ThreyaMidnight

"So this is what they mean when they say your life flashes before your eyes when you die."

Betrayed. Battered. Broken. 

Evangeline Vermillion has had enough of her pathetic life. She was young—only in her early 20s—and she had planned to end it all by setting herself on fire. 

That was how she met Death—cold, dark, tall, and...handsome? Huh. Who knew the Grim Reaper could look like that? He takes her hand and guides her through the In-Between, the sacred realm between the Land of the Living and the Afterlife. Together, they revisit her most important memories. From the misfortunes of her childhood, to the chaos and bloodshed of the wrong kinds of love, Evangeline must confront the demons of her past to get to The Other Side.

Through all of the pain and anguish, Death stands with her, an enigmatic companion and unlikely confidant. And in their brief waltz between realms, Evangeline finally finds what she always wanted but never had: to belong and to be loved.

Waltz with Death

I stood in the middle of the Childhood aisle of the storage house, still holding the memory jar in my hands. Even if I had already finished reliving the memory, my mind was still thinking and my heart was racing what I just saw.

The weight of that minor detail, a detail I didn't even think was the least bit important when that memory happened, bore down on me. I felt shivers running down my spine as a realization struck me like a heavy blow, causing my chest to hurt and my head to feel slightly dizzy.

It pained me to think that my Mom had been cheating on Dad for years before we learned the truth.

For the longest time, I blamed myself for destroying my family. The question, "What if I didn't show Dad the text?" bugged my mind. After all, they say ignorance is bliss and we could've pretended to be a happy family until the end. Maybe Dad could've lived a longer life if I didn't show it to him. Maybe my life could've been entirely different.

Pancakes and Maple Syrup