As the late autumn sun was leaning towards the west with the hollow stretch of ashen cloud blocking out the heaven spread with its pallid screen, underneath a sailing yacht was drifting, nearly ashore the small, isolated island on the South Pacific Ocean with its one man crew.
‘It's almost the time,’ the man contemplated, his hands now clutching softly the steering of the ship. Finally, the moment had come for that inevitable. He knew this was coming, the doctor had told him about this; it wouldn't be wrong to say that he was rather anticipating it. Adventure had always been Joao Perrera’s passion and this was to be, for him, another one of those epic endeavours he had had in his life. But he knew this would be unlike any he had ever experienced. Though in the inside he was in dire distress, the look on his face did not replicate the suffering; the expression was rather calm, like the zephyr presently blowing against the sail, and almost inexplicable. Unnaturally still and quiet, with hazel eyes intent on the approaching island, he slowly corrected the course of the ship towards the land.
Most of his life, he dedicated to adventures around the world. He had visited sixty percent of the world's countries and lost count of the times he had spanned the globe. He had crossed blue seas on hot air balloons, sky-dived, rafted, glacier trekked, glided in the Andes, spent night atop the snow-clad mountains, scuba-dived in the tropics, camel trekked the Sahara, rock-climbed and went on an African safari. He had explored ancient castles, palaces, temples, tombs, catacombs and labyrinths, seen the pyramids, the Amazon, the African savanna, the Himalayas, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal. Yet, life itself was a more appealing adventure to him and he had one last adventure to embark upon, one that every living being has to undergo, but which none can retell. He wasn't sad or regretful, for throughout his life, he had pursued his dreams and he knew a life dedicated in search of dreams could truly suffer little and had little to feel sorry for.
The murmur of waves cast upon the piece of land, the destination of his four months long epic voyage, the sound of seagulls, were getting more distinct. When his ship would touch the shores of the island, he would’ve completed this expedition. His physical adventures on this mortal realm would conclude soon. But just then, another great adventure, the truly last one, would begin. The pain in his chest was most excruciating now and with every faint beat of the heart, he was approaching the ultimate end, or rather, as he saw it, a new beginning. He remembered his wife, who had departed a year back, and murmured, 'I'm on my way, dear.' His eyes scanned the world for one last time- it was peaceful, almost bidding him 'goodbye'. He could only faintly smile back in reply, closed his eyes and breathed in for the last time.
A dazzling bright light appeared, oscillating and spreading from the end of a tunnel. His last great adventure had begun.
