The Dark Library
Beyond Pale
Information
| History: | Not the first story I wrote about Death, but kind of a prequel I penned later on. I\''m not sure it fits with the rest of the stories. |
Story
Beyond Pale
It was the suit, she thought. It had to be the suit. As she stood in front of the mirror, she observed how the dark fabric made her skin appear even paler. That really had to be it.
She smoothed the dark fabric down to her knees. Almost time, she thought. No more worrying about people's lives. No more worrying about the sick and the elderly. No more struggling against time.
Just one last touch. She picked a thin metal box from a table and flipped open the lid. Inside lay a small stack of white cards, with fine black lettering: "Death, Inc. - Leading Souls to the Next Life and Beyond." She read the top card a few times, then with a deep breath flipped the lid shut and slipped the box into a pocket.
That was it then, she thought. No going back, not now. She looked at her reflection again, the suit seeming even blacker, her skin seeming even paler. Her dark hair almost shimmered in the light.
Across from her, on the bed, a figure lay under white sheets. She spared it a quick glance - her own body, lying still, lifeless, abandoned. Of course, her parents would be disappointed, but how much more good could she do now; helping not just those approaching the end of their lives, but those moving beyond it.
She stepped to the door then, opening it softly and pausing as she crossed the threshold to give one long look back. It was almost a shame to leave it all behind - leave the house, leave her parents... But then, she reflected, she would be back again. In time.
She stepped over the threshold then and softly closed the door behind her, walking as she did so into her new world, and leaving the shell of her efforts behind.
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