To die in sleep

To die in sleep is a bliss. It’s the most peaceful way of taking a leave of this world. That is how Mother passed away in her 80s; after a warm bath, she sat up and watched television for a while and went to bed, and my sister found her dead the next morning. She died peacefully in all likelihood of cardiac failure. But on reflection, it occurred to me that for anyone living alone, dying in sleep could mean, given that the dead cannot speak, that the body, after expiring, may lie undiscovered for days, even weeks, well after rigor mortis, until maggots start crawling out of it. For a single person, getting injured or sick first so that she or he is taken to the hospital and die there, is surely a much preferred choice.

死ぬなら寝ている間が幸い。これが、何よりも穏やかにこの世を去る道ですね。 母は八十何才で、こうして亡くなりました。お風呂に入って、暫くテレビを見て床に入り、そして眠りにつき、翌朝既に死んでいたのを姉が見つけました。多分心不全で安らかに息を引き取ったのでしょう。でも、考えて見ると、独り住まいのひとの場合には、睡眠中に死ぬと、死人に口なしで、死後何日も、或は何週間も、放置されたまま発見されず、そのうちに死体は硬直状態を過ぎて、蛆が走り廻る事になるでしょう。独りでしたら、まず負傷するか病気になって、病院に運ばれて、そこで死ぬのが選択としてはずっと好ましいですね。