Mothers walked along the Autumn paths of the park, their children like kites navigating a tempest. All of them unaware of the possibilities within their lives.

Wrapped in a blanket of my own misery, I was too aware of life as I played games with Death. The upside is that Death plays all games. Checkers and chess are popular from what I understand. Personally I liked Scrabble, although Cribbage was the game du jour. The downside was Death always won. It was irritating but I was usually irritated when Death was around.

“So is today the day?” Death asked me.

I looked at my cards and didn’t hide my grimace. “Probably not. I’m trying to get my life together.”

“Isn’t that like building a skyscraper on a known sinkhole? You know it’s just going to come crashing down in the end.”

“Eh. Here.” I tossed two cards face down to the crib.

“Well is it going to be this year at least? I’ve been waiting since you were in sixth grade.”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“But you feel so bad.”

“That’s life.” I shrugged.

“Exactly.”