Let me be honest with you for a moment, Reader.
Can I?
Can I be honest with you?
Beginnings scare me in their intricacies; They are like large, great spiders, each leg moving forward, dipping delicately into the water of Life, testing out the temperature, deciding whether to slowly walk in, allowing shivers to rake through their bodies, or to take a great leap, both mentally and physically.
I have had a lot of years to study the art of Beginnings. In fact, I have had all of Eternity. I am a lot better at Endings, you see.
Do you see?
I feel that you must be confused. See, I am not good at Beginnings at all.
Maybe because you do not know me. But let me assure you, you absolutely do know me. You have heard of me, you have witnessed my profession, maybe you have even looked me momentarily in the eyes before you were snatched back into the land of the Living.
Still confused?
Let me simplify:
I am Death.
Yes, Death. The guy that visits the sick, the injured, the abused. The guy that takes your loved ones away from you.
Please forgive me for being so blunt, but I do not know how, and I do not wish to, romanticize my duty, for that is what it is.
Do you see now why I would be better at Endings than Beginnings? It is just what I am good at.
In this instance, for the duration of this retelling, I will be your narrator. I will not be present at all times, I will only object when necessary (like this or by writing "A Note From the Narrator"), and only to better your understanding of what is to come. But it would do you good to remember that I am your narrator. It will help you to not get so attached, yes?
You must feel upset that I am the one who gets this job, maybe because I recently held the soul of someone you love, or because I refused to take your soul when you wanted me to, even though it was not your time yet.
Whatever the reason, I am sorry to say that you are stuck with me. Not because I am good at Beginnings, but because I am good at Endings, and that is what this story is about:
The End of the World
Ready?
Set...
Go.