An Encounter With Death

A Meeting With Death - 0001
By Justin Donie
September 25th, 2007


Alistair Pratt was a man of small stature who held an insignificant job at a small company which produced a mediocre product for a limited market of disinterested customers.  And his work was the center of his life.  At forty two years of age, Alistair was unmarried, childless, invested no real time or energy in any hobbies and had no friends or acquaintances with whom he spent social time. His seemingly meaningless job was the only thing that really gave his life anything resembling a purpose.  Few people knew anything about Alistair’s sheltered existence, and those who did were convinced he would spend the next twenty or thirty years living in more or less the same fashion, with no chance of his deviating from a course of singular dullness.  Monotony and routine seemed to suit him.  At least that’s what people thought.

Then one night, Alistair Pratt did something utterly unexpected.  Perhaps he acted out of sheer boredom with his own existence.  Perhaps his actions were the result of his mind beginning to break down under the strain of endless sameness.  Perhaps no one including Alistair will ever know exactly why he did it what he did.  On that fateful night, Alistair Pratt left his place of employment at 5:45pm, as usual.  But instead of driving home to a predictable meal of tasteless food and mindless television, he drove calmly to an isolated cliff overlooking the waters of Puget Sound, and contemplated killing himself.  He got out of his car, walked to the edge of the cliff, and stared into the golden light of the setting moon. 

“Is it really all that bad?” a woman’s voice said gently, startling Alistair enough to make him cry out. He turned toward the sound of the voice and saw only a lovely silhouette in the golden moonlight.

“Who … who are you,” Alistair asked, amazed to see anyone out in such an isolated area as the one he’d chosen.

“I am Death,” the feminine voice answered.  “I’ve come to take you, if you’re ready.”

“I … I don’t understand,” Alistair stuttered, stepping back a bit from the edge of the cliff.  “Take me where?”

“To the other side.  You are here to kill yourself, are you not?” Death answered.

“I don’t know,” Alistair answered honestly.

“Relax.  It’s OK.  You’re not in trouble or anything.  People do this sort of thing all the time when they loose their joy or, like you, when they never find it.  It’s OK.  If you want to start over, that’s fine.  If it wasn’t OK, then killing yourself wouldn’t be possible in the first place.  I’ll just wait over here until you’re ready.”  The silhouette moved a few feet further away and turned to face toward the water. 

It was the most incredible and utterly un-usual thing that had ever happened in Alistair’s extraordinarily usual life. 

“Who are you, really,” Alistair asked.

“I’m the Angel of Death.”

“I … I don’t believe … I don’t believe in angels.”

“Which makes absolutely no difference to me at all,” the voice replied.  “What does make a difference is what you decide to do tonight.  You can kill yourself, or you can start looking for your joy.  So … which is it going to be?”

“I don’t know.  I don’t understand,” Alistair replied.

“It’s like this.  End your life tonight, and start all over again with a new life somewhere and somewhen else … or start looking for your joy, here and now,” the voice said.

“Will my next life be better than this one?” Alistair asked.

“Not if you don’t do anything differently,” the angel replied.

“The same endless dullness?  All over again,” Alistair said in shock.  “Killing myself won’t end it?”

“Exactly.  It will just be the same endless dullness, all over again,” the angel replied. 

“No.  Not AGAIN!  I couldn’t stand it.”  Alistair started to panic.  The thought that even suicide wouldn’t relieve his suffering was something he’d never considered. 
“HOW.  You have to tell me how to find my joy!  How can I know where to look?”

Suddenly, the lights on Alistair’s car lit up.  Into the light stepped the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen.  And she was completely naked. 

“In your heart.  Look in your heart.”  The stunning woman advanced until her naked breasts touched Alistair’s chest.  Her beauty was an overwhelming blend of intense sensual power and eternal innocence.  She placed her hand on his chest and spoke again.  “When you feel like this … you’ll know that you’re in the presence of what brings you joy.  Seize it, whatever it is, and never let it go.”

The angel leaned forward and kissed Alistair full on the lips.  His knees began to shake.

“Where … where could I ever find anything that could bring me as much joy as this?” Alistair whispered in stunned amazement.  But then it hit him.  In an instant, everything was clear. A lifetime of sameness and dull routine ... could it be redeemed by a single choice? 

“Choose,” the angel said, as if confirming Alistair’s secret inspiration.

Alistair lunged forward, wrapping both arms around the angel.  As he flew toward her, time slowed and Alistair could see that she was still smiling.

“Good … very good,” the angel said, as the pair disappeared into the inky black of night. 


(This is the first in a series of stories to be published as a group.  This story line will continue in subsequent tales).