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

As I reached the edge of the childhood aisle, I couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between the memories.

In the beginning, my childhood memories were filled with bright and vivid colors, everything was bursting with life. But as I moved deeper into the aisle, those colors faded, replaced by darker, hazier, and murkier ones.

It was a reflection of how life had changed, how innocence had given way to experience, and how the world had become a more complex and challenging place.

"I guess this is the last of it," I muttered to myself, feeling a sense of finality as I grabbed the last jar in the childhood aisle. It sat right next to the beginning of the middle school section, marking the transition from one chapter of my life to the next.

The next jar in my hand harbored a memory mist swirling in patterns that resembled the design of my cherished stationery paper from my childhood - pretentiously adorned with florals in delicate shades of pink.

Dear Dante