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

The In-Between changed its shape into the park where I frequent.

In this memory, Brownie and the past Evangeline played fetch while Sunshine sat on the bench, watching them in total silence.

Evangeline threw the ball at Brownie, but Brownie's attention was on the ducks. He chased after them instead of fetching the ball, causing her to burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, the ducks didn't share her sentiments. The poor waterbirds squawked loudly, swimming and flying away.

Brownie knelt on the grads and covered his face with his paws, whining.

"Oh no, Brownie!" Evangeline reprimanded. "You scared the ducks away!"

Yet, contrary to her words, she was laughing.

She glanced at Sunshine, who was surprisingly silent the whole hour they'd been playing, only to see her watching them with a serious look on her face.

"Hey, Evangeline," Sunshine called, motioning for her to come closer.

Of Course I didn’t