The last walk

Once death came for a man and as they walked along the road leading from his house they passed a rainbow.

"Wait", said the man to death, "I have not really looked properly at one of those".

"You had time enough to look at rainbows before", said death, "Now there is no more time so let us be off".

But then they passed an apple tree full of white blossoms and a peach tree full of pink ones and the man said to death,

"Wait. I have never really looked properly at the trees when they were in blossom".

"You had enough time to look at blossoms on trees before", said death, "Now there is no time left so keep moving".

And so they moved forwards again until the man saw a dark door open up ahead of them with nothing but darkness beyond it.

But then the mans eye caught sight of a pink rose blooming and his ear heard a songthrush twittering and his cheek felt a gentle, warm beam of sun brush against it.

"Wait", he said to death, "I have never really smelled a rose or listened to a bird singing or enjoyed feeling the sun upon my face".

"You've had time enough for all those things", said death, "Now there is no more time for smelling roses or listening to birds;no more time for lying in the sun. Now there is only time for death. So now let us go".

The man knelt and pleaded.

"No please", he said, "I realize now that I am rushing towards my end that I have been rushing forwards all of my life, walking past all the sights and sounds of lifes splendour without stopping to really appreciate them. I beg you. Can you not spare me a little more time; a month, a week, a day even so that I can make up a little for all the time I have wasted".

"No", said Death, his voice echoing and sounding as loud as the thunder, "No. There is no more time. No more time".

And picking the man up with the strong arms of a titan, Death hurled him, screaming like a child, through the open door and into the eternal darkness within.

Fortunately, the darkness was not truly eternal but only lasted as long as the end of a dream; then the man woke up and was so thankful and full of joy to be alive that he leapt out of bed and ran out of his house to begin living as much and as deeply as he possibly could.