New Year, New Password

New Year, New Password

It has only been a couple minutes passed the New Year, and I decided to leave the party. I wanted to make sure that I had adequate rest for the “new year, new me” resolutions that I had made prior to the New Year. I was excited to make these changes and couldn’t wait to begin. I opted not to partake in any drinking or substance use to ensure sobriety and did have to rely on the busy taxi schedules on the New Year holiday.

I threw on my jacket, and I walked out to my old beat-up car. I gave it a quick glance as I happily made the decision to finally upgrade to an electric vehicle as one of my resolutions. My car gets me around and is reliable, but it is time for me to do my part while also upgrading. I jumped in my car, put on my seat belt, started my car, and drove out of the parking lot. The roadways were busy, and I saw flashing lights ahead. I slowed down to see a couple of drunks trying to pass a sobriety test. I am glad the police had stopped them and got them off the road. I still had a distance to drive to reach home on the outskirts of town.

I made my way through town and was on the open country road. A light rain shower began, and the outside temperature began to drop as a storm moved in. I turn on my windshield wipers and it just smears the moisture across my windshield making it difficult for me to see since I haven’t replaced the wipers for over a year. I slow down a little as I try to peek through a clear spot on my windshield. I drive for about another mile or so and it begins snowing heavily. I turn my wipers on the high setting to help give me visibility I need. It is becoming harder for me to see so I slow down a little more. The lines on the road begin to become covered in snow and with the wipers not working well has limited my visibility dramatically. I think to myself that it is okay. I am almost home, and I can make it.

The road bends to the right and I follow it the best I can as I drive this road every day. As I make my way around the bend, I see hazard lights from a car right in front of me. I crank the wheel to the left to avoid it and slam on my brakes. My car slides off the roadway, down a hill and comes to a stop. I take a deep breath of air and am thankful I am alright. I look around to see where I am at, and I recognize the house up on the hill. That is old farmer Johnson’s home. He is sure to have a tractor to pull me out. As I look more, I realize I am stopped on top of his iced over pond on his property. I begin to hear the ice cracking; I begin to panic. I try to undo my seatbelt, but I can’t get it. It usually takes a little finessing, but I have trouble focusing due to the danger I am in. I should have traded this junk car in sooner.

The ice gives way and my car plunges into the depths of the pond. Icy cold water begins to seep in through the door seals. I am still struggling with my seatbelt. The water is rising inside the car reaching my waist. My hands are frozen from the water, and I have trouble doing anything with them. I reach for the door and try and open it up but the pressure from the water won’t allow me. I try the button to roll down the window and amazingly it works. Water rushes in and I struggle to shimmy out of my seatbelt. The cold hits me hard and hypothermia sets in right away. I hold my breath as long as I can, but I can no longer. I gasp for air and get a lung full of water. I fade away.

A warmth comes over me and a bright light attracts me. I follow it until I reach a grassy meadow. I see other people headed towards a gate and a gate keeper letting people in. I must have died and gone to heaven. I make my way towards the gate and can’t help but feel full of love and joy. I approach the gate and the gate keeper stops me. He is holding a clipboard in his left hand and a fancy white feather pen in his right.

“Name?” he asks.

“Isaac Kettleman.” I reply.

“Password?” he asks.

“Password?” I asked confused. “You need a password to get into Heaven?”

“Yes, everyone was issued a password at some point during their life. If you don’t remember your password, then you need to reset your password.” the man states.

“How do I know when my password was issued?” I ask.

“When you were born, you were issued your username, which you remember. During your time on earth, you were directly told your password and were told to remember it. If you do not remember it, then you need to reset your password.” he politely states.

I dig deep inside and try to remember a time in my life when I might have received my password. I do not recall anytime that I was directly told it.

“Hurry up with your password. There are others waiting to get in.” the gate keeper gently explains.

“I don’t remember my password. How do I reset it?” I ask.

“Are you sure you want to reset it? Once you decide to reset it, you cannot use the one you were issued if you happen to remember it.” he states.

“Yes, I don’t remember my password so I will have to reset it. What do I do to reset it?”

“Over there.” He points to his right to another gentleman standing next to a round booth made of pure gold. There is a sign that says, ‘reset your password here’. I walk over to the booth and am greeted by the gentleman.

“Need to reset your password?” he asks.

“Yes,” I respond.

“To reset your password, you must step into the booth. Once you are in the booth, you cannot use your old password. You understand that the password resetting process could take a very long time and we cannot guarantee that you will remember your new password.”

“Yes,” I say as I enter the booth. The door shuts.

“Be prepared to return to earth to be issued a new password.” A voice says through an intercom. My eyes light up as I am not ready to go back to earth. It is so peaceful here. “10, 9, 8…” a countdown begins.

Fear rushes through me and I have a flash of a time when I was at a coffee shop and a waitress came up to me, handed me the bill, and whispered in my ear. “Your password is ‘farmer’s icy pond’, remember it always.” I always thought that was strange and a little disturbing.

“Wait!” I shout. “Farmer’s icy pond! Farmer’s icy pond!”

“Too late, you already initiated the password reset process.” A voice says. The floor under my feet opens and I am blasted through a vibrant tunnel. I close my eyes in fear of what will happen next. I feel my self come to a stop. I open my eyes and see a doctor holding me gently.

“It’s a boy!” he says as he hands me over to an exhausted woman on a hospital bed.

I think I will remember my password this time.