Читать книгу Oh my love, my death. Selected short stories - - Страница 2

(A parable story)

In the darkness, something was mercilessly strangling him, pressing down on him from all sides. His hands were cold, and his face was terrible.

– Who are you? – Adam asked, barely breathing.

– Death. You are the condemned, and I am your executioner.

– And what is my fault?

– What is yours fault? Your birth. Who once born, must die one day.

– But I am still young.

– Your age or your youth is irrelevant. Everyone has own time.

– But I… haven’t managed to do something yet. I can still be useful. I…

Suddenly, the grip of Death began to weaken, and soon the monster completely let go of him.

– You were given a reprieve, – he said in the same nasty, but already fading voice. – I am leaving for now. But this does not mean that I am leaving you completely. I will always be near. I will always flicker before your eyes, always remind you of myself.

Adam sighed with relief. Tears flowed from his eyes.

«From now on I will become a different person. I will do only good deeds. From now on, not a single precious minute will be wasted,» he swore in his soul.

When he came to own, people in white coats were crowding around him. They were saying something, rejoicing…

Three days later, he was transferred to a regular ward from the reanimation. And a week later, he was completely discharged from the hospital.

His usual, everyday life began again. He was a successful merchant, his business was flourishing.

And, indeed, as promised Death was always nearby. When he worked, ate or walked, It circled around him. At the sight of It, his body was seized by trembling, Adam’s face became serious, thoughtful. But gradually it began to disappear somewhere, rarely appearing. And one fine day, it completely disappeared from sight. And in its place, an unfamiliar girl appeared. She was very beautiful and smiled all the time.

Years passed. And one day that pretty girl suddenly pounced on him and started strangling him. Her hands were unusually strong.

– Who are you? – Adam asked in fear.

– Your Death.

– Don’t lie! I know her. She was different. Very ugly and scary.

– I am the same death. You just managed to forget my face. You were intoxicated with happiness, got carried away by life and forgot about me. But everything has an end. Now your time has come.

– How? So quickly?

– Not so quickly. Quite a lot of time has passed since you were given a reprieve. I tell you, you just got carried away by life and did not notice how the days flew by.

Adam looked at her carefully. Yes, it really was the monster that once strangled him. It began to strangle him with even greater force, and Adam realized that this was the end. That he had missed his chance again, that now there would be no mercy, no moment of respite.

«How could I forget?» Adam screamed. «I shouldn’t have forgotten her face. She should have stood before my eyes all the time. Maybe then the end of my life wouldn’t have been so tragic, so sad. Death wouldn’t have taken me by surprise.

With such desperate thoughts, Adam began to reproach himself, curse himself, tear his hair out.

But it was too late… even for sorry… and crying…