Legacy MattersFrom Sunlight Follows Me, the Rites of Passage, a glimpse of the great transition.
"I'm not goin' yet. Don't you worry, I'm not goin' yet."
--
The morphine was bringing him very little relief, but he did not want any more.
"I want my mind to be clear for when the priest comes. I won't go until I've had my last rites."
--
The priest finally arrived in his dark robes and holding a small vial of holy water. His voice was deep and he when he spoke it was like a song, a lullaby that rose and fell, a haunting sound that felt alien in this land of green monitors and tinny mechanic blips.
As the song ended, the old man opened his silver eyes, looked around at us all and then sat up, smiling.
Then the breath left his lips like smoke blowing away in the wind, and the light faded slowly from his eyes.