Kisses From Death | Book 1

HALLOWEEN'17

DEATH WATCHED SILENTLY, a chuckle nearly slipping past his lips as he bit down on his bottom lip to keep his laughter in. His predator-like gray eyes had been fixated on a young girl of no more than three years of age for the past fifteen minutes, watching as she pulled and tugged at her mother's sleeve, desperately trying to convince her mother about something.

"Come on, mama!" The little girl begged, her large doe eyes reducing to slits with the way she frowned and whined. "If I get this, I will be able to match with my best friend!"

"Addison, darling, why don't we get you a nice tiara instead, hmm? Didn't you always say that you are going to be a princess when you grow up?"

"Queen," Addison corrected her mother. "I am going to be a queen!"

"Alright," Mrs. Pilediah laughed, carrying her precious daughter tightly in her arms. "And a queen must have a tiara instead of a black cloak and a scythe."

"I don't want a scythe, mama!" Not understanding the word properly, Addison shook her head, allowing her long blonde hair to curtain her face like golden sunlight. "I want sword."

She pointed to the plastic weapon, the classic item in which a grim reaper used. Unbeknownst to her, it was, in fact, a scythe.

It was Halloween again, Death's personal favorite holiday. He had always thought that it was wonderful that the mortals of Earth celebrated such a frightening date. To see that many people could find joy in what should have been fearsome brought on a great hope for him—a hope that the year would not be as gruesome as the last. Then again, it had always been that way. With each year that passed, more and more people fell prey to death's hands; both literally and metaphorically.

This year, Jane Pilediah, Addison's mother, had finally decided that her little girl was old enough to decide which costume she wanted for this particular celebration. So instead of picking out an insanely adorable princess piece for her daughter like she had for the past few years, she had driven both herself and Addison to the local supermarket, looking for a nice costume for Addison to dress up as. Unfortunately, much to her dismay, a particularly gloomy costume set had caught Addison's eye.

Instead of another princess costume like Mrs. Pilediah had hoped for, Addison had set her sights onto a black raggedy one-piece, a cloak that was torn and tattered so much so that it drifted whenever there was even the slightest of winds. The grim reaper costume had come with a plastic scythe that stood nearly twice the height of the little girl, as well as a plastic mask with a skull design. To say that Mrs. Pilediah had nearly fainted from astonishment was the understatement of the year. Truly, she was mortified.

"Addison, please, be reasonable, darling. We can find something more perfect for a girl your age. That costume is for... boys." Her mother tried to argue.

Knowing that her efforts would soon be in vain, Addison's cheeks scrunched up, lips turning into a pout as tears brimmed in her eyes. The little girl was on the verge of tears, her desire for the costume was near the stage of desperation as she raised her hands to shield her eyes. Witnessing the scene before him, Death shook his head, unable to watch on as Addison started to bawl her eyes out. A crowd had begun to gather around, watching with curiosity as the mother of one attempted to soothe her daughter but to no avail. Addison was heartbroken and there was nothing that could put her off from crying.

Nothing but that costume, at least.

"I cannot believe that I am doing this," Death murmured under his breath, shaking his head before taking a quick glance at his surroundings.

Once he made sure that there was no one else in his vicinity, he pulled his long cloak over himself, turning his handsome and grown-out features into that of a five-year-old boy. The only thing that made him stand out from a sea of ordinary five-year-old boys was the fact that he was adorning a dress in the brightest of hot pink, complete with a dazzling plastic tiara that settled at the top of his head.

Death took a deep breath, preparing himself before he slowly strolled out into the open where a crowd of adults had gathered around Addison and Jane Pilediah. The people parted for the little boy, watching with wide eyes as a child that defied stereotypes and norms strolled into the open, stopping only when he was right in front of Addison and her mother. As calmly as he could, Death reached to the displays that kept the costumes before withdrawing the grim reaper costume that Addison had wanted. He ignored the murmurs around him, all probably wondering where the parental figure of the little boy was.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Death said, his voice now a few octaves higher than his usual due to his reduced age. "But I am afraid that you are wrong."

"Pardon?" Jane Pilediah stared down at the little boy, a single perfectly arched eyebrow raised as she set Addison, who had finally stopped crying, down onto the ground.

"You said that the costume was for boys when it was never specified on the packaging." With a blank face, he stared dead into Mrs. Pilediah's eyes. At the same time, he reached out for Addison's hand before pressing the large package into her small palms. "It says here 'for children ages 3 and up'. It was not mentioned that the costume was only for boys."

"I...I..." Mrs. Pilediah stuttered, completely at a loss for words. "Young man, where are your parents?" She asked instead.

"They are dead." Death replied simply. "My uncle told me to pick whatever outfit I wanted for Halloween and I got this princess outfit since you were trying to convince her," he looked at Addison pointedly, "to get it instead of the grim reaper outfit. I thought it meant that it would be nice."

Mrs. Pilediah smiled to herself in disbelief. Amused by the eccentric child, she shook her head lightly in bewilderment. "Alright. You are obviously a smart young man and I believe that your message is received loud and clear." Bending down to meet her daughter's eye, she lightly pried the costume packaging away from her little fingers. "Now let me just ring it up for you, alright? Follow along."

Just like that, Addison broke into beams. "Thank you, mommy!" She smiled, taking her mother's hand to follow her towards the cashier. A glint sparkled at the corner of her eyes as she turned around to face the boy, who in which was wearing a smirk that seemed too sinister for a child.

Little Addison recognized her friend. Of course, how could she not? After all, he was the one that had inspired the costume choice. Once she was sure that her mother was not paying enough attention to her, she smiled just as, if not more, brilliantly at Death.

"Thanks, Dee," she whispered, the apples of her cheeks blushing as brightly as the first light of day.

With two fingers placed to his temple, Death offered Addison a salute as the atrocity of a dress he adorned slowly melted back to that of his usual cloak. At this point, he was back to being invisible to everyone else but Addison, and he took the opportunity to turn back to his usual form. Before Addison could take a proper glance at him in his true age, however, he disappeared into a puff of black smoke, leaving not even the smallest of traces that he had once been there.

Even better, when they had reached home from the supermarket, Jane Pilediah could not seem to remember why on earth had she allowed her daughter to buy such a depressing outfit for Halloween. Yet, she merely shrugged it off, returning to the batch of cookies that she was just about to pop into the oven.

[A/N]:

Hello everyone!

It's been a year since the first chapter of [Kisses From Death] was first published onto Wattpad (when this bonus was first uploaded) and I wanted to celebrate this by bringing out a Halloween special to celebrate this occasion. Thank you so much for all your support with this series. I am very thankful to have people like you guys that are reading and constantly supporting and encouraging me through my writing journey.

I hope that you enjoyed reading this light-hearted bonus snippet/ this book in general and have a safe and fun Halloween, everyone!

QOTD: What are you planning to dress up as?

xx aurora