One for All and All for One

Summoning Death

A thunderous, clasping night, raindrops from above, and brontides can be heard from the sky. The woman in the black hood bays the sidewalk. Under her black umbrella, she went through the wet road. Her combat boots make a small splash in the muddy puddles.

One last soul for today, and tomorrow is another day of delivering souls. Thousands of mortals die in a day, as thousands of them are born on the same day. Life and death—that's the common loop for mortals. They are all going to be born, and life emerges. They live, suffer, and help themselves till they reach the final phase, death.

However, there's only one person who can defy this loop. The one who can live among the mortals but never die. The one who has been in both hell and heaven, purgatory and the afterlife; the one who met the gods, saints, and known angels; the one who interacts with demons, sinners, and even Lucifer itself; the person who was tasked with gathering souls and sending them to the afterlife. Yes, that person is death.

But who is death? That woman in a black hoodie is death.

Yes, yes, I know. Most of you know death as a skeletal person in a black cloak known as a man. But this story is not the common one about death. This is a different one.

The woman stopped beside the pedestrian signal as if she were waiting for someone. This is the place where she can meet the last soul of the day. That person will die in a hit-and-run. Unfortunately, yes, she cannot do anything; she was forbidden to save lives. Just watching them die and delivering them to the afterlife is what she can do.

The signal is still in the walking sign, as a lady in a brown cardigan, holding three shopping bags and a gold umbrella, and drinking iced chocolate milk. Probably this is the unfortunate soul she has to deal with. It's raining cold, and this lass would rather drink a cold drink? nice death thought as she let out a small chuckle.

She stopped chuckling when it began to cross her path. Death's breathing hitched after that lass raised its umbrella, revealing its whole face. Those hazel wavy hairs bounced with every step she took, their unique features outstanding against the blurry rain, and those green eyes were focused on her way as they diverted towards Death and interlocked with her. Death was mesmerized by those light green eyes; seemingly, the raindrops fell so slowly that the noise of every drop was muted and replaced with her heartbeat. Blood rushes towards her cheek while her heart keeps drumming.

So suddenly, a loud screech echoed, making the two girls stunned and gaze at the sports car in a zigzag direction as if the driver were drunk. The lass with hazel hair frozen at her stood, her breathing hitched, then waited for the impact to the point she had to close her eyes.

But at the same point, she felt nothing but something holding her curves, making her drink, umbrella, and some bags fly away. The screech of the car slowly fades, as if it's running away from her. Well, hearing lasts long before you die; maybe she died, and that's what she heard. Ahh.. Too bad, I haven't seen my parents this week and said my words to them. Then I felt her body slowly soaking wet due to the rain. As the darkness consumed her.

A beeping sound echoed in her eardrum and made her rise from unconsciousness. She squints her eyes as blurriness greets her.