In a hazy forest of silver tinted fog
I came upon two figures stirring before me.
A young man pleading with another,
this one tall and hooded,
his beard twisting long and grey
down the front his robe
brushing the ground, where a woman lay,
curled on the surface between them.
Her skin was pale as paste,
her eyes dark and fleeting,
the remnants of beauty
peeking through like a shadow
on her hollowed face.
I watched from afar, as the young man
seemed to be bargaining with the other,
glancing down at the woman, pleading feverishly.
The old one replied,
though no sound escaped his lips,
but for the hand he raised
as he slowly shook his head.
The young man pressed his palms together,
beseeching him desperately,
grasping his chest,
as if he wished nothing more than to reach through it,
so as to pull out his heart
and show the hooded man its broken pieces.
His tears began to fall upon her face
as he dropped to his knees sobbing,
lacing his hands through her fingers,
hopeless mutterings spilling from his lips.
The old man stood towering over them,
a crease now etched into his forehead.
Again, he slowly shook his head.
Watching the young woman,
I too began to weep,
for the love this young man bore her,
for the beauty and life I saw fading from her every second,
for the silence of the bearded man,
and for the young man's offerings he failed to heed,
his cries he failed to cease,
I wept.
And then the old man turned to me,
frowning, his eyes blue like the ocean,
and wet as well, as I saw that he too wept.
But again, he slowly shook his head.
So I too began to bargain
for this young fleeting love I saw before me.
I offered all the silver he could imagine
all the gold he could dream of,
all the diamonds he could fathom;
all that I had, and everything that I didn't.
I offered him the world,
in return for their love,
for her life.
But again, he slowly shook his head.
Suddenly realizing the price he claimed,
I knelt and whispered, "take my life instead."
The young man looked up
as the older pulled down his hood,
kneeling beside the girl,
and whispered in her ear but one word.
Life and color flooded back through her cheeks.
The young man pulled her up into his arms,
crying, unable to believe his eyes.
She turned to look at me and smiled;
so soft a smile have I never seen before.
The fog began to thicken around the couple,
until I was left standing alone
with the bearded man.
He reached out and took my hand,
pulling me up as we began to walk
and make our way
through the heavy fog.
"You've done well" he said,
looking down on me smiling,
as if I had made him proud somehow,
as if I had passed some test.
Soon we approached the entrance to a stairway,
the right side leading down into a shadow,
the left side leading up,
almost too bright to look upon.
Although I sought to ask where we were going,
instead I blurted, "Who are you?"
He chuckled as we took the stairs on the left,
pondering his reply.
I watched his face as we climbed,
waiting with baited breath.
Then solemnly he said,
"Most know me as God 'tis true,
but some... some, they call me death."
