10 MILLION YEARS' REGRET
by
Louis Lopez
© 2023 by Louis Lopez.
All rights reserved. It is allowed to reproduce and distribute copies of this book PROVIDED that (1) full credit is given to the author Louis Lopez, (2) it is copied exactly as found here without any alterations to the wording and (3) no more than $20 is charged for each copy.
The man is lying on his back looking straight up at the clear morning sky. It looks an especially rich azure today. He is lying on the fresh grass of his backyard and looks over occasionally at the lush fields of the neighboring farms with their bright red barns. The song "Green Fields" by the Brothers Four resonates in his mind. His wife, who is only a little younger, is close by working methodically in the flower beds.
"Oh, look at all this--the sky, the growing crops, the abounding grass, the clean, rich morning air." She just listens. Her back is to him. "I don't want to leave it. I'm glad I decided not to stay in the hospital. I've lived so many years but it just doesn't seem like it. I'm going to miss so much of it. I've done it so many times before, but I'll still miss things like walking in the woods while smelling the robust pine and hearing the sounds of the happy brook passing nearby. I'll never eat brownies again or my favorite, Black Forest cake, or 100% pure cherry juice."
"And you've always been a sucker for barbecue-flavored potato chips," his wife finally said something.
The miracle of science has made it possible for people to live millions of years. He has lived 10 million years. "I know I've lived a long time but still don't want to go. Why do I have to go."
"We all do sometime."
"And then there's all the things I wanted to do and never got around to. Just kept putting them off figuring there would be time later. I always wanted to run in at least one marathon and wanted to go to several places that I never got around to--the Galapagos, Machu-Picchu, Bali. And I never got to butt fuck. I always wanted to try it at least once, just out of curiosity." He looked at her. "Maybe there's still time."
"Don't be silly," she said emphatically.
"I'll never be able to see old friends and see what they've been doing." He sighed. "The last thing I wanted to do in my life was to die."
THE END