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

"Evangeline," Fake Death called my name unexpectedly, his voice echoing softly in the dimly lit storage house.

I turned, my footsteps coming to a halt on the dusty floor. "Yeah?"

As usual, I wandered through the narrow aisles of memory jars, lost in thought. The soft glow of the jars illuminated the space while buzzing from different memory jars made the walk not eerily silent but slightly comforting.

"I'm close to entering the Maestro's office," Fake Death whispered, a note of urgency in his voice.

My stormy gray eyes widened, a soft gasp escaping from my lips. I had no idea what expression I had on my face right now, but all I knew was that I'd never felt such an intense feeling of happiness.

"How close?" I inquired eagerly, anticipation evident in my voice.

"About...  six more memories worth of waiting?"

The joy I felt almost immediately died down, and my shoulders slumped in dejection.

Trigonometry