I don't know what this world looks like. My favourite food tastes wonderful, yet I don't know what it looks like. I don't know what the most beautiful flowers, which come to me every day and gift me their fragrance, look like. Are they ugly, or are they beautiful? I'll even go so far as to say that I don't know what 'evil' looks like or what 'good' looks like.
I don't know the colours of this world. What is the colour of the God we pray to? What is this 'black and white' people speak of when they fight and abuse each other? I always hear on TV that someone has "won the race," but I don't even know what the word race means. My parents tell me it's about running, but I don't even know what running is.
Worse than all of this is that I don't know what my parents look like. They always come to me, smile, and tell me that everything will be fine, speaking only kind words. But are they truly smiling? I don't know. I know nothing about this world. Why was I born? What was my purpose? I have no idea. I never walked, and I never saw anything.
But perhaps my life was meant to be this short, as I now have only a few hours left.
I'm not sad that I have cancer. I'm sad that even in my final moments, I won't be able to see the things I love most: the faces of my parents, or that flower whose scent I cherish so much but have never seen. Or even the blood that flows through my heart — everyone says it's red, but what does that look like? The same heart that torments me every moment, every second… that constant pain.
Perhaps today is my final day — my day to be free from this world, from this cage, from this prison. Maybe now I'll go to a place where I can see everything, do everything, and accomplish everything I could never do here. I'll feel what a race is. I'll feel what running means. I'll fulfill all my dreams. I just need to be free from this hell — or this world. I am ready to die for this freedom.
But there is one thing I will always regret: I never saw my parents. If I go to the next world — the one they say we return to — will I forget my parents, since I never truly saw them? Or, when I go to that other world, will I finally be able to see them in my memory, remembering their smiles? Will I be able to hold onto all the memories of this world, all the things I imagined about them, and carry them with me into the next life?
My only fear is leaving the two people closest to me: my mother and father. By now, they must have received the news that I have only a few hours left. They must be sitting beside me, saying nothing, just watching me. Watching me for the last time.
Just then, the door opens, and the sound of crying fills the room. It's my parents. I knew they were crying. I ask them, "Why are you crying? Today is my best day! After today, I will never see this darkness again. I will be able to see! I will be able to walk! Please, don't cry. I must be free from this place — I must be free from here."
He sits there for some time, then feels a strange pull from within, wondering where he's going.
---
The Other Side
When he opens his eyes, he sees a long, endless line stretching into the distance. Everything around him is white and cloudy. There is nothing ahead or behind — just endless clouds. He keeps walking forward, not knowing where he's going. For the first time, he feels what it's like to walk. He isn't happy or sad about it; it's simply happening. He doesn't understand what's taking place.
Then, he sees someone ahead. The feeling of seeing something for the first time — he cannot even describe it. Whether it's after death or during life, he has never felt such joy. For the first time, he learns what a human looks like, what colours they have. He sees a rose lying near the person, and for the first time, he realises how beautiful a rose is. He had only heard of it since childhood, never knowing its colour. Now, he learns what pink looks like.
He is then called forward. The person sitting there asks his name, how many days he has been dead, and which planet he's from. He answers everything honestly, but the person becomes confused. What is happening? Why is this happening? She can't understand. No information appears about his name, his planet of origin, or his time of arrival. It's the first time in thousands of years that such an anomaly has occurred.
She stands up and leaves to confirm the details. She doesn't return for two hours. When she finally comes back, she says, "I'm sorry. We made a mistake. You were never meant to come here. Your life wasn't supposed to be this short. You were never meant to be blind on that planet. You were never meant to injure your leg. You were supposed to live a normal, albeit short, life — but you were supposed to live it."
Hearing this, he doesn't feel much. It makes no difference to him now. He has already seen what he wanted to see. The suffering he endured before no longer matters. This moment — this sight — was everything.
But then, the greatest opportunity of his existence appears before him. Because he didn't live his life — due to their mistake — he is offered another chance. He will be sent to another planet, another dimension, where he will live his life again. This time, his life might be longer, and his face lights up. He will finally have the vision he always desired.
He immediately asks, "Will I remember them? My parents. Will the memories I have of them — their voices, their kindness — stay with me in the next world? Or will I finally get to see them?"
The official smiles gently. "Your memories will go with you, child. The love will not be lost. And who knows — perhaps with your new sight, you'll finally see their faces, just as you imagined them."
Hearing this, he becomes truly happy and prepares to go to the other world.
---
The New Beginning
He stands by the gate, ready to enter the next world. He isn't thinking about the dimension ahead; his mind is fixed on the first thing he'll see. Will it be what people call the sky? The ground? His favourite food? Everything feels brand new.
He wonders, Will the first thing I see be beautiful, or ugly? Will I become like others — fighting over colours, judging faces, or having a favourite one? Will I have a favourite colour? What will happen to me?
Then, he steps forward and passes into the new dimension — the new world.
A strange, indescribable pain shoots through his body — in his legs, in his arms. He finds himself lying on the ground. He no longer feels like a 25-year-old on his deathbed; now he feels like a 15-year-old boy who has been beaten badly. But more than the pain, he notices the room he's in.
It's filthy. Trash is scattered everywhere. The delicate fragrance of flowers from the hospital is gone, replaced by the stench of something rotten — a smell he has never known before. Is this a bad thing, or is it also good, like the scent of a different kind of flower?
He tries to stand, but the pain is too much — as if someone had beaten him brutally. Yet, he pushes himself up, because he has to see what the world looks like. What life truly is. His parents had always described it to him. The pain suddenly fades, because for the first time, he sees the sky.
A blue sky, with huge white clouds floating across it. In front of him stretch vast fields filled with vibrant greenery. Everything is exactly as he had imagined. Perhaps this is all I ever wanted to see, he thinks. This simple sight is so beautiful. Maybe I don't need anything else.
Just then, someone strikes him from behind, and he falls to the ground again. He has no idea what's happening or who is hitting him. He looks up and sees four figures standing over him, beating him.
"Why are you hitting me?" he asks. "Did I pass out? Am I okay now? Why are you hitting me?"
One of them sneers, "I'm hitting you because you're weak! The weak have no right to live!"
The main character replies, "Yes, a weak person shouldn't live. They should be freed from a world they can't survive in. But you are the weak one… and I am the strong one."
Then, the boy in front delivers a harsh kick to his face — a single, decisive blow — and he passes out again.
He wakes up back in that filthy room. He doesn't know what's happening.