When Death is Your Friend (Short Story)

By Ashlynn Blue

~ Recommendation by author, Ashlynn Blue: Best read while listening to the song "Fourth of July" by Sufjan Stevens.~

A pleasant breeze flowed through the air as Death himself arrived at that little spot. It was the end of a small town he knew, where there was a small cliff behind the gas station overlooking the forest nearby. His eyes roamed immediately to the reason he had appeared here. The girl.

She was standing peacefully at the edge, watching the colorful range of oranges and pinks in the sky from the setting sun. She didn’t turn around, but Death had a feeling she might know he was there. 

Death approached the girl, the girl that he wasn’t sure how to deal with. Then, when he got close, she turned around with a soft smile.

“Hey,” she said almost casually to Death.

“Hello,” he said back solemnly.

They hadn’t particularly met before, but they both seemed to know this wasn’t the first time they were around each other.

“Wanna sit with me?” she asks quietly, her voice a bit too vulnerable for asking something as simple as just to sit with someone. But, in a way, it makes sense; she is asking Death after all. Nevertheless, her soft but warm smile never broke.

Death nodded gruffly in return. He wasn’t a very gentle person, due to his work. Who would expect Death himself to be gentle anyway? His whole life is devoted to catching the souls of those who have died, and he does not bargain when someone’s time is used up. It’s just the way of life. Someone lives, then that someone dies when their time is done. It was just the way of life. 

The girl moves to the side slightly and sits at the edge, her dyed pink hair swaying slightly from the movement. Death moved to sit next to her as well.

She stares out at the sunset, and then below. Death followed her gaze to a doe, drinking water from a little stream in the forest, a little bunny nearby showing some baby bunnies the water, and a few birds flying above the scene. It was an ironically sweet moment for Death himself to be looking at. He tore his eyes away from the doe to the girl on the ground beside him.

“How long have you known me?” the girl asked quietly, not tearing her eyes away from the little animals below.

Some might think this question is confusing, but Death seemed to have understood. “I’ve known you since you were born, Lilith. But I’ve known you since the last time you were at a cliff like this.” Death said the words, and his heart, buried somewhere deep inside, felt sad for this girl.

The girl, Lilith, looked back at him finally, her face a bit more solemn than before. “I thought I had felt you there,” she said quietly. She sighs softly, then asks, “Do you care when people… end it off early? Or does it not matter to you that much?”

Death’s eyes seemed to dim from their usual bloodthirsty red at the thought. “No,” he responds plainly. Then continues, seemingly saddened. “I take the lives of those who have used up all their time here, those who are ready. I do not enjoy it whenever I am summoned to an early death before someone’s time is up. Like you.”

Lilith bites her lip gently as he finishes, a sadness crossing her face. Her dulled blue eyes seemed to have a flicker of regret, before it disappeared again. “I see,” she says quietly.

“Why are you here?” Death asks, his tattered white fur ruffling slightly as he adjusts.

Lilith looks back into the distance, at the pretty oranges and pinks slowly fading to dark blue, and contemplates her answer. “I feel like I have no reason to stay here still,” she answers in a murmur he picks up.

~Written by Ashlynn Blue, do not try to copy, thank you.~

“Oh, but you do, trust me,” Death responds insistently, surprisingly gentle for his monster-like appearance. He wants to reassure this girl, this girl that seemed way too young and battered for this talk with Death. He could feel her years still yet to live just by being next to her, and he can’t bear to see someone give up that type of gift again. She had the evidence of how misused her past in this life was, with the dark bruises here and there across her pale skin, but he knew that this girl would be able to find a way out one day.

She looks him back in the eyes, and seems so unsure. “How is there any reason? It feels so… so empty. Surely there’s nothing left here for me.”

Death’s intimidating form seemed to sag with her statement, and he still wished to make her see. “One day it will be worth it, just keep holding on. Find joy in little things, work on small goals, and create aspirations. Live this life you were given.”

Lilith lets his words sink in and considers them silently. The sky is getting darker, stars beginning to twinkle above.

Death feels the faint but familiar pull of his job. Someone was about to die. He sighs slightly, then moves to stand up. “I will leave you be for now, but promise me you’ll keep what I’ve said in mind.”

She turns to watch him, then she quietly speaks up. “Do you have to leave?” Her voice is guarded, but he can easily tell by the desperation in her eyes that she wants to hear he’ll stay with her.

He nods gruffly but ponders for a moment. “I will come visit you. Just wait, and when I do visit, you can tell me if you still feel like this after following my advice. If nothing changes, then we can discuss this further.

She pipes up a little, hope sparking in her heart as a weak flame. She moves to stand up, and she nervously asks what she hopes might be true. “We can be friends?”

Death manages a little smile, the muscles around his mouth tightening weirdly from previous disuse. “Sure,” he responds. He's not exactly sure what to do with this new title. Due to his role, he’s never made many friends. But something told him this was worthwhile.

To be continued, maybe?- by Ashlynn Blue. (This is my original work, do not try to copy.)