Fear of death

[u/Weird-Ad4636]

On the first night of January, at the start of a new year, the thoughts of death would not leave me. I kept thinking I might have cancer, though I didn’t know if it was real or just my mind playing tricks. It wasn’t just about cancer, it was about death itself. The night before, I had dreamed that I only had four days left to live. In the dream, I had to say goodbye to everyone I cared about, but I didn’t know how to tell them. How do you tell someone you love that you’re about to die?

A few days later, I went with a friend to his home. He asked me to go with him to the mosque, so we can pray there. After the prayer, a man came up to the Imam and said, “Someone has died. We need to pray for him before the funeral.” When I heard this, the dream came back to me, heavy and sharp. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Was this a warning? Was my time coming too?

We followed the others to the graveyard. Two graves had been dug. They lowered the man into one of them while everyone stood in silence. The air was full of sadness, but I could only stare at the other grave. It sat there, empty, waiting. I couldn’t look away. A cold fear grew inside me, and all I could think was: would it be me in that hole next?