By Francesca Ean Tiu
Art by Justin Wingkee
Imagine standing in the middle of a crossroad with two separate paths veering to your left and right. Your feet are rooted to the ground, unsure of which direction to walk towards. Each path leads to the same direction so why should this be so hard if the destination, your own demise, is the result of choosing either of the paths?
You look to the path on your left, noting down the pros and cons if you decided to embark on your journey using this one. It’s longer, meaning that you’d get the chance to breathe and be alive for much longer than choosing to go in the opposite direction where the road is much, much shorter. The road is smoother too, meaning that the journey would be easier and calmer as well.
In other words, boring.
What was the use going through so little only to reach the end with nothing to show for? Living just to die means going through the motions without putting your heart into anything. It’s allowing each day to pass by until your days become numbered. There’s nothing memorable to take with you, no exciting moments to be shared or told or remembered. No ups, no downs, just the repeated movement of putting one foot in front of the other until it becomes impossible to walk anymore.
You shudder at the thought before transferring your gaze to the path on the right. This path seems shorter with the end almost close enough to place in between the spaces of your fingers. It means that the life you’d live would be a shorter one, making you frown because who would choose to die so early? It almost makes you want to decide on the left path until you take note of the bumps and curves that decorate the right road, cracks splitting through the concrete with flowers peeking out from within them.
The flowers make you smile instantly. Even if the road seems dangerous, there are bright spots scattered here and there that make the journey seem worth it. The same bright spots that make you stop and enjoy the sights around you so you have something to take with you once the path ends. Although you may trip or fall, the flowers hidden in the ground will be there to greet you with a shy tilt of its petals.
Dying to live means living your life to the fullest. Others may call it a stupid and threatening lifestyle but it’s a lifestyle that indicates a surprise at every turn and an unpredictable burst of life at every corner. Each step is going to be different instead of repetitive and you’d end your journey knowing you’ve enjoyed the short yet vivid path it took to get you there.
Both paths, though leading to the same destination, are vastly opposite with their own advantages and their own disadvantages. The outcome is decided by the decision you make. Everything that happens next is solely up to you.
So, if you were given the chance to stand on that crossroad, which path would you choose to take?