A Way of Death

A Way of Death

The short story of demise

The bear passes through me as it walks towards the man. I look at my clock, it’s time. My hand moves in unison with the claw of the beast, and with one fell swoop, the man’s soul is separated from his body. The now empty vessel of flesh collapses to the ground, scattering entrails along the forest floor. His clothes were already torn when I got here, must have upset the wildlife. Jonathan lies on the ground, looking at the bear in sheer awe. Then he notices his own body, motionless and bloody. He gets up quickly, pinches himself, then turns around to face me. His jaw drops when he looks into my empty eyes.

“Morning” I say, the sound of my voice echoing indefinitely.

His voice shakes, “Hello?”

“As you can see, you are dead”

He goes quiet and he flinches as I say the words, “Dead?” he finally asks.

I nod, “I’m sure you have a lot of questions. You pissed off a bear, bad choice. Should have gone left at the intersection”

“Why are you so calm about this?!” he yells in a mix of fear and confusion.

“It’s my job to come pick you up when you die. I suppose, in a way, your death is my life”

He sits down on the ground, looking at his own corpse beside him. The bear has long left.

“Death is part of life” I begin the tale I memorized so long ago, “Life is only half of existence, Death the other. You must not begin this new story on a sad note”

Tears begin to stream down his face. When he has manned up a bit he asks me “What happens now?”

“I don’t know, I’m only here to start you off. Take my hand, you’ll see”

A woman lies quietly on a hospital bed, her eyes staring blankly into the distance. Life stands beside me, their body the shape of a female human.

“I see the baby will be a girl” I tell them.

Life smiles at me, “Indeed, Death. In five minutes a brand new human shall be born, isn’t it wonderful?”

I look down at the clock in my hand, “Forgive me, Life, but only two minutes remain for her, the child will be too late”

Life goes quiet, I can hear the woman’s husband crying beside her, holding her hand. A nurse walks through Life, checking the woman’s vital signs.

“I see” she looks down at the floor, then back at me. “Nothing can be done?”

I sigh as I put the clock back in my pocket, “I suppose that, if I were to lose track of time, it would be acceptable for me to be a bit late”

She smiles, which is common for her, not for me. “Thank you, Death. I owe you”

“You owe me nothing. You plant so I can reap, I destroy so you can build. We are nothing without the other”

We wait for the child to be born, an average baby girl, nothing special. I see her demise flash before my eyes. She has less than a year, but I don’t tell Life, she’s too fragile.

I hear the repetitive beeping of the heart monitor come to a stop. The soul stands before me, looking right at my face.

The silence is awkward. Humans usually make the first move.

“Felicia, you are..”

“dead” she interrupts me, “I know”

I reach out my hand, “You will learn to understand”

She looks behind her one last time at her grief struck husband, and gazes intently at her child.

“I’m ready”

Sometimes it’s so easy.

Riding a bike, the toddler crosses the street, paying no attention to the distant traffic. He gleefully mumbles as the bicycle’s wheels slowly spin. A car, going way too fast, turns the corner. It’s driver is too distracted by his radio to notice the boy crossing. Too late does he notice and try to swerve. The front of the car crashes into the child, killing him instantly, then the vehicle hits a tree, which seems to be well rooted.

The kid looks at me with curiosity.

“I’m Jack” the little boy barely hesitates before introducing himself.

“Hello Jack, I am Death. You are dead”

Jack, unfamiliar with the concept of death, asks “Do I still get candy if I’m dead?”

This question brings the slightest of smiles to my face.

“Come” I say. He follows me without a fuss.

I am not done yet, however, it’s the driver’s turn. The man looks at me, he is not yet dead, but it doesn’t take many smarts to see Death coming.

“Am I dead?” he asks, blood spurting out of his mouth. The car was crunched into one big mess when it hit the tree. William’s legs have been trapped, and a rib has pierced his organs.

“Not yet” I respond, looking down at the watch.

“It hurts… so much”

I’m supposed to have reaped him already, but decide to wait a while.

“You were speeding”

“I just wanted… to get home”

He tries to move, but changes his mind when a sharp sting of pain shoots up his spine.

“Now, you will never get home. You killed a child”

“I didn’t… didn’t mean to”

“But you did”

“Will… will I go to hell?”

I scoff, “A little boy died because of you, and yet you only think of yourself”

I slowly reap his soul, making sure the process hurts.

The yipping of dogs slowly comes to a stop as the shelter burns to the ground. I’m not used to this body. Having four legs is strange to say the least, and this tail… is weird. The dog shelter is nothing but ashes now, and over a dozen souls look at me. Their tails gently moving side to side.

They surround me, interested by the new “dog” that they see.

“You are dead” I begin. They turn their heads slightly, intrigued by the sound of my voice.

“Your home has been burned down, but you will make a new one”

One of them gathers the courage to talk, “Treat?”

I sigh, this will be difficult. “You are all good dogs, there will be plenty of treats, and you’ll get a loving owner in time”

This sparks everyone’s interest. I throw a bone through the portal behind me and they rush in quickly. Why can’t they always be this simple minded?

Life sits beside me as we gaze into the eternal void before us.

“Why do you take their souls?” Life asks.

“So you have room to build”

“But why the healthy ones?”

I sigh, “I don’t know. When their time comes I must obey”

“And yet you keep doing it”

“To you, building is a way of life, to me, it is reaping”

“A way of Death?” they suggest. I nod “A way of Death”

Author's Note

This was an experiment for me. I usually don't write about this sort of thing, but wondered if it would work out.
Please feel free to share your opinion.