There was a hollow knock at the door. A young woman answered in the pleasant way that she always did. Her breath escaped as the cold smell of the night flushed her face. Death leaned over her and said "I have come for your husband." "It can't be time already" she wispered, "we have barely been married a year."
A hiss came from the black hollow where death's face should have been, "it is his time and I have come to retrieve his soul." The woman pleaded with Death, but he was not swayed. Finally she begged, "take me instead, end my life and not his! I cannot live without him." To which Death replied, "very well, let the covenant be fulfilled."
The woman closed her eyes and relaxed as she felt the sting of Death rush over her. Her wedding band burned with fury as a chill racked her spine. Her eyes snapped open when she heard her husband scream from down the hall. She was still standing at the front door but the welcome mat was empty. She reached the bedroom too late and found Death hovering over her husband's limp body. "Why have you done this?" she asked. Death finished his task and replied "to fulfill the covenant."
Years later, grief still burned at her soul. Doctors and priests tried their magics with her, but she found neither comfort or escape in the arts, science, or religion. One night, when she could bear the loss of her husband no longer, she finished a bottle of pills the doctor had given her. Slipping into dream, the shape of her husband's face came into view as he kissed her gently. Her arms warmed as he embraced her and leaned in. "I love you" he said, "and I will wait." Then the feeling turned cold as she awoke to a hollow knock at the door.
She welcomed the familiar cold smell of the night as she opened the door. Death leaned over her and said "I have come for your husband." The woman whispered back, "you must be mistaken, you took him years ago, and tonight it was I who took my life."
"Indeed you did" said Death, "but the covenant was not fulfilled. Your husband has returned to you, and I have come to retrieve him. It is not your time."
The woman collapsed to the ground and wept. Her wedding band burned and Death rushed over her as he had done before. She awoke and found herself with the box of tissue, photo album, and empty bottle she had fallen asleep with. Folding the album shut, she noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the last page. It was her husband's vow from their wedding. She read it and cried till her eyes ran out of tears.
From that day forward, she lived her life as she saw fit. She loved, she hated, she was happy, and she hurt, but she never regretted and she never forgot. One night she was awoken by a knock at the door. It took her a while to reach the door since she moved much slower after all these years. An old friend greeted her as the cold smell of night washed her face. Death leaned over her and said "I have come for your husband." The woman whispered back, "you may have him."
Death handed the woman a piece of paper. She recognized it immediately as her eyes fell to the last line of her husband's vow: 'I would die for you. I will love you always.' She looked back and saw her mortal body resting silently on the couch next to the faint sillouette of her husband. He stood up and walked to where she was standing. He smiled at her as they followed death out the door.
