A love story.

Death stared into Life's eyes, and said, "I love you." Then he kissed her.

And together, they did great things. 

***

Grief

A mother lay by her sick son's bedside. He was sickly pale and sweating. The door opened. The doctor came in and sat down beside the mother. 

"How has he been?" The doctor whispered gravely to the woman, a figure so frail and small, made worse by sleep deprivation and hunger.

She didn't reply, but a tear sliding down her cheek told it all.

***

Poverty

The small child struggled with the bail of water this time-- his leg was sore from injuring it the night before. He was careless, he dropped the logs. Nevermind, nearly there. He dragged himself with the water bucket hanging from a log straddled across his shoulders.

He finally made his way towards a small mud-hut at the edge of the village and entered. His younger sisters were strewn across the dirty floor, not moving, only staring.

"What took you so long?" one of the sisters whispered.

In a corner, a baby wailed, hungry for food.

***

Greed

The man shouted at his cook: "Did you steal the chicken?"

She did not answer, but replied with a look full of fear and hatred. She had been abused for too long. She decided that if they do not fire her, she will resign herself.

"ANSWER ME!" The man was furious. "I put 16 chicken wings in, there are only 15. What happened to the last one?"

The cook's look remained, seething and full of fury herself.

The man stomped out of the kitchen, and made his way to his desk. He pulled out her employment contract, and scribbled on the bottom: Terminated. Another one. This family prides themselves on getting rid of workers.

Something in the drawer caught his eye. Below the cook's employment papers were a set of papers; his company's financial papers for the last financial term. He took them out and turned the pages--for the tenth time that week since they were released. His eyes scanned the figures, and they danced with pleasure. His company was leading in all departments; they had made millions more this year than last year.

I am invincible, the man thought to himself. 

***

Revenge

Her smile was sweet, and her hair shone in the sun. He remembered their wedding day, and how she had red hair. Red, the colour of strawberries, she insisted. My favourite colour.

Alright, he had said of her bizarre choice. And he dyed his hair red too, to match.

Then one night, he remembered coming home from the fire-station to find a bloodied body lying on the bed. The night was a blur; he remembered the police coming into the house, weeks of investigation, a post-mortem. Rape? He remembered asking, not quite believing the officer yet he knew that she had been raped before being hacked to death by an axe.

“…Sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Mr. Quinn McCawl on the 12^th of May, 1996.” The pound of the judge’s gavel woke the man out of his daydream.

Red, the colour of blood, he had thought before setting off to find his young wife’s murderer.

***

Jealousy

The old Concubine knew that she was dying. One afternoon, she invited the Second Concubine to tea.

“Meixiang, you look very beautiful today.” The First Concubine told the Second.

“Thank you very much,” she replied, blushing. She was young and beautiful, and had a sweet voice whose singing the Emperor listened to every night before going to sleep.

The First Concubine went into the kitchen to prepare the tea. She made sure her body was covering the cups before slipping a vial of poison into the Second Concubine’s tea. She turned around and smiled.

“Let’s drink.” She said.

***

Love

The little girl signed to the deaf boy: I love you. He began to cry. The little girl signed: What’s the matter? The boy signed back to her: You’re beautiful.

Ten years later, they were walking home from school together, when the girl suddenly burst into tears. What’s wrong? The boy signed. The girl lifted her shirt and showed him a bruise across her hip.

Another ten years. The man held her hand tight as she screamed in labour. What shall we call her? He signed to his wife when he visited her bedside later that day. She’s beautiful, she signed. He smiled.

Ten years after that. He kissed her forehead as he did every night before going to bed. I love you, he signed although he knew that his severely disabled wife would not be able to see. A car accident while driving Beautiful to school left her brain damaged and paralysed from the neck down.

Ten years later. The hospital staff restrained the man as he let out a painful moan. He tore at the walls and his feet scraped the floor. Beautiful tried to sign to her Father: Dad. Just let go.

***

Forgiveness

She opened the door, and standing there, was her estranged father, who she hadn’t seen for many years. She felt a lump in her throat; fear even. Her mind flashed back: a hand hitting down onto her back; harsh words; tears; shouting. Oh God, why is this happening. She looked at him and said, “Hi.”

She opened the door, and standing there, was her puppy; tail wagging, panting.

“Hello, you!” She exclaimed, and bent down and picked her up. The dog licked her face, and wriggled in her arms. She took the lead from the old man who held it, and she smiled.

“Was she good today?” She asked the man, and she helped him into the house.

“I’d say so.” He replied, “But a little naughty when playing fetch. Wouldn’t give me back the ball.”

He laughed and she led him into the kitchen, where dinner was ready.

***

Gratitude

The little girl whispered: “Thanks God for everything.”

“You’re going to Heaven, my sweet,” whispered her mother as she switched off the bedside light.

“Would Jesus be happy to see me?” she asked.

“He’d be overjoyed to see you,” the mother replied.

“I love you,” whispered the girl, before falling into a deep slumber, dreaming of princesses and fairies.

That night, she passed away. She was found in the morning with a smile still on her face.

***

Mercy

The samurai looked into the eyes of his victim, and he saw the fear in them. He released his sword and threw it to the ground.

“Run!” He told the boy, and pointed to the woods. The boy looked at him, and ran off.

He remembered his Father’s words to him when he was caught beating his dog many years ago.

Every living being deserves a second chance, his Father had said to him. Including you.

***

"You were the best thing that ever happened to me," Death told Life.

"And you, mine," Life replied.


They raised their wine glasses to their lips, and drank.