Death

Having Roots

Having Roots

Standing in the hallway of the hospital in China that my father works at, I look into a room to see a black man in a red and white polo suffocating a patient by pressing a pillow over the patient’s face. The patient squirms before his leg gives one last protesting kick and the black man locks eyes with mine. My hairs stand on end. The man pulls a gun and I sprint down the hallway. . .

Experiencing Dave's Death in Koh-Phagnan, Thailand

Experiencing Dave's Death in Koh-Phagnan, Thailand

. . . As he approached within a few feet of me, Dave’s face became illuminated with white light. He said, “hey man,” extended his hand, I grabbed it, and then I felt a gripping paralysis come over me. I felt imbued with the soul of another as though two spirits were contained within my one body. My thoughts ceased, my body remained motionless, the wind on my back was fast and cool, and I felt cold beads of sweat streaming down my spine. An all-encompassing white light engulfed my surroundings—brilliant, infinite white light—before darkness started creeping in, and I felt a touch of vertigo and the sensation of falling . . .