Legend 1 - Death
We all die in the end. Riveting start to a story I know, but it’s true. Everything that begins must have an end. Nothing is safe from decay, aging, and withering. So why waste the time you have living stressed, depressed, and oppressed by the burdens of life when you could be enjoying the many positives of it especially when you have so little time left?
Joan has an incurable stage of cancer and her doctors say she has only a few months to live so she decides to spend the rest of her days enjoying those positives. She goes to Vegas with her family and friends and makes the most of it. While there, she wins a lot of money at the casinos, eats at the best restaurants, shops at the finest stores, and even gets a few admirers while coming out with enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her short life. The time that she has is so good that she decides to stay another week while her family and friends go back home for work reasons.
Day one
Joan decides to go to the casinos again to push her luck and wins in the beginning until she spots a figure in a black cloak and white mask that stares at her through the crowd. It takes her attention away from what game she is currently playing and she loses.
A fellow player she knows puts his hand on her shoulder and asks, “You alright?”
Joan snaps out of the daze then says, “Yeah I’m fine. Do you see someone in the crowd that looks funny?”
“Everyone here looks funny.”
“No, I mean someone in a black cloak and mask.”
She looks back at the crowd and sees that the figure has disappeared.
“I haven’t seen anyone like that. Did you drink too much already?”
“Not yet!”
She shrugs off what she saw and ends up winning more than she did the previous day. Though this was in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but feel like she was being watched. Joan would even see the figure in the corner of her eye, slowly getting closer to her, but when she looks at it, it disappears.
Day two
On the next day, she decides to hang out with the new friends she’s made. They enjoy the city’s luxurious malls, spas, and attractions. The day is going well, but Joan can’t help but feel uneasy. The figure stalks her again and appears to be getting closer and closer every time she notices it in the crowds of people.
Her friends notice how she’s acting and says to her, “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m good. Why?”
“You seem to be acting strangely.”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“You sure? We know what you have so if you want to relax just ask.”
“Like I said, don’t worry about it. I’m fine. Now stop being a party pooper and let’s enjoy ourselves.”
Her voice says enthusiasm, but her feelings say worried.
Day three
She decides to confront the figure by herself. It’s obvious to her that others can’t see it and seem to pass through it as if it wasn’t there. Why is she the only one who notices it and why does it concentrate on her? Joan gets dressed and walks outside her room and sees the figure in the hallway, getting closer to her. All of her courage is thrown out the window as the figure’s presence feels overwhelming and each step it takes feels like the ticking of a clock, continuously going forward until the hour is up. She runs away, going from her floor to the next and yet, it catches up to every floor she goes to.
As Joan exists the stairs, the hotel staff try to see what’s wrong, but she ignores them as she runs outside. The staff look around to see if anyone is chasing her since that’s what it looks like and, of course, they don’t see anyone and shrug off what happened. Meanwhile, Joan is wandering the streets, anxious that the figure might be close.
A homeless woman in a dress notices the way Joan is and gets up to grab her. “You’ve seen it, haven’t you? Death itself. I see it in the way you act.”
Joan doesn’t know what to say to the somewhat crazy woman.
“I’ve seen it as well, and it’s closing in on me. If I die, take me as an example of what you shouldn’t do.”
The homeless woman sees the figure directly behind Joan, gets frightened by it, and runs away. Joan falls down in terror, but it ignores her to chase the other woman. The woman tries to cross the street while keeping an eye on it. A mistake that gets her run over by the oncoming traffic. The figure then walks to her body and takes her soul with its bony hands that creep out of its cloak. It then looks at Joan and disappears. For the rest of the day, she stays at her hotel with her head in her pillow, hoping that the figure won’t get her if she doesn’t look at it.
Day 4, 5, and 6
Starting on the fourth day, Joan completely changes her mind.
“I shouldn’t be worrying about death every single second of my life. I should be living it!” she says aloud to herself.
For the next three days, Joan decides to live her life to the fullest while trying to not pay attention to the figure. She does so for the most part as she gets back on her winning streak at the casinos and shopping frenzy. The figure takes the souls of people who die of alcohol poisoning, suicides, and drug overdoses. It doesn’t have any targets that it focuses on for too long unless they are close to death so Joan is safe…for now.
Day 7
Joan’s luck is slowly dying out and the figure is running out of souls to collect so she decides to go all in for her next game.
“This’ll be my last game. Hopefully, I’ll win-No! I will win!” she not so quietly whispers to herself, “Maybe I’ll buy everyone I know something nice before I go home. Maybe I’ll even bring home a nice young man!”
But the stars don’t align, and she loses everything. Her confidence is quickly swept away by despair as she leaves the casino. The only way she can get home now is by selling what she has back at the hotel. This is easier said than done since the hotel is far away from the casino and she doesn’t have anything to pay for a ride back home. She also drank a bit too much, so getting back will be incredibly tricky. Joan then looks over her shoulder to see the figure setting its sights on her. She frantically and blindly runs away from it while hands reach out from its cloak to pull more souls into it.
People around Joan try asking her what’s wrong but she ignores them.
Others think she’s gone mad, however, one of them grabs her and asks her, “Are you being chased or something?”
“Ye-Yes!”
“Where do you want me to drive you?”
“A hotel not too far from here. I’ll pay you with whatever I have there!”
The stranger takes her to the hotel and she packs up whatever she can then bolts out the door only to see a horrifying sight. The figure now towers above the city. Countless hands reach out from its cloak to retrieve the souls of the dead. This sight gets Joan to drop everything that she has and run back inside in terror. She runs up the stairs of the hotel as the figure’s hands chase her up them. Once she reaches the top, she sees that the figure is tall enough to blot out the sun. Joan unknowingly keeps backing up while looking at it and falls off the roof and dies. Her death is ruled as a result of her drinking. Her possessions are sent to her relatives while Joan’s funeral is closed casket because the fall left her body in pieces.
Joan, despite trying not to focus on death, was consumed by it and ultimately accidentally ended her own life when she still had time left. Always thinking about death and not living the life you have is what sours the joys of life. Death is an inevitability and important to life itself because, without it, we cannot appreciate life. Don’t let death scare you. Live with the limited time you have left and make the most of it. Try to fulfill your dreams no matter how impossible they may seem. But always remember to do so responsibly and the right way, or else you’ll end up dead faster than you think.
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