The Death of Despair

Prologue

A blood-curdling scream broke the peaceful silence in the forest. Another scream followed soon after. And another. All were filled with desperation, leaving a path of sadness and sorrow as it made its way through shrubs and trees. There, on a small clearing, sat a woman. Lost and completely broken. Knelt over a little baby blue blanket covered in blood splatter. Her broken sobs could only be heard by the wind, which swept up her hair and uncovered a helpless gaze.

"My sweet little boy," she wept, "Why?"

The woman tried to let out another wail, but her already damaged voice would only allow a whimper. Heartbreak weighed down every tear that rolled down her pale cheeks, and every word she tried uttering. She didn't notice the strange shadow creeping up on her, nor the figure that stepped from that darkness.

"You called for me?" it said with a soothingly soft voice. The woman didn't look up, not even fazed by an unearthly presence.

"Death?" she asked. The figure shook its head.

"My brother doesn't care for you, I'm afraid. You're not ready for his realm."

"I'm - I am! I have no care for this one anymore..." The figure sank down next to the grieving woman and sighed.

"You do. There is much that still awaits you." It took the blanket, which the woman desperately held on to. "He arrived safely. My brother's with him as we speak." The woman's head jerked up, showing her hazed-over hazel eyes. Anger, no, despair, dripped from her gaze.

"My boy...?"

"Yes," the shadowy figure replied, "He's already with the others. Safe and sound."

"Take me to see him!" she ordered.

"No." A firm and definitive answer. Her sobs grew louder again. "That's not how it works."

"Then why are you here if you're not going to take me?"

"Because, Evelyn," the figure started as it took off the hood of its mantle thus showing the bluest of blue shining eyes, "I am Despair. And I've come here to help you."