Birth of a ...Druid?

Chapter 2

The sky was the clear blue of a summer day, the sun beating down on a meadow filled with wildflowers of every color imaginable. In the middle of the meadow was a large tree, the foliage thick enough to provide the perfect amount of shade for the bench beneath it.

The woman leaned back on the bench with a sigh, pushing a strand of hair out of her face as she tilted her head back to stare at the branches of the tree above her.

She remembered dying. Vividly.

She could still remember how it felt when the knife sank into her chest, and the sheer agony that had accompanied the twist of that knife. The calculative look of the eyes staring at her from behind the white mask.

Then she was here. Wherever here was.

"This can't be hell, right? No fire or brimstone anywhere to be seen."

She paused, thinking about her surroundings. It was hard to measure time, but she had been here long enough to explore the meadow a bit. The sun hadn't changed position this whole time, and she hadn't managed to find a single other 'living' thing. There were no birds in the sky, no animals...no BUGS. That's why she was certain this was some version of the afterlife.

"It sure doesn't seem like heaven though. Purgatory?"

Her head snapped back up when she heard a someone chuckle. Standing in front of her was a man, a smile tugging at his lips as he looked at her.

"You are a lot calmer than I expected you to be."

She didn't respond to that statement as she studied him.

He had a coppery skin tone, paired with silver hair that gleamed in the sun. He looked young, perhaps in his 20's or 30's. But his eyes defied that description; dark black wells that held far too much sorrow and regret in their depths to belong to someone who looked as young as he did.

A handsome man, even if he wasn't her type.

She gathered her wayward thoughts and slowly stood up, preparing to run or fight as needed if this man moved any closer to her. It didn't matter how handsome he was, after what she had just been though she wasn't planning on trusting ANYBODY.

"And who are you supposed to be?"

She tired to keep her tone somewhat respectful. It wouldn't do to come off as a rude bitch if this was the angel in charge with transporting her to the pearly gates after all.

He held his hands up and took a step back as he sensed her wariness.

"I'm not going to hurt you"

She scoffed at that, but at the same time she thought he was probably telling the truth. She didn't know how to explain it, but he just felt sincere.

Or maybe dying had just made her crazy.

"Sure, you won't hurt me. But that doesn't tell me who you are."

The man sighed as he lowered his hands

"I am the god of death. I brought you here"

He waved his hands at the area around them

"after you died. I thought you might appreciate being somewhere ...more peaceful...after what you went through."

Her face went blank when he proclaimed himself to be a god

Guess that means he's not an angel sent to take me to either heaven or hell.

She couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing and wanted to ask more questions but decided that letting him continue his explanation would probably get her answers faster.