I had been chasin death most of my life. Elusive isn't even close to how Death evaded me. And today, I saw death make a left around the corner and I too followed Death like I usually did. But unlike the plethora of past times death was there, smokin a cigarette, leanin against the building's brick wall. I didn't know what to do so I just stood still and watched Death smokin. I guess Death felt sorry for me and looked at me and said, "You wantah fag mothah fuckah?" Holding the pack of Marlboro reds out in offering.
"I'm fine. I only smoke Winston Ultra Lights. Those are way too strong for me," I said to Death.
Death smirked and said, "I don't know why. If you are going to do the damn thang, do the damn thang right!"
I understood what he was talking about, he spoke like me, (I said "He" because evil has and will always be male) and took the cigarette that was offered to me. I fired it up. Inhaled. "Damn! These are some harsh mothah fuckahs!" I said. Death just looked at me and laughed.
"So you've been lookin fo me my niggah," Death said with eyebrows raised in a rhetorical gesture.
"Yes," I said and inhaled another harsh pull.
Death laughed. Pulled on his own cigarette, exhaled. "Well it seems you've found me," Death said.
I just continued smokin, hatin the drag off the cig that was offered to me. I sure wish it was lighter and this conversation wouldn't have been so uncomfortable.
I finally got enough nerves tah ask Death, "So am I goin tah die now?"
He pulled hard on his cig and while exhalin, smoke goin in every damn direction,"That all depends on you and me. And more me than you. You understand?" He said and asked, rhetorically.
"Yes," I simply said. I'd had enough of the harsh smoke so I let it fall from my index and middle fingers to the ground and extinguished it with my left foot while death noticed every living thing that I was doing.
He pulled hard again on his smoke. Did the same as I and extinguished his smoke also but with his right foot. Looked at me and started admonishing me with his diatribe: "I will always be here Sunshine. Like the sun, the moon, the earth, the oceans...I will always be here. You don't evah have tah look for me because I will find you in the end. That's just the way the shit y'all mothah fuckahs call "Life" is. Life, the shit is just temporary. But my ass is permanent. Final. The end! And as yo so called Non-Secular circle would say, Amen! I am the everlasting truth. The only truth. The truth! The Alpha and Omega! I am omnipresent. I am...mothah fuckah! Yah undahstand?"
"Yes. I have always respected you because of who you are. May I go?" I said and asked.
"You can just call me "D" because I like you. You can always go as long as you have your temporary life. But yo ass belongs to me in the end," Death said.
"And I definitely understand my friend, D," I said humbly.
"And I am sure that you do. I so appreciate you! But I am who I am! Please forgive my makeup. Be free and live this temporary life! But when I visit you again, it will be time for you to give up this...temporary life," He said with his parting words.'
And I turned and ran. Smelling the air... Life.
If just for awhile...if just temporary.
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