Flash Fic: Steven is Not a Ghost

I am firmly embracing this process life like a writer thing so, this is what I wrote after my Uncle's funeral today.

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Steven opened his eyes to find himself laying flat on his back in a small dark enclosed space.  He tried to cry out and shove at the top but no sound came out of his mouth and his hands remained were they were.  Steven started to panic a little.  Had something happened?  Was he paralyzed? Was he dreaming?  He’d had nightmares like this before.  But something in him knew that this wasn’t a dream.  He knew deep down inside that this was terribly, horribly real.

Suddenly there was light above him.  The faces of his family leaned over him and he still couldn’t move or speak.  The faces were sad and tear stained and he felt a sinking sensation in his gut as he noticed the prevalence of black attire.  He is stricken with the realization that he is dead.

Next thing Steven knows he is standing outside the ring of people around the coffin.  He recognizes his surroundings as the local cemetery.  The coffin contains his body, painted and dressed up so he still has no idea what killed him.  He senses the presence beside him.  It feels more real to him than any of the people around his coffin.

The presence beside Steven turns out to be a man or at least shaped like one.  Steven knows that what he feels is the touch of the divine on the being next to him.

“Am I a ghost?”  Steven asks.

“Do you want to be?” A light male voice responds.  Steven watches his wife cry into the shoulder of one of their grown up sons and hesitates.

“No, I don’t think so.”  Steven says finally.  “Do I really have a choice?”

“There is always a choice.  I am merely here to present you with the choice.  If you choose to go on, I will guide you to the light.”  The other being stated as a matter of fact.

“Only to the light?”  Steven asked brimming with curiosity.

“I can take you there but only you can take the final step.”  The man said calmly.

“I’m ready now.” Steven said.

“Then direct your sight over there.”  The man gestured to a spot between the trees and Steven could see a place of concentrated light.  Steven walked to the threshold and turned back to look at the other man.

“What if I’m supposed to remain here to watch over my family?”  Steven asked.

“Do you feel like you are tied to this place?  Are there things that you have left unsaid or undone?”  The man asked calmly.

“I…” Steven thought for a moment.  “No.  There is more that I would have liked to have done but I have lived and loved, and raised strong and gentle sons who know how much I love them.  I have nothing to gain from remaining like this on Earth.”  He decided finally.

“Then, when you are ready, step into the light.”  The other man replied.

Steven stepped into the light.

He remembered now.  He remembered his childhood full of love and happiness.  He remembered meeting and marrying his wife.  He remembered raising his sons.  He remembered the car accident that claimed his life.  And then, he remembered the light and the light filled him with peace.

Back in the cemetery, Steven's coffin was lowered into the ground.