Immortality

         I found a piece of paper that described two different fantasy worlds on my mom’s book shelve. I was unable to scan it into the computer because the print was too faded. I decided to write about which world I would choose if I was forced to make one. This was a hard choice because both imaginary worlds had so many problems. There were some likable qualities but the bad over shadowed them. However, reading these scenarios has taught me about myself, my life and even about death.

 If I had to choose one of these worlds to live in it would have to be the one in the second scenario. I don’t choose this one because I would live forever but because I would be able to have a relationship with my family and friends. In the other world, where you only live one day, people never take the time to be family and friends. When they pass a person on the street, they glance their way then hurry on. If they go for tea, they are constantly watching the clock because they know exactly how many hours they have left. When they only live one day, half of their life is spent in either the light or the darkness, depending on when they were born. When the light changes, the people are scared and they don’t know what to do. They only seen one season; summer, winter, spring or fall. Each person only sees what is blooming right then. People spend their whole lives hurrying about, rushing and nervously studying the changing angles of the shadows. Parents have died at midnight or midday. Siblings have moved away to different cities to seize that passing opportunity. Friends have changed as the sun moves across the sky. You end up alone, realizing you know no one and no one knows you. Their life is scattered in pieces of conversations, “forgotten by fragments of people”.  I would not choose this life. It’s a life of loneliness without family, friends and loved ones.

The other world, though it too has its down falls, is the one I would chose to live in. As stated earlier, I did not choose this world because I would get to live forever; I chose it because family is the most important thing in my life. In this world, the population of each city is split in to two groups: the Laters and the Nows. The Laters believe that there is no rush because they literally have forever to do what they want. There is no hurry to read a book, go back to school, learn another language, to fall in love or raise a family. There will always be time, so there no need to speed through life. They wear loose clothes, sip coffee for hours or have a leisurely walk. They can easily slip into a conversation discussing the possibilities of life. The Nows have a different belief system. They believe that because life in infinite and so are the amount of things they can do. They can have an infinite number of jobs. They can marry an infinite number of people an infinite number of times. They can have any career they want and as many as they want. They are constantly reading book, learning new languages and trades. To get the most out of life, the Nows begin early in life and never slow down. They are the owners of businesses, the doctors, the college professors, and the politicians.  They rock their leg when they sit and they miss nothing. When they meet another Now, they compare life successes and trade information, all the while glancing at their watches.  When Laters meet another Later, they ponder life and the future.

Each have huge families because no one ever dies. The down side to this family is that one person cannot just ask one parent about any one thing. That parent then has to ask his or her parent and so on and so forth.  This means nothing will ever be finished. No one will ever be able to make a decision on their own. Bridges will only be half finished; building will have no roofs and sentences left unfinished. Engagements will be broken just before weddings and people will always be conscious of who is watching them.

So if I had to choose what world to live in I would choose the over baring families and the indecisive actions verses the life of loneliness and emptiness.  I would take the crazy, never ending family tree over the idea of dying without a single person knowing or caring. With any life worth living, you have to take the good and the bad. The choice is hardly ever easy and the cons may outweigh the pros 2/1 but sometimes there is that one thing you can’t live without. I could not live without my family and that doesn’t just include blood related family. I believe every person you choose to share important parts of your life with are family. Life would not be worth living without them.