The radiant path shimmered with peace. Souls walked there like glowing flames, rising toward higher realms. The smoky path twisted downward, heavy with cries of longing and chains of desire.
Arun stood between them, trembling. The pull of both was strong.
From deep memory, the teaching of the Upanishads echoed: "Those who know the truth follow the path of light. Those bound by desire follow the path of smoke."
Arun thought of his devotion, his prayers, his attempts at kindness. Yet he also remembered his greed, his regrets, his unfinished attachments.
He was torn. The light called him upward, but the smoke whispered with the voices of earth—his wife, his children, his home.