Read the other stories here.
Cold gnawed her hand, yet she picked up the brittle flower from the snow. It was dead, as she should be. Envy surged through her; she crushed the wilted flower inside her fist. Her life had been an average one: she’d married, had children, then died calmly.
It was what came after the death that had frightened her; the realization that she was leaving her loved ones behind and stepping into a new plane of existence. Her feelings had been lugubrious, a clump of sorrow and fear lodged in her heart.
She should have been afraid of the offer of immortality instead.
I LOVE the twist at the end! Fantastic story.
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining tuesdaytales, hope you will be back next week :-) immortality can be tough when everyone you love disappears around you.
ReplyDeleteLove her anger at where she has ended up. Is she a zombie, or something similar?
ReplyDeleteShe's not a typical zombie who shambles on and loses bits of her body to decaying.
ReplyDeleteThis is is slightly based on the story I'm writing. There's an evil god called Vixi, he's the god of death. In exhange for revenge, power or one last glimpse of your loved ones he'll undo your death and make you immortal.
Catch is, you have to serve him, forever.
I'm still working on how to recognize an undead servant of Vixi. The smell of decay is one thing and a haunted look on their faces. Most end up praying for the death they forsook.
Ooo, I really like that larger context (and am amused by the differences between your god Vixi, and my adventurer on my site Vixie). I definitely need to read more of your work, I love your worlds and imaginary beings.
ReplyDeleteThe name Vixi comes from an old article in a science magazine.
ReplyDeleteThey had a story on numbers, 13 isn't considered bad everywhere. In Italy it's the number 17 because when VXII is rearranged to VIXI it means "I have lived" in latin, thus implying death.
Cool origin for the deity's name.
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