man in the Moon refused to respond. The man felt a beast swell up inside of him. In a sudden burst of animalistic fury, he lashed at the round face that could gaze upon him with such smug arrogance. How dare he make a fool of him?
The man just had to know the answer. He could NOT maintain his existence without the answer. He couldn't accept not knowing. He had committed himself to finding the answer. Just as a shark must swim to live, the man must know! He paced feverishly about the room, until a silver gleam caught his eye. He froze in place. How could he not have noticed it before? He took one step towards the gleam, and suddenly, he smiled. He looked upon the gleam as if it were an old friend from his distant childhood. The answer to the question could be found.
"Haha!" he exclaimed to the moon. "You thought you could keep me from knowing! But I have found the way! I WILL know! You can no longer mock me!"
The man extended his skeletal hand towards the gleam. It was smooth on his old, paper skin. He examined it closely. It reflected the silver light that the moon cast down. The Man in the Moon watched intently. He had been waiting for the man to find the gleam. He urged the man on, for he was so close to the answer. The man held his arm high, trembling slightly from the creaking of his bones. The Man in the Moon was even more anxious now. His eyes burned with excitement.
Do it. Do it. You're almost there...
And the man did it. In one swift move, the man had done it. He had driven the solution into his core, and he was granted the answer. The gleam fell to the floor, as did the man beside it. The Man in the Moon smiled down upon him as the man took his long and deserved sleep.
His questions could no longer wake him.