Death At the Grocery Store

You don’t expect to see Death standing in line at the grocery store. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t really expect to see Death anywhere – but there she was, standing in line at the self-checkout station, carrying a gallon of milk, a carton of ice cream, and a bag of carrots. She was not exactly what I had imagined Death to look like. She didn’t wear a long, hooded robe and there was no scythe to be seen. In fact, despite her pasty, pale skin and black hair, I would not have thought she was death. The thing that tipped me off was the nametag, which read:

Standing in front of the Asian food station that had been inexplicably placed near the entryway of the store, I stared at the woman who was Death as she paid for her groceries. Appearing to be only about twenty three years of age, she was actually rather pretty – despite her gothic-style clothing and her video-gamer complexion. Age showed in her face only through the deep sadness and wisdom that no-one so young could have gained.

Okay, I know I was standing in the middle of a through-way, but it still seemed strange when Death walked right into me. It almost seemed deliberate, except that she seemed startled at the sudden impact. She dropped her carrots and gave a little “oh!’ of surprise. “Sorry,” I said, though it was obviously her fault as I hadn’t been moving. “No!” Death groaned. “Sorry?” I said again, but this time as a question. “You can see me?” Death asked, looking as though she feared the answer. “Of course I can see you.”

Dropping her milk and ice cream, Death then put her hands on her hips, stomped her foot, and shouted: “It’s my day off!” at the ceiling.

The weirdest thing about this is that no one thought it was weird. Here was a woman, dressed up like Death, screaming at the ceiling, and no one was staring.

♥Kat!e

Today's Novel Idea Prompted by: "You don't expect to see Death standing in line at the grocery store." This is one of my own, a first line I came up with and later used as a prompt.