it's late,
i look out the window and see
someone dressed in black holding
a pole of some sort.
i go down.
maybe it's Amazon, or Ups,
i can't remember half of what
i order these days.
i open the door.
yes, can i help you?
it's time, he says. let's go.
time for what.
who are you.
can i come in, he says, it's
a little cold out here
and it's beginning to rain.
sure, sure, wipe your feet, okay?
what's with the pole, i ask him.
little early for Halloween
isn't it?
it's a scythe, not a pole.
but why? it looks spooky.
it represents the harvesting
of souls.
really?
oh, never knew that. anyway.
how can i help you.
car break down, need to use
the phone, bathroom?
i've come for you, he say.
it's time.
i'm death.
i laugh, that's the name i gave
my third wife.
he opens up a little book
and shows me my name,
the date and time
of my demise.
me, what? no look, i have to get
up early in the morning.
i've got leftovers in the fridge.
are you sure you have the right
guy. i don't see my middle initial
on that pad.
there are tons of people with my
same name.
he scratches gently his hooded
head with the scythe.
hmmm. what's your middle initial.
B i tell him, B for Benjamin.
i don't see a B, he says.
damn that Susie, he says.
i'm going to give her hell tomorrow
at the office.
give her hell?
just for a clerical mistake?
it's just an expression. okay. he says.
look you're off the hook for now.
go back to bed,
i'll show myself out.
do you have a bottle of water for
the road,
hot as hell in this shroud.
sure, sure.
in the fridge.
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