Prologue: Death
“BURP!”, belched my stomach as I fumbled in my pockets for my card key. With a swift glance behind my back, I heaved a sigh of relief after confirming that no one noticed my brief lack of etiquette. I was all alone in the hotel corridor. Shaking my head, I lamented breaching the 8 parts full rule for my final meal, an omakase of superb quality, and mumbled a prayer of apology to the local coroner – whoever that future unfortunate victim may be.
I approached plaque #444 and entered the room, a complimentary executive suite upgrade in light of my titanium elite status. After a short pause to marvel again at the luxury and decor, I batted down the lock on the door and toddled towards the first base – a treasure box birthed from the laws of thermodynamics – and seized a vial of dihydrogen monoxide, chilled to the perfect temperature of 4 degrees Celsius.
With an open PET bottle in one hand and a reverberating smartphone in the other, I plunged into a dancing frenzy across the carpet floor, illuminated by a pattern of silvery blue bars casted by moonlight behind the striped sheer curtains. I’m a loser; if have nothing, it doesn’t matter, right?... the lyrics streamed into the ocean of my mind as I chugged down the elixir of life like a dehydrated madman.
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The second track, Komm Susser Todd, faded in, cueing the end of the waltz and the donning of a full-face dive mask pre-connected to a cylinder of 99.998% pure element 18. I turned the valve and drunkenly laid down on the fluffy king-sized bed, folded my arms and gradually dimmed my vision.
***
I am walking through a tunnel - a long, dark tunnel that I have been traversing along for 30 years. A miniscule speck of light appeared in my vision, growing in size as I advanced forward. I began to sprint, homing in onto the exit. One, two, one, two… emotions that I have long forgotten welled up from my chest and expressed themselves as a smile on my eyes and lips. One, two, one, two… I squinted as I neared the blinding exit.
One, two, one- a final step and into a pure white world. An ephemeral moment of divine serenity… before a split-second collapse into absolute darkness.
Black… no… darker than black.
