
Death being entertertained by Hope and the New year
He was tired, he was taken unaware. Death was exhausted it had been a heavy year. He was not sure at first but their gentle voices confirmed his fears . Here was Hope and the New Year , yes and they were seeping love and kindness he felt weak at the knees and close to tears.
Come ,they said, and sit with us you look so tired and gaunt he knew they would not be denied their chat, they would not be put off by a nasty taunt. Feeling strangely grateful, not a feeling he knew well, he took the weight off his bony feet which as usual hurt like hell.
Walking on those cobbled stones played havoc with his joints it must be how a ballerina feels after dancing years on points! They lit a fire because he looked cold, Death hated to admit it but he was frozen to the bone and feeling so very old. Well what use is a thin cowled cloak in minus zero. For goodness sake he was not a super hero.
New Year, tiny, innocent and fresh eyes wide and her smile too, dressed in green was she ever to be able to cope with the coming 12 months of mess.She was so beautiful and so close to her friend Hope who was plump now, and hassle free this end of the year their predecessors had not long left, Old Mother time and Hopelessness. But right now he was happy to sit for a while and bask in their warmth it was like a sweet caress.
It has been such a busy year, his three brothers, War, Famine and Pestilence had been very busy and as ever it was his job to collect the souls was enough to make you dizzy. So many shootings and knifings , gangs and young people doing dreadful things it almost pained him ..wait was that an emotion swing!!
This will not get the dead collected he said as he bade them good night and headed off to London Town to collect a sixteen year old lad from a street fight. Sad he muttered as he helped the lad from the gutter. Was that a tear he asked himself, shocked. No it was rain his tear ducts long gone and never unlocked .
As he watched Hope and New Year set off on their path he sighed a huge sigh he wanted to laugh he knew they would be old,haggered and changed this time next year. Reassuring his charge that all would be well, what? he felt another emotion was that fear, again it has been hovering over his head getting ever so near.So he took the boy who hardly had lived while Hope and New Year took Pandora’s Box and opened the lid.

Death on his weary way.