Choko's Reviews > Lazarus

*** 5+++++++***

This story....!!!! How can everyone not have read it???? How had I not read it until now? Why had I never heard about it before? This was so beautifully painful, so deeply emotional, so prosaically profound! I KNEW what the author slowly and simply unveiled in front of us. I KNEW the emptiness and horror in Lazarus's eyes! I SAW the horror of the 3 days of death. And I am one of the lucky ones who fights ceaselessly and refuses to have the life leached out of me every day, every second, every moment.... Because I KNOW, I have experienced in every fiber of my being, the contrast of darkest depravity and enlightened euphoria, ugliness and beauty, utter despair and boundless hope!!! And I have been blessed to be one of those who can still rejoice in the heat and light of the Sun, be enchanted by the simple innocence of children, and appreciate the privilege of BEING! I have been and still am one of the walking wounded. I recognize Lazarus and those who have survived the unsurvivable.

"..."Now he was grave and silent; neither he himself jested nor did he laugh at the jests of others; and the words he spoke occasionally were simple, ordinary and necessary words—words as much devoid of sense and depth as are the sounds with which an animal expresses pain and pleasure, thirst and hunger. Such words a man may speak all his life and no one would ever know the sorrows and joys that dwelt within him." ..."

I know. I see. I recognize. But most of all, I feel grateful that something in my emotional makeup has let me be deeply marred, but not decimated. I feel the joy and sun and love. I stayed human...

This review is not a review. This is my way of saying thanks to an author long gone, as well as those who keep his work still in print. A thanks for understanding that some events in our lives are not erasable. The wounds heal, sometimes there are no visible scars. But the pain is something we are faced with every single moment, every day, and for some of us, as well as those who look into our eyes and love us, it is soul-destroying. I don't know what is that thing, which helps some move on, open their hearts and senses back to life, while some only continue to exist, but I am beyond grateful that I have found IT, just as Aurelius. IT has gifted me with the ability to truly appreciate every ray of sunshine, bathe in the colors of life while always knowing the grays, as well as the fortitude to weather the tempests always finding their way on the horizon... My words are weak and I cannot express all that I want to say, but I want to express my infinite gratitude to all! And I want to thank those who crisscross their paths with mine. I thank you all who have been with me, patient and loving, on this winding, harsh, and thankless road! You are all KNOWN and tattooed on my heart.

I read this story and I cried. Lazarus has been brought back from the dead and by Jesus of all people. Hurrah for Lazarus! Now he has to survive the rest of his returned life with all the trauma of death stamped on his body, mind and soul. The Lazarus of before is no longer. The parts that have returned are not enough. And although his survival is and is seen as a miracle, what would his daily life do to all around him? If you have ever known or loved, or just wondered about those who have lived through wars, torture, or other "unsurvivable"situations, this short story is a must!!! You have to read this!!!!

READ IT!!!!