BeepBeepBeep
The Sound of the Heart monitor continues to echo across the dimly lit room.
It rings in a dull hospital room, filling the already gloomy atmosphere.
There is nothing to see in here.
From the small light coming from the bedroom lamp standing on the table and the screen of a machine that has been making the ringing noises that can be heard.
And attached to the patient, who is currently bedridden.
The patient's eyes are closed and shut, his mouth slightly open, and his lips dry. His thin body, which hasn't eaten properly for the past few days and has been relying on IV drips, can not be hidden under the blanket he is wrapped in.
Yes...
There is nothing to be seen here but the 21-year-old man whose life suddenly went downhill in just 2 weeks after being diagnosed with a Terminal Illness.
A Terminal Illness that acted up fast, flipping the young man's life in 360 degrees to the worst. It acted so fast that he could feel his body eating him away little by little.
The Situation he is in right now is completely different from the situation he was in just a month ago.
As a Young Graduating student, many people would assume he has a great future ahead of him.
A Mysterious future full of endless possibilities, an uphill battle with struggles like any young person will experience as they step into the world of Adulthood.
Yet somehow, before he can even set foot outside in the middle chapters of his life, the door that led him after leaving his Home was straight to Death's Door.
At the End of his Life.
His somehow Sleek hair has lost its life; the well-toned physique that he had been managing has disappeared.
And in his eyes, where it glimmingly gazes far and high into the future full of expectations, has sunken so deep that you can see the void.
And in this unsightly body of a man who became different in a matter of days, unmoving with his eyes closed, you could assume he was sleeping.
But he is not...
There lies a man fully awake but has been spending his own time deep in his own thoughts.
Spending the peaceful time he had been graced with after a torturous day.
A Day spent with a bunch of Nurses and Doctors doing their routine work for him, the medical tests that he had to endure, and the faces of his family that he doesn't like to see.
The Faces of people he knew and cared about, obviously also taking a toll from the situation he is in.
And that affected him too.
With the unpleasant day passed, the only peaceful time that he can have is when the moon comes out.
His room is located on the upper floors of the hospital, all the way across the corner of the hallway, with the moonlight shining just right through the curtains.
A quiet night for his peace of mind.
Or so he wishes...
There has not been a single day since being hospitalized that he has been at peace, whether physically or mentally.
The painful treatment and the pain of his sickness that he feels daily continue at night, when he is left alone in his room to rest and sleep, and have been taking a toll on him mentally, too.
His mind has been riddled with anxiety and fear.
Emotions have been clouding his mind since being told that he only has a limited time to live and experience life.
Because never in his life had he ever thought about the Idea of Death.
Why would anyone, especially at his age, think deeply about a concept that is so far away for him to experience yet?
Thinking about dying is something people of old age would ponder, considering people his age only have their future to think about.
Their love life, Career, and family...
It is the age of exploring and discovering in life, a time to have fun and enjoy youth.
That's what it means to enter the door of adulthood.
Unfortunately, graced by the hand of misery, His life didn't turn out the way it was supposed to be.
His Dreams, his future, and the life that he was expecting are cruelly and rapidly being stolen from him.
With the sudden news of imminent death, he is currently being cared for and looked after by his family, who frequently visit him, along with the staff whose task is to ensure he spends his remaining days in peace.
Spending the best of his time in company, he put on a facade for his family. Faking happiness or his acceptance of his condition to not further worry and sadden his already suffering family.
To make it look like he had accepted it, masking the emotions that had been rummaging inside him ever since the day he was diagnosed.
To hide the only question he has had since the beginning, lingering in his mind, more so loudly and chaotically at night.
When the Sun is asleep, the cars have dwindled, and people have already fallen into bed, it is times like this that his buried thoughts would rise again and show up more strongly.
The Sole Question of "What comes after Death?"
It is not like he was not raised in a religious family,
In fact, his whole family is religious, especially his parents, but in the Modern world of Technology and the Internet, his views on religion are entirely different compared to theirs.
Having gone to Church every Sunday and being enrolled in a Catholic School until High School, his views have been entirely dependent on his own opinion formed on the Internet.
He became what you would call an Atheist.
"If the Internet can spread false and fake news so easily, where information is easily verifiable, how can stories that were written, spread, and taught since ancient times be trusted easily?"
He would question some of his friends, though not taken seriously enough to discuss it.
Just a hidden, surging thought under the guise of banter among his friends.
The Absence of God in his life made him a self-described atheist.
Hence, now on Death's door, made him question what would it be like after Death if he did not believe in the existence of Heaven or the Afterlife.
The strongest possibility on his mind right now is Nothingness.
His body would shut down, as if his time on Earth had expired, closing every functioning organ he has.
Shutting down the brain, the very consciousness he has right now.
Like how one doesn't remember a single thing from the years before they were born since they still didn't exist, that would be what it's like After Death.
He would lose his sense of self, feel nothing, and go to an eternity of Sleep.
The Image of not living is an image he has been trying to erase in his mind, because the Unknown and Nothingness is something he fears.
The Idea of only living once in the Universe that would possibly continue for Eternity, moving on without you, with no chance for a second life, rebirth, or even reincarnation.
Time is too short, he knows...
'But this is too short...' He begrudgingly said, complaining...
He knows too well that reality is different from Fiction, but the Idea of Nothingness, leaving behind the world of the living, has filled him with anxiety since he likes living.
Every Night, he fears that he might pass away and drift into the unknown.
Extreme anxiety that he can't sleep, depression about his current situation, and his weakening body have been taking a heavy toll on him.
He can't help but curse at his own misfortune...
Everybody is going to die someday since that is what being mortal means...
Time flies, like how time has been slipping since the pandemic, which was 6 years ago...
He just didn't expect that his time would come so fast he couldn't even prepare himself.
'I don't want to die...'
Was his last thought, drifting into the Void as his brain shut down.
His body gave up that very night.
Both his physical and mental pain he had been handling all this time were things his body couldn't fight, even if God was here.
He didn't pass away peacefully...
-----
[Alabasta Kingdom]
[January 1, 1505]
Alabasta Kingdom, located on an island in Paradise known for its Desert Environment, Sandy Island.
A Kingdom that contains rich and deep histories and cultures, along with hidden secrets and mysteries.
Alabasta is a well-known, established kingdom known throughout the World. A Country existing even before the Void Century.
A Country also known for its kind and compassionate King, a dedicated king who prioritizes his people and their home.
The Ruler of Alabasta, Nefertari Cobra, the 12th King of the Alabasta Kingdom.
And in the Alubarna Palace, located at the center of Alubarna City, the Kingdom's Capital.
An Unprecedented situation is currently taking place,
"AAAAHHHHH!" The loud cry, obviously coming from a Woman's voice, can be heard in every hall of the Palace.
Maids and Servants can be seen running through the hallway, some worried with pale expressions and standing still.
Some even left behind their workstations just to catch a glimpse of what is happening.
Panic and chaos can be seen happening in every corner of the Palace.
A Sense of Urgency that is making every person inside involved.
As for what is happening inside?
It is the Birth of the King, Nefertari Cobra, and the Queen, Nefertari Titi's firstborn child.
The wails that pass through the walls are coming from the Queen herself in labor.
It is the Coming of the Kingdom's Prince.