"Deception"

His family was left with nothing but debt. He had spent the latter portion of his life blowing all of his income on the craps table in Vegas. For a 72 year old man, he was shockingly skilled when it came to evading debt collectors.

It seemed as though nothing would ever catch up to him. Not karma, not law enforcement, nothing.

But one day, the universe appeared to have found a fitting way to pay him back; in the form of an eighteen wheeler that just so happened to send his car spiraling down a mountain, ending in a magnificent explosion, and tragic death.

His family was truly puzzled. He had gone from a loving father, caring husband, and upstanding citizen to a man of perpetual deception and manipulation. They didn't know if they were to mourn or celebrate his departure from the world. They didn't know if they were to grieve his death before formulating ways to finance his debts.

They felt cheated. They felt like he was haunting them, even in his afterlife. They felt his deception would never end, no matter how long he was dead for. The blast disintegrated the man's body, leaving nothing for consolation, nothing to see to begin the process of moving on.

When the funeral came around, confusion had turned into inconsolable depression. His wife was rudely awoken by the fact that she would be alone until the end of her days. His children came to grips with the harsh reality that was living without a father. Everyone seemed to forget all of the wrong he had done. Everyone seemed to bypass the flaws, leaving opportunity to only remember the good.

"Martin was a wonderful man. He and I met on a beach in Mexico when we were seventeen years old. When we saw each other, we just knew. The connection was electric. I'll always remember Martin as the loving husband, gentle father, and free spirit that he was."

Everyone at the funeral cried that day.

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Everyone but Martin.

Martin leaned back in a yellow, wooden rocking chair, sipping on an ice cold Corona, staring off at the sun as it casted a shadow over the Pacific Ocean.

He thought about his funeral, and smiled.

'Deception until death,' he thought, as he closed his eyes for a nap on the beach in his personal heaven on earth.