When he woke up he realized he was not in his bed; he was not in a bed at all. The sting of the cold cement made it clear this is not where he was suppose to be. He attempted to stand but found himself paralyzed, not physically, but with fear.
Light shone through a crack in the boarded up window reveling a fate no man should ever encounter. He laid still not to bring attention to himself. His mind full of nonstop thoughts of his life; regrets, loves, pain, mistakes... Did he do enough? Did he live enough? Did he make the right choices? His fate was sealed.
As he took his last breath his mind navigated to a childhood memory. He was on a playground. Chasing friends when he noticed a man lurking nearby, staring at a little girl. He approached her and asked, is that your dad?” Her reply had slipped his mind for many years, but in this moment of helplessness and impending death he remembered.
“No, he’s my shadow, he comes with me everywhere,” she answered enthusiastically. “You should get one. He looks much different in the dark. As long as I keep him fed he protects me from my dad, but if he gets hungry I have to feed him a part of me.” Confused, he asked, “A part of you?” The little girl lifted her shirt to revel her mid drift, or what was left of it. It was covered in oozing scabs and crusted blood from being bitten. He froze, he didn’t know what to do or say. “I have to go now,” she said smiling. She skipped to the man, held his hand, and they quickly walked away.
Why this memory, why now? In his final moments it was clear... it was feeding time.