The Hamburger

I work among the dying, so I know how they usually are. Some try fighting it, screaming, crying, and/or begging to whatever gods and/or doctors they have to make them well again. Others go peacefully, saying goodbye to loved ones and letting their souls float away like a leaf upon the river. And then there are those who are too sick to do anything and go out without so much as a whimper.

Harold was different. His soul burned until close to the very end. He jogged to every hospital appointment, greeted us with his booming voice, and gripped our hands with his muscular ones when giving handshakes. I had also seen him on stage with the local metal band Tantalus playing his guitar like he was trying to murder it. Most of those we told after they saw him refused to believe he had cancer.

But Death is still humanity’s master. Therefore, that soaring spirit eventually landed on one of our hospital beds. The last sign of his inner wildfire were the jokes that fell from his lips like raindrops during a monsoon. From what he said, we could all tell that he knew and accepted what was coming. He just didn’t want himself or anyone else to be cold in the process.

Because we had all come to love Harold, we nurses and doctors decided to grant him a final request. Whatever it was, whether a road trip, a skydiving adventure, or something in between, we would all pitch in to make it happen.

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So one day, I went into Harold’s room as usual and told him about our little plan. Then I asked him what unfinished desire could possibly cause his soul to go unrested.

“I want a hamburger,” he said.

“Why,” I asked, astounded.

“I’ve never had one before.”

“What, really?”

Harold explained that his parents were so restrictive that they might as well have turned his body to stone. Junk food, uneducating books, violent TV shows, and more were kept as far out of his reach as the moon. And they got violent and abusive over these restrictions as well. So much so that he had stayed in their mental cage. It was a miracle that he had found such happiness regardless.

You can bet that we got him a hamburger as wide as a dinner plate and as tall as an average baby. Harold, quite overwhelmed, picked the heavy thing up, spread his jaws as wide as he could, and took a massive greasy bite.

He froze once with the bite in his mouth. Tears formed in his eyes. He finished chewing, swallowed, and said: “What other pleasures have I missed out on?”.

And that was the moment Harold’s flame went out.