“Journey Through Darkness: A Near-Death Experience”
(Based on a true story)
It happened in the Balkans, in a small town in Serbia. For Marko, it started as just another ordinary day.
He woke up early, made his morning coffee, and waited for his colleague to pick him up for work. Soon, he heard a car horn in the yard—it was his friend Nikola. Marko grabbed his things, kissed his wife, and left.
The day seemed promising. Sunlight slowly peeked from behind the mountains. Suddenly, Nikola saw a bus heading straight toward them. Instinctively, he swerved to avoid a collision. The car veered off the road and flipped multiple times, landing upside down.
According to Marko, he couldn’t move any part of his body. Images from his life began flashing before his eyes like a movie reel—birthdays, celebrations, anniversaries, every beautiful moment he had ever lived. The scenes sped up until everything turned completely black.
He then felt like several people were carrying him up a long staircase. He asked where they were taking him, but they remained silent, telling him to be patient.
Suddenly, the darkness vanished.
He found himself standing before a vast meadow, and at the end of it—an enormous stone wall. In the center stood a massive wooden gate. As he got closer, he saw a long line of people waiting to pass through. In front of the gate stood a tall old man with white hair and a beard, holding a giant book. Only those he called upon were allowed to enter.
Finally, it was Marko’s turn. The old man asked for his name and year of birth.
"Marko Petrović, born in 1977," he replied.
The man looked at him and shouted:
“This one is not meant for this place yet! He must go back!”
At that moment, everything went black again. Moments later, Marko awoke in a hospital bed, surrounded by medical staff.
In the following days, his condition stabilized. While recovering, he noticed a newspaper on the bedside shelf. Flipping through it, he stumbled upon a shocking headline:
“Marko Petrović Dies in a Terrible Car Accident.”
The only difference was that the deceased was from a different part of the country—yet they were the same age, born on the exact same day and month.
Today, Marko is alive and well. His colleague Nikola survived with minor injuries. Marko continues to share his story, convinced that it simply wasn’t his time to die—that he had been mistaken for someone else.
And the old man with white hair?
He firmly believes it was Saint Peter himself.
About the Creator
Beyond Known
Whispers from the edge of reality — true tales of the strange, the sacred, and the unexplained.
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Comments (1)
That's one wild story! It makes you wonder what really happened. Did Marko have some kind of near-death experience or was it all in his head? I've had some close calls myself, but nothing as crazy as this. It makes you think about the thin line between life and death. What do you think caused him to have this vision?