Afterlife
Persons of the Dialogue
Director
Son
1
"I'm glad you came, Director."
"I'm sorry about your father, Son."
"Thanks. The cancer finally won."
"He put up a good fight."
"That he did. Look, there's something I wanted to share with you. I found it in a notebook. I think it explains a lot about him, his character."
"What is it?"
"Here, I'll read it to you. 'I always believed, never wavering, from a young boy on, that when you die you learn everything about everyone - everything they've done, everything they've thought. One giant revelation. I always tried to live up to this belief, to live in such a way that I could stand up to it when everyone learned everything about me.'"
"Interesting, but not surprising."
"Did you know he believed in an afterlife? I thought he was an atheist."
"There are atheists that have beliefs about an afterlife."
"What do you think about his larger belief?"
"I think your father lived up to it to an exceptional degree."
"I agree. But what about the belief itself?"
"It's probably not all that uncommon."
"You think so? Do you think many live up to it as much as my father did?"
"If you really believe, I think you must, as a sort of psychological necessity, live up to it."
"Sure, but how many had the degree of faith my father must have had?"
"Probably not many."
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Nick Pappas, pappasnick.typepad.com
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