Page 15 of Living with Death

“I think he left you with bad memories, so why not take what he gave you and make some good ones for yourself? You deserve that.”

I glance at him before turning back and peering at the lightning as it brightens the sky. Maybe he’s right. Perhaps I’ve been looking at it wrong. I should take his money and do something for myself. It could be a screw you, a silent middle finger into the air.

Maybe one day I will. We don’t say anything else about it, and before I leave, I get the pork chop this time.

*

Rain begins to fall as soon as I leave the parking lot, and I instantly regret not bringing my raincoat.

“You be careful, Mabel,” Cook yells after me.

“I don’t have far.” I throw my hand up and pedal fast to get home, squinting my eyes to see through the heavy rain. I round the winding road. Lightning strikes, and a bright flash explodes in front of me, hitting a giant limb and causing it to fall onto the street.

My eyes widen as I swerve to miss it, but the wet pavement makes my tires slide. I’m out of control—the bike wobbles before I hit the limb head-on. I fall to the ground on the other side. My breath leaves my lungs just as I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head right before I black out.

Chapter Five

Confusion wraps itself around me, as does the mist I’m seeing. I squint at the blinding, white light in the distance, holding my hand up to block the sting of it against my eyes.

My eyes.I touch my face.No glasses.I wave my hand, wiggling my fingers through the mist, turning my body as it shifts into glitter, sparkling as though the sun were reflecting from each particle.

I take a step, but it’s not as if I’m walking but floating. Calmness washes over me, so comforting I could cry.

I feel my brow furrow as I catch sight of my body lying on the ground. The tire on my bike spins as rain cascades down around me. Water drips from the tips of my fingers and slides down the side of my face, mixing with mud and grass, but I don’t feel a thing.

Am I dead?

The light stretches, brightening even more so, and then vanishes. Black glitter forms, swirling and swirling, spinning, and spinning.

I’m dead.I must be.

But wait, why did the light go out?

“Hello,” I call out. “Um, can I get the light back, please? I didn’t know I had to decide so quickly.” I spin, looking upward, stopping when a figure appears.

A flash of black wings stretches behind him before folding and disappearing altogether. A strong breeze blows in, tossing my hair across my face and stirring the glitter.

“Hello, Mabel.” The voice is deep and smooth. A set of glowing eyes look upon me. “I’ve been watching you, darling.”

I take a step back, realizing I’ve heard that voice before. Black glitter surrounds the form. I can’t make it out. The edges move like sand getting carried across the beach.

I move my head forward at an angle, squinting to see him. “Can I ask who you are?”

A gleam of light drops down. My eyes widen, and my brow lifts. A clean-shaven jawline chiseled like stone, eyes as dark as midnight study me—thick hair, appearing effortlessly wild, doesn’t move an inch. Cut to precision, that black suit could never look as good on anyone else. A mirroring tie rests against a crisp white shirt, and I’ve never seen shinier shoes.

He tilts his head as lightning remains flashing in the sky, thunder roaring around us soothingly.

“I am Death, and I have a proposition for you.”

Needles prick my spine, and I swallow.

Death?

I clear my throat, searching the ground. “Like… the Grim Reaper?”

A chuckle from him. He steps, moving one foot in front of the other almost lightheartedly. He adjusts the tie around his neck, and he smiles.

It’s dangerously mischievous.

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