The Rim

 

Disclaimer: This blog is a work of fiction and imagination. It is not intended to hurt or challenge any religious beliefs or sentiments.

Neil was a man who had mastered in the business world but turned into a stranger to his own soul.

At 58 years, he ran a successful handicrafts export company with discipline, fear, and absolute control. His employees obeyed him more than they respected him. His children—had grown up dodging to meeting his glance . They didn’t wait at the door for his return from work. They had learned to decode his footsteps better than his words.

One morning, Neil received news that shook him along with his cherished empire. A multi-crore order bound for South America had been rejected due to unchecked flaws. In his eyes, the blame lay on five senior employees of his team who had been with him through ups and downs since the company’s inception.

Neil called for a conference meeting. He had decided to fire them without any discussion.

But before he could say a word—Neil collapsed.

Right there, in the boardroom.

---

Inside the ICU, alarms rang loud. Nurses rushed in. CPR was administered. Doctors shouted orders. His wife stood outside, pale and weeping, along with his stunned children. Everyone watched the red OT sign, hoping it would turn off, expecting eagerly for some good news.

Inside, the ventilator displayed the dreaded flatline.

Neil was gone.

Or so it seemed.

---

A whooshhh ….

Then silence.

Neil opened his eyes to find himself standing—oddly unharmed—in a strange, grey clouds kind of landscape. It was neither bright nor dark. Just... grey.

“Where am I?” he whispered.

“You’re at the rim,” came a calm yet surround-sound voice.

Neil startled 

“The rim of what?”

“Between what was… and what can still be.”

Neil did not understand

“I’m dead?”

“No. But close. Your body is failing, but your soul has slipped into the edge. In this space, we talk usually before final journeys. Though yours... is not yet final.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m your guardian angel.”

“My guardian angel? I don’t see you.”

“You never did. But I’ve been with you every second of your life. Everyone on earth has one. We try to communicate with you through your gut instincts, your inner voice. When your time ends, we come to take you. But in rare cases, like yours, there’s a misreading. You’re not due yet.”

Neil looked around at the vast grey-like nothingness. “So, this strange place is heaven?”

“No,” the voice replied gently. “This is the rim—a place between dimensions. You come here because the thread between your body and soul is fraying but  its not cut yet.”

“Who sent you? God?”

“It’s... more complex than you can grasp. But yes, there is God. 

Time is running, I need to send you back.”

Neil blinked.

“Honestly… this whole thing,” He began, his eyes scanning the surreal space around him, “it’s too much to believe it’s actually happening.”
He paused, taking in a shaky breath. “On the contrary … it’s so easy to convince myself it’s just a hallucination—some elaborate trick of my mind.. 

But… if this isn't a dream—if you're really my guardian—I’m grateful for your presence. And before I’m sent back... I wish to ask you just one question.”

Neil paused for a second and continued,

“This one question… I believe every human—no matter where they’re born, what they believe, or how they live—carries deep inside.
If there’s truly a God… then why so much suffering?
Why does He allow children to go hungry, people to hate each other, nations to go to war in His name?
Why does He stay silent to every gruesome crime that's committed?
Why doesn’t He stop it all—if He truly can?”

There was a long silence.

“Because the Earth is not your first chance, Neil. It’s your second.”

Neil is more confused “What do you mean?”

“You... and everyone you know... are souls who once lived in a different realm. One far more peaceful, just, and divinely. A place where God’s presence was full. There, your actions were your first test.”

Neil’s mind raced.

“And we failed?”

“Some people in the realm did stray, abused freedom, became indifferent to kindness. Those who chose ego over empathy, revenge over compassion... They are all sent to Earth in different earth time. Not as punishment, but as opportunity. To rediscover truth. To return to love.”

Neil whispered, “Then Earth is...?”

“A rehabilitation of the soul. A place of second chance.”

“And God? Is He here?”

“Yes... but minimal. His presence is only like a soft whisper. Enough to guide at times, not to interfere. Earth is not fully his domain. A different power dominates here—a bit dark—is allowed to have influence here. To test, to tempt… to teach in a way.”

“That’s why life is painful?” Neil said, the logic a bit sinking in.

“You are not going to remember any of this..Agreed, there is pain and suffering. But it is not proof of God’s absence... it is the evidence of your soul’s battle.

Every act of injustice you see—is not God's or anyone’s doing, but the reflection of collective human choices shaped over lifetimes.

Each human born on earth is with a destiny already written—like a carefully designed exam paper—based on the life he had in the previous realm. It may seem random, even unfair.. but it’s not. It’s purposeful.

And inside of you exists both—the light of the divine, and the pull of the dark.
Your conscience, your kindness, your ability to forgive... they are not just your traits. They are echoes from the world you once came from. They are like reminders.

But for some, the shadow of their previous life—their karma—is heavy. Their wrong choices from before make the darkness in this life harder to resist.

And still... a few resist the pull and listen to the conscious inside them. Even in suffering, they choose love. Even in pain, they choose peace. .”

That... is the test.”

Neil fell silent. The cold grey air pressed against his chest.

“And me? What about me?”

“You were sent to lead—but you forgot to serve. You created a company, but not a community. You were meant to uplift others—but you ruled them instead.”

Neil could feel a different emotion rising within—It wasn’t guilt alone... it was the sting of realisation. 

“Can I get a chance to fix it?”

“You may get the chance. But even if you do—you won’t remember this conversation. Only a tingling in your chest probably.”

Neil’s mind was now overflowing with questions—like a businessman seated across a vendor, negotiating clarity instead of contracts. His instincts to not leave any page unread, had kicked in even here, in this strange, suspended place between life and something else.  

“If not God then who is the one ruling this world?" Neil asked. His voice curious like a child. "Is he equally powerful as God? I ...I am so thirsty. 

"God overpowers all Neil. But the world you live in- that level is the place where light of faith must be remembered—not given. God has an eye on you but is distant., by design.... So you can always come looking"

Neil swallowed. His throat felt dry. 

“How many such levels are there? My mouth... it’s so dry...”

There was a silence. The grey clouds seemed to go still.

The voice said nothing.

“Water, Water please!”

“Yes, Neil. Please have some water,” said a gentle voice near his ear.

It wasn’t the mysterious voice anymore. It was familiar—earthly.

He opened his eyes.

His wife was by his side, holding a spoon to his lips.

“You’re awake!” she sobbed, overwhelmed. “Oh Neil... you’re alive.”.

---

Neil blinked in the chilled ICU. Beeping machines surrounded him. His chest hurt, but he was breathing.

Alive.

But... different.

He didn’t speak of the grey place. Not to anyone. But something had changed in him.

He cancelled the termination letters.

He called his employees—apologized, genuinely.

He held his wife’s hand at night. Not out of duty, but because he wanted to.

He sat with his grown children and said the words they never thought they would  hear: “I’m sorry I was hard. I want to be better.”

Slowly, they smiled. Not just out of politeness—but hope.

He spent less time at his desk. More time in  garden. People stared. Wondering if he was the same Neil?

No. He wasn’t. He had come back.

Not just from the Rim.;

But from the edge of letting go who he really was.

The father his children once feared... now sat quietly beside them at dinner, laughing over stories he had never made time to hear.

And though he never remembered the grey rim, the feeling of it never left him.

He lived now like a man who had understood the truth:

That We are not here to win. We are here to find our way back.

---

 - Sharon

P.S.

Today, the sky cried low,
A bird of metal had broken below.
Smiles, hopes, dreams, froze to flame,
Souls now stars, none to blame.

No warning came, no final word,
Now strange silence in loud cries can be heard.
Families in denial, eyes wet with fear—
Everything seems dark, hazy and unclear.

Life is unpredictable, often harsh and unkind,
With a secret book of endings already signed.
Slow down, stress less, and breathe in grace,
You’re not here to win—but to walk in your pace.

So love out loud, don’t fear what’s ahead, let go of the past,
The clock ticks slow...but the strike comes fast.
This life is a chance to live, to laugh, to just be true,
Value your time... you never know when it’s through