Unwilling

Pestilence

She sat carelessly on the edge of the dam, gazing down at the calm surface of the water below.

It was a pleasant evening. The sky was relatively clear and the stars were coming out creating a picturesque reflection in the water.

She looked down a few moments longer, trying to imagine herself drifting weightless up among the stars.

She sighed.

She reached into her satchel and retrieved a lolly-pop, which she unwrapped and placed delicately into her mouth.

Having arranged this snack, she reached once more into her satchel, this time pulling out an old notebook and a pen.

She turned to a page near the middle of the book and flipped through a few more to find a blank one. 

She took a moment, rolling the lolly-pop from one side of her mouth to the other, then having gathered her thoughts, began to write.

"I met another one today. another rude little man. This town is crawling with them. So many people and yet they never take the time to think about anyone except themselves. I mean, what do I expect? They're only human. But that last place was so nice. The people there had a real community spirit. I had my hopes up that this place might be the same. So disappointing. But anyway, I guess these people have got to go. No use keeping this town around to mess up the gene pool. Verdict: Unworthy. Method: Poison water supply."

Having finalized her paperwork, she returned her notebook and pen to her satchel.

Then taking one last look at the lake's beautiful surface, she took the half eaten lolly-pop from her mouth and with a small shrug tossed it out into the water. 

It seemed to do nothing for a moment, but bit by bit the reflected starlight began to lessen and fade until nothing but a dark shadow hung beneath the water's surface.

She glanced up at the still clear sky and smiled.

Then, turning, she strode back down the dam toward the road. 

There beneath the illuminating glow of a street light, sat a sleek black convertible.

But as she drew close to her car, she noticed an odd figure peering through the drivers side window.

It seemed to sense her approach and turned to face her, tattered cloak swaying in the wind.

"Nice car" it said.

"Thanks" she replied. "I got it from a dead man a couple towns over".

The figure in the cloak was nodding before she finished her sentence. "I know, I was the one that took him to judgement."

"Ah" she said. "So is that why you're in the area?"

"No actually" he responded awkwardly. "I've come for you".

"Oh" she said, disappointment evident on her face. "But I was having fun."

"Yes, I saw that" said the cloaked figure "but Death requested your presence".

Her look of disappointment changed instantly to one of fear and worry. "Death?" she asked. "Why? What's happened?"

The cloaked figure hung his head and sighed.

Then, bringing himself up to his full height, he looked her in the eye an said, "This is about Dad".