When he woke up the next morning, after pushing himself the night before, the pain was almost unbearable. The night before had been a triumph. Everyone was throwing love at him.
The dudes in the crowd and all, every one of em, the ladies! Squealing, singing along, screaming with delight.
Swaying, moving to the music he made. This was what he was put on earth, to do!
As he willed his body out of his huge bed, thought for new creations flowed through his mind like water. Coursing free, at liberty to take it wherever it would. At this moment, he had to take his tired buns to the bathroom as fast as possible.
Dang it!
Why, oh why did he forget to bleed the weed before his head had hit the bed? There was lots of pain as he hastened, he was a bit of a germaphobe, so, he wouldn't be cleaning up if he had a wee on the floor. There would be more pain at the disapproval of his cleaning lady, it was her day off, so the puddle would sit there until next day.
GO GO GO GO GO!!!!
That trip to the loo was only 12 feet, it felt like 12 miles.
Finally, he made it! This time. Not every time, this time, he did.
He thought to himself about the crowd the night before, his joy in bringing them joy. Was there 300? 600? 1,000?
All that mattered was the happiness, the numbers were just numbers.
The money spent on good food, the effort he expended, it was all worth it.
Now, the pain.
The searing, awful pain.
There were no more pain killers in his med cabinet or in the drawers, not even one inadvertently dropped on the floor or on the counter in a rush to put one in his mouth. The pain. OMG, the pain!
All the people who were like family to him. The ones who cooked, cleaned, helped him with whatever, he had given them the day off after the smash success of the party the night before.
He went into his office to call in a favor with one of his trusted staff. The pain was intensifying by the minute.
Someone, anyone, OMGarbanzos, pick up your phone!
Finally, he reached a real person. Someone who could help him get some relief from the increasing pain running from navel to toes.
His trusted staff, he said a prayer of thanks to God, then, to send blessings on his trusted friend who agreed to help him.
The chair he was sitting in, in his office was so comfortable. If he barely moved, breathed slow & shallow, the pain let up just enough for him to be able to bear it.
There was a stack of receipts, paid in full. The homes he had anonymously paid off. Some of the homes he had paid to install solar panels on to help ease the financial burden on struggling families around the area.
This was also something he was put on earth to do. Help others.
He remembered the days when he had to be content to stand outside the burger places. He couldn't even afford an order of fries.
It was free of charge to take in the heavenly aroma, though.
He started counting the number of receipts for paid off mortgages, solar panels installed, even 3 for college tuition. It distracted him from the extreme pain coursing through his body stronger, now.
This was also, his purpose, to help others.
Always anonymously.
As much as he lived in the present moment, his mind was searching for a distraction. Thinking back to the early days of performing. Not quite the superstar as he is in present day, yet, he was packing the stadiums & arenas, tyvm!
He was a nasty boy. Singing raunchy words. So what!
A smile curled across his lips. Oh, no! "When I die, will I be forgiven? I hope so. I heard hell is hot, not in a good way!" He wondered to himself, hoping he would find out later than sooner.
Finally, he heard his friend open the front door, calling his name. The pain was unbearable, now, it was agonizing to speak!
To make a noise for his friend to find him, he breathed painfully deep, with one arm, sweeping a solid glass paperweight onto the floor.
He heard hastened footfalls. Maybe his friend was trying to make it to the toilet, too!
Then, his friend, calling his name, appeared in the doorway. From the way the color left his face, when his friend saw him, he knew he wasn't looking too fly at the moment! He managed to smile.
The doc had called his painkiller in, the pharmacy was only minutes away. The ride in the car seemed to take forever. He had a sweet tune in his head, hoping he could record it after the painkiller took effect.
10 minutes later, he had the merciful, magical, wonderful legal drugs in his hand. He said a prayer to God, thanking him. His friend opened the bottle of pain relief tablets, handed them to him with an opened bottle of water.
With a shaking hand, he placed the tablets in his mouth, drank the water.
His friend looked at him with concern. This was the worst he had ever seen him looking. It was rough, shocking.
Friend: "Hey, man, you look really bad, I'm going to stick around."
The Star: "Naw, man, I gave you the day off. Go, be with your family."
Friend: "Are you sure? They'll be fine."
The Star: Glancing over the top of his sunglasses.
Friend: "Okay, if you need anything, ANY-THING, call me."
His friend drove away, he barely made it inside the door to his home when the pain, which seemed to subside, doubled back with a vengeance! His knees buckled, his back hit the wall, sliding down toward the cold floor.
Then, a sensation.
Oh no!
He definitely felt something warm that would soon cool. He would put some extra cash in his cleaning lady's pay.
He opened the pharmacy bottle as another wave of pain washed over him. This time, he didn't count, he just dumped the relief giving little beauties into his hand, downing them with the last of the bottle of water. He sat there, slumped against the wall, waiting for the pain to subside. Another crashing wave hit him, he curled into a fetal position.
His life was flashing before his eyes as he grew weaker. All he could do was to cry out.
"Jehovah? Lord God? Please forgive me. I know I repented and mended my ways these last 10 years. I hope you forgive me!"
silence
"Can you hear me? I'm sorry!"
silence
Then, the silence turned into softness. The pain was completely gone. Better than gone. It was as if he were light as a feather.
Then, he felt the sweet peace wash over his mind, his soul.
Then, he was no longer in his body.
It was a life well lived, he was happy to have mended his ways in time. He was happy that he had started saying artichoke instead of the "F" word.
Artichoke
Artichoke
Artichoke
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