The Angel of Death

Part 2 of 31

They Found Another Body

Wow, what a sight! So that’s the Angel of Death. Very attractive from behind, know what I mean? Something in the way she moves. And quite the deal, on a sunshiny day like today her face is still in the shadows. Nothing but beauty, I’m thinking, her modesty's so overwhelming you don’t even really see her. But you get all the hints you need, the class she has. A gentle nature, one assumes.

Her dress, it’s beautiful, flowing, reaching the ground, very modest. And the lightning bolt feather hat, what a bold accessory. Her midsection, narrow. I suppose food still passes through her. Must be a very dedicated pipe, kept clean so she's never stoved up. The Angel of Death, if she’s ever been mortal and has died probably doesn’t want to go through that again. Or if she’s purely immortal, it’s not a huge worry. Her lightning hat, it could channel pure light or pure darkness distilled from natural forces, one of the perks of the job.

Then there’s the wings. Or is that just a fashion statement with the dress? “I’m lighter than air, as I choose,” that kind of a vibe, something no one else says, but for her, indeed, she probably does flit from place to place. More likely vanishes here and reappears somewhere else, with the wings being symbolic. Or it could be — and I’ve heard the forces of nature like to keep it real — that they're real wings! That'd be definite integrity, like the old banks keeping it real by using only 1800s calculating machines, or even older, or like Scrooge did it, by hand and with one helper, running his daily tallies entry by entry.

You'd definitely hope nature isn’t quick to update its methods. It’s be to our advantage. But maybe something that slows it down would be welcome for the stuff we take as negative. If the Angel of Death can’t get to people fast enough, so much the better for them. If they’re doing fine, why disturb them? And even if they’re barely hanging on to a bitter life, begging for release, a few more hours of misery couldn't so bad in the full scheme of things. She knows what she’s doing. Her solid stance doesn’t look like anyone's at their wit’s end.

I’ve never actually seen the Angel of Death like this, beyond pictures. But maybe someday, depending how it works, I'll behold someone contained in her own shadows like that, a walking mystery, how exciting. It'd be amazing. I’d love to have my selfie taken with her and show it around. If people ran away screaming then, maybe I was part of her important work, giving them a tiny bit of notice before she comes flitting ‘round the corner.

Wait, what if she's here for us?