Invincible

A long time ago I was a soldier. I was barreling through the battlefield with bullets whizzing by like angry bees. I was invincible. Explosions rocked my sense of direction and I was then looking at the sky. Despite being knocked onto my back by the mine set off by a nearby comrade, I felt perfect. I rolled onto my stomach and raised my rifle, a semi-auto high caliber weapon that I had never learned the name of. Within thirty seconds I had scored my first kill of the day. I couldn’t count the number of men who’s heads were no longer with them because of me. In a few minutes I was up and running again. I could actually feel the tiny projectiles entering and exiting my flesh. I felt the warm blood trickling down my spine. But I felt no pain. I stepped on a piece of metal and heard a noise, a noise that no soldier ever wants to hear, a very faint click. My training told me I was dead, but my experience said keep running. The explosion under my feet threw me upwards of twenty feet in the air. I must admit, when I hit the ground I was a bit dizzy. I closed my eyes. Some people describe this next part as death. I would say it’s more like an elongated blink. I saw (through my closed eyes) the familiar white light at the end of the tunnel and when I got to the end, I opened my eyes to a different time and place, where time and place had no meaning. A man helped me up and looked into my soul. I knew this man very well. I didn’t even have to speak. He knew my mind. I muttered a grateful, “thanks” then he nodded and sent me to finish my job.