It was the middle of the day, if I remember correctly. I was on my way to Target to get some ice cream. Can you believe that? Going all the way to Target just for ice cream — for ice cream. Hell, I could've just gotten it somewhere else. But not that day. That day was just weird. I had this itch, this strange feeling that I needed to go there. Now that I think about it, even without a reason, I probably would've gone anyway. It was just that kind of weird thought.
So I did. Without telling that jackass of a boss — the one who wouldn't even let us have a single holiday off in a month — I left work. Usually, I'd just be bullshitting around there anyway, not doing anything useful for myself. Yeah, I know I'm a senior member of the company, but after slaving away for years in that same shitty workplace, you tend to lose every bit of care you ever had — especially for those asshole coworkers who come running to me for every little thing, ruining my day.
So I went to Target. Weirdly, there wasn't anyone there that day — aside from me. Even at the counter, I didn't see a single person. But what the hell did I care about what anyone else was doing? I was just about to grab a few more things other than ice cream. I mean, now that I was already there, why not go for a few snacks? Since after heading back, I knew I'd definitely get an earful from the boss anyway.
But that's when I saw it — the back door. It was open, and a light, an eerie yet shining light, was coming from the other side. It didn't look like something that came from a bulb, nor from any source I knew of. And believe me, as the son of an extremely enthusiastic electrician, I know a whole lot more about light than I probably should. It felt so natural, but it was brighter than daylight — that's why I got curious and decided to check it out.
That was the mistake I still doubt to this day. Was it a good choice or a bad one? If it was a good choice, then why do I have to suffer as much as I am now? And if it was a bad one, then why am I filled with this rush of excitement — like this… this is the way life should be lived.
Anyway, I didn't want to disturbed anyone at target. Not that I saw anyone in sight. So I went ahead, opened that door, and saw a hallway — the same light was coming from the end of it.
It felt a little odd, because there weren't any doors along the hallway, just walls leading straight to the light — like it was the damn path to heaven. If I were some old guy who'd devoted his life to faith, I'd probably think this was God's invitation to paradise.
But I know better than anyone else who I am and what I've done. If there's anyone unfit to go to heaven, I'd be right at the top of that list — written in bold letters as Allen (a menace to society, should be locked away as fast as possible). You really think a guy like that's going to heaven? A guy who ditched work for ice cream while a whole company full of people depends on my approval of their files? Not exactly the heaven I've ever heard of — definitely not.
Eventually, I did reach the end — right into that light. It touched my body, my face, even my office suit — which, I've got to say, was always spotless. Gotta hand it to my assistant; her work was marvelous. I should've gotten her something nice — maybe a new pen, or a file clip to hang all those documents I dump on her desk.
Well, she's a good kid, and she deserved it. But, unfortunately, I never got the chance.
When I walked into that light, I didn't feel anything at first. I expected to see something — maybe some new kind of lighting system Target had installed. Technology's improving every day, so it wouldn't have surprised me if it was some fancy new setup I hadn't seen before. But seriously, who the hell needs a light that bright? Were they trying to erase nighttime altogether?
I stepped deeper into the light, and for a second, I thought I'd entered a room — but it wasn't. The moment I got closer, its brightness suddenly increased, and I had to shut my eyes. The next thing I knew, I was falling — yeah, falling. A moment ago, I was walking, and now… I was plummeting straight down.
What the hell—were they doing some kind of construction in here? Did I fall into a hole or something? All kinds of questions ran through my head, but I couldn't see anything. Everything around me was just this blinding white light. And that wasn't even the worst part — at the end of this tunnel, what I saw was darkness.
From the path of light, I was falling straight toward the dark. What kind of joke was that? Anyway, the more I went down into this strange thing, the weirder it got. Eventually, there were these tiny little things floating around me — like glowing bugs, flickering in all kinds of colors.
They were really fast, but I could still catch glimpses of them from time to time. At some point, they started to annoy me, so I tried to punch them — yeah, like that would work. They were way too quick for that.
I was falling really fast, and the ground — or whatever it was — was getting closer and closer. I didn't know if it was the floor of this place or something else entirely, but if it was the floor, then that was it for me. That would be the end.
Ha… well, at least I'm going out in a weird way. Beats dying of old age in my own house, this is the way to go I say.
But damn, these bugs were getting on my nerves. I don't know what kind of bugs they were, but they were really starting to piss me off. God, I really wanted to crush one of them so badly.
So, I took off my coat, got ready, and when one of them flew close enough, I threw it. And by some miracle, I actually managed to catch one of the damn things. Pulling the coat back, I grabbed the thing in my hand — it felt soft and moist, like I was squeezing a sponge.
But before I could get a good look at it, I fell straight into the darkness. The next thing I knew, I was somewhere completely different.