Last Wish
An elderly Italian man lay dying in his bed. While suffering the agonies of
impending death, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite amoretto
cookies wafting up the stairs. He gathered his remaining strength, and
lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his
way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort, gripping the railing
with both hands, he crawled downstairs. With labored breath, he leaned
against the doorframe, gazing into the kitchen. Were it not for death’s
agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven, for there, spread
out upon waxed paper on the kitchen table were literally hundreds of his
favorite cookies.
Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife
of sixty years, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man? Mustering
one great final effort, he threw himself towards the table, landing on his
knees in a rumpled posture. His parched lips parted, the wondrous taste of
the cookie was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing him back to life.
The aged and withered hand trembled on its way to a cookie at the edge of
the table, when it was suddenly smacked with a spatula by his wife……
“Back off!” she said, “They’re for the funeral.”