death cares

by Foxx Hart

Contrary to what most people believe, Death cares. It has to. If it didn’t care, it would just be…cruel. There’s also the project of maintaining sanity at work, which caring helps greatly with. Against the backdrop of infinity, few other things can take on significance other than the knowledge that one cares.

Death cares because it comes in a heated stagecoach that’s ADA-compliant. It helps you in. It wears a mask so as not to startle you. Death without a mask can be so startling. There’s tea inside, perhaps a package of those little Biscoff cookies. Death wants you to be comfortable; your day has already been hard enough.

Death cares because it reviews your entire life in an instant and knows if you’re the kind of person that talks to taxi drivers (rest assured, it acts accordingly). If Death speaks, it uses a soothing voice at a bespoke cadence and timbre. (There’s a formula based on who calmed you down the first and last time you cried, whether you liked the ocean or the mountains or the desert most in life).

Death tries very hard to make sure you don’t feel burdensome. It answers all your questions adequately. It doesn’t languish on the details, unless you’re that sort of person. If you need time, Death takes the scenic route to the Hereafter. It does not ask for tips.

Death tries very hard. Not a lot of people know.

Photo of Foxx Hart

BIO: Foxx is a writer and aspiring psychotherapist based in Durham, NC.