Perogies

An elderly Slovak man lay dying in his bed. While suffering the agonies of impending death, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favourite Slovak perogies with fried onions 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 laboured breath, he leaned against the door frame, gazing into the kitchen. Where, if not for death's agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven, for there, spread out upon waxed paper on the kitchen table was literally hundreds of his favourite perogies.

Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his Ukrainian 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 crumpled posture. His parched lips parted, the wondrous taste of the perogies was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing him back to life. The aged and withered man trembled on his way to the perogies at the edge of the table, when he was suddenly smacked with a wooden spoon by his wife.

"Bugger off!" she said. "They're for the funeral."