Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
Death watches, just beyond the veil, waiting to take his friend home. Of all the souls he’s taken, hers will be his favorite, her shining light gleaming until the end. It’s only because of that light that he can see the shine in others, to see beyond what humans are and who they can be.
The machine ticks by her side, pushing oxygen into her nose as another monitors her heart’s steady beats.
It won’t be long now.
Any world he would make would end up like this, for there are no perfect creatures, and these are the ones he knows best.
She had no idea what she agreed to all those years ago in that tiny cabin on the edge of civilization. He can see her as she was then, sweating, teetering toward nonexistence, but still defiant, her spirit rising up. It made him curious to see what she thought was worth fighting for.
It was more than that. As she talked about in their meetings, it was the importance of being seen. She did that for him. She respected his purpose and helped him to not feel alone, because he had her words and life to comfort him.
Seeing her and being seen by her made him consider all of humankind’s beauty worth saving. He can admit that he only wanted to watch her, this incandescent creature who made him see the world anew, but in the end, she won their bargain fair and square.
She often found beauty where he was sure none existed. When everything was bleak and at its end, she found the light.
She did well until her light started to flicker and dim, doused by the pain of life. Then he understood the toll he had placed upon her. He had the very thing he wanted—someone to share in the loneliness—and he was snuffing her out.
It was then that he fully knew how important his role was.
He missed that light.
He missed her.
That’s why he put him in her path.
Death saw him first at the bedside of his fiancée—how he had cared for her, how pure their love was—and all of Nella’s work helped him see that he was one of the redeemable ones worth saving.
It was then that he thought their paths should collide—that he’d be worthy of her, and Death also knew she needed him.
With Winston’s death, she’d been alone and ready to give up.
He takes his time and studies them together in these final moments.
He takes good care of her, Death thinks—softly toweling her forehead, making sure she’s comfortable, keeping up a steady stream of conversation to entertain her, often reading to her long into the evenings.
He does a fair job of keeping the grandkids busy, often too boisterous on their visits, begging to hear of her journeys around the world.
Death knows he picked well.
He complements her and makes their life the thing of beauty she looked for all those years ago. Their book, printed in dozens of editions in a dozen languages, stands on the shelf, the bestselling “fictional” story of what she sacrificed to save the world.
As he gazes upon her family . . . Death knows she was right when they first met.
The love in the room—this is worth saving. She won long ago, when he couldn’t bear being alone. He now knows he didn’t have to be. Several of her grandchildren have the sight. She will live on through them, reminding him of the beauty to be found in humanity.
The machine’s beeps begin to slow, and her family draws near, saying a prayer for her soul.
They need not worry.
It will be fine, for she will be with him.
He feels for Sebastian. He’s losing his best friend, but he is also nearing the end of his long life. He’ll get to join her soon.
All at once, it is time.
He steps forward, brushing his hand at her brow, releasing her soul. She comes forward instantly, luminous.
She is free.
She smiles at him before turning to her family, her question clear.
“They’ll be all right,” he promises, taking her hand. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“You better. I won fair and square,” she reminds him, as she’s done for decades. “Now, I was hoping you could take me to this afterlife I’ve heard so much about. It had better be worth it.”
“It’ll be worth it,” he promises. “You wouldn’t settle for anything less.”
They slip together into the in-between—as equals and as true friends.