Hour 5, Prompt 13, Year 2021

I lay coughing in my bed at night
The same routine as had been for several months
But somehow, today felt different
As always, I was surrounded by children, grandchildren, great grandchildren
Trying to cheer me up and waiting on my every need
But inside, I felt
Colder, darker, quieter
I knew it was time

Earlier, I had reluctantly said goodnight to my family
My eldest daughter had just turned fifty
And I had another great-grandchild on the way
Of course I didn’t tell them that I knew
That it was time
But it wasn’t enough time
It wasn’t enough time
It wasn’t enough time

Whoosh! The wind picked up speed, almost shattering my window
A mist formed in the room
The windows were closed so it wasn’t the fog
It was time
The mist slowly solidified to a silhouette
Exactly how I had imagined Death would be
Now the silhouette had arms, legs, a body
And finally, the face

But what’s this? Not a wrinkle on this face
I had always thought Death would be an old curmudgeon
Just like me
But here I saw a young boy
Gaunt, inexperienced face, translucent arms and legs
Mouth puckered in adolescent sulkiness
Similar to the sulkiness of age
But different nevertheless

“Who are you then?” I said to him
“Well, The Grim Reaper, who else?” said he
“You’re but a boy,” I shot back
I had nothing to fear if it was time
“A boy I am indeed,” he said to me
“But I’ve been dead for 90 years.
I was killed as a teenager and asked to serve
As the Grim Reaper for a century.”

“The gods choose us every century
Those of us who are sharp of mind
But don’t fit in with the world they are born in.
Then, without telling us, they kill us
And bring us to serve our sentence.
My turn is almost done now
And as I near my eternal vacation
I think of how it would have been
If I had grown to this age while alive.”

He picked up his scythe and carved the air
A white passageway now opened
As he led me through it my body felt light
Devoid of all weakness and cough
I looked at his young unweathered face
And I thought of the life I had lived
Milestone after milestone flashed in front of my eyes
And made me smile as I departed

I knew it was time
It was the right time