Air, holds secrets beyond its apparent simplicity. The atmosphere is air embracing the earth in layers—troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere—it exerts weight and presses against everything it touches as it meanders across the globe.

But is the essence of air more than its’ physicality? Indeed, it’s personal. Our very breath signifies life itself. When air abandons us, our hearts cease their rhythmic dance, marking the threshold between life and death. Yet, are we truly gone?

In death, our bodies find solace in the earth, merging with its soil, engaged in a solemn dance of decomposition. Through rain and water’s gentle caress, our earthly remnants ascend, drawn upwards by the sun’s warmth. Whether through cremation, ocean burial, or earthly interment, the remnants of our existence make the journey of transformation, ascending into the heavens as clouds or carried by rising air currents.

As of 2022, an estimated 109 billion souls have departed this world, their essence interwoven with the very air we breathe. Could it be that the same air that fills our lungs, urging our hearts to beat, carries with it the echoes of those who came before us? Do we inhale a daily dose of ancestral memories, personalities, and preferences, shaping our present existence? Is heaven found amidst the celestial layers of our atmosphere?

~ By Marilyn Ababio