@Skyeset
"Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me – "
-Emily Dickenson
It caught me unawares, at eighty miles per hour on a stretch of road where the speed limit was well below forty. I was driving my two children home from school, when suddenly I was standing in a vast black space, with directionless lighting that reflected off an utterly flat floor and just barely illuminated a figure cloaked in black.
"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked, though I felt I knew.
"I am Death," the figure replied. "And this is Limbo."
"Then - am I dead?" I said, feeling oddly calm.
"Not quite -" Death started, but I interrupted.
"My kids - are they -" I started to hyperventilate.
"I cannot disclose that information," Death said calmly. "Please, sit."
Taking shuddering breaths, I let - him? - guide me to a chair in front of a small table.
"Your life hangs in the balance, and the choice is not mine to make whether you live or die. You may choose any game to play - a gamble, a game against Death for your life. If you choose not to play, you automatically forfeit."
I bit my lip. I didn't know what I would be returning to. Was it even worth it to play, when I could be returning to a ruined body and a deteriorated mind, when worst of all the unthinkable could have happened to one or both of my children?
I shook my head. Not playing wasn't an option. Death waited patiently for me. I wasn't particularly good at games of skill like chess, and surely over the eons Death himself had become the greatest master of every such game. And I didn't want to stake my life on chance.
After several minutes, I stood with determination. "I choose two truths and a lie. I will name two things that are true about myself and one lie, and you have to guess which is the lie."
Death cocked his head, and I could have sworn he seemed satisfied.
"One," I started. "I have a son who is alive."
Death's satisfaction seemed to grow.
"Two, I have a daughter who is alive."
"Three, I am alive," I finished, and at this point I would have sworn Death was beaming under that hood.
"Bold, some might say reckless," he said, "To use two axioms that you do not know yourself to be true, and a third which is subjective at best. If the first two were both false that would technically be cheating."
"Cheating was never forbidden," I said, biting back a snarl. Death was perfectly civil, and I didn't want to upset him.
"That is true, but it seems chance is on your side."
My heart rose. My children were alive!
Death's voice grew grave, and my heart plummeted. "The first one is a lie. Your daughter is alive and you are both alive and dead right now, so that one is a technicality. Your life now belongs to you - you must tell me whether I am to guide your soul back to life or on to death.
My heart stopped. I had to choose between my children. How could I even begin -? I looked to Death, my mouth gaping open, tears streaming down my face.
His voice was gentle as he next spoke. "I am bound by the laws of this universe not to speak about what comes next, but I think I may speak to the nature of life, at least. Your daughter needs you."
I looked up to him. "Y-you mean, Aidan will be okay?"
He was inscrutable. "I cannot say. But Rachel needs you."
I nodded. I thought I understood.
"Then, I choose life," I said.
There was a cool touch on my forehead, the faint scent of lilies, then nothing.
"Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me – "
-Emily Dickenson
It caught me unawares, at eighty miles per hour on a stretch of road where the speed limit was well below forty. I was driving my two children home from school, when suddenly I was standing in a vast black space, with directionless lighting that reflected off an utterly flat floor and just barely illuminated a figure cloaked in black.
"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked, though I felt I knew.
"I am Death," the figure replied. "And this is Limbo."
"Then - am I dead?" I said, feeling oddly calm.
"Not quite -" Death started, but I interrupted.
"My kids - are they -" I started to hyperventilate.
"I cannot disclose that information," Death said calmly. "Please, sit."
Taking shuddering breaths, I let - him? - guide me to a chair in front of a small table.
"Your life hangs in the balance, and the choice is not mine to make whether you live or die. You may choose any game to play - a gamble, a game against Death for your life. If you choose not to play, you automatically forfeit."
I bit my lip. I didn't know what I would be returning to. Was it even worth it to play, when I could be returning to a ruined body and a deteriorated mind, when worst of all the unthinkable could have happened to one or both of my children?
I shook my head. Not playing wasn't an option. Death waited patiently for me. I wasn't particularly good at games of skill like chess, and surely over the eons Death himself had become the greatest master of every such game. And I didn't want to stake my life on chance.
After several minutes, I stood with determination. "I choose two truths and a lie. I will name two things that are true about myself and one lie, and you have to guess which is the lie."
Death cocked his head, and I could have sworn he seemed satisfied.
"One," I started. "I have a son who is alive."
Death's satisfaction seemed to grow.
"Two, I have a daughter who is alive."
"Three, I am alive," I finished, and at this point I would have sworn Death was beaming under that hood.
"Bold, some might say reckless," he said, "To use two axioms that you do not know yourself to be true, and a third which is subjective at best. If the first two were both false that would technically be cheating."
"Cheating was never forbidden," I said, biting back a snarl. Death was perfectly civil, and I didn't want to upset him.
"That is true, but it seems chance is on your side."
My heart rose. My children were alive!
Death's voice grew grave, and my heart plummeted. "The first one is a lie. Your daughter is alive and you are both alive and dead right now, so that one is a technicality. Your life now belongs to you - you must tell me whether I am to guide your soul back to life or on to death.
My heart stopped. I had to choose between my children. How could I even begin -? I looked to Death, my mouth gaping open, tears streaming down my face.
His voice was gentle as he next spoke. "I am bound by the laws of this universe not to speak about what comes next, but I think I may speak to the nature of life, at least. Your daughter needs you."
I looked up to him. "Y-you mean, Aidan will be okay?"
He was inscrutable. "I cannot say. But Rachel needs you."
I nodded. I thought I understood.
"Then, I choose life," I said.
There was a cool touch on my forehead, the faint scent of lilies, then nothing.
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