The Woman with the Hollow Eyes

I found myself staring at the woman who’d just entered the ballroom. Her hair was so dark, no light seemed to want to touch it and she stared at me with these deep eyes that were so dark and so empty, yet so beautiful. Her thin lips curled slightly in the corners in a knowing smile. I glanced slightly to my left to see my brother in a similar situation to myself. He was also staring at her elegant yet simple plain black dress that was tied at her waist with a white ribbon and her silver bracelet that had a strange symbol.

She approached us, the knowing smile still spread across her face. No one else seemed to gaze at her in the way me and my brother did, if anything, they didn’t even look at her or even acknowledge her existence. My brother took her hand and pecked it lightly.

“Who are you?” I asked.

She stared me deep in the eyes, causing a chill to crawl up my spine. “Call me Mors.”

“Welcome Mors,” my brother replied.

“I’m a bit early,” she commented, “but I thought I’d enjoy the party.”

I wondered a bit about her wording, after all the ball had begun before she’d arrived. But alas, I ignored it and decided to do what she’d planned as well, to enjoy the party. I was about to ask her for a dance, when I heard my brother beat me to it.

“May I have this dance?” he asked as the band began a new song.

She took his hand as he led her to the floor. As they began dancing I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. James asked me to dance and even as we did so I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her, off of Mors. After three songs, I tired of jealously watching my brother dance with her and I broke off from James and made my way to where she danced with my brother.

“May I?” I questioned.

“I don’t-” my brother began to protest.

Mors smiled at me. “Of course.”

I could see the annoyance on my brother’s face as I whisked Mors onto a new area of the floor. I sneered at him, a smirk spread across my face. My brother glared back. I could feel the eyes on my back as we danced, but I ignored them, I was enjoying myself too much.

“Who are you, really?” I asked. “I mean you gave me a name, Mors, but I don’t believe that’s really you. Why are you here?”

“I have a job to do,” she replied. “You will understand soon enough, but I thought I could live a little before I have to do it, I thought I could enjoy myself. Like I said earlier, I thought I would come a bit early to enjoy the party.”

I understood her words, but their true meaning still baffled me. What was her job? Why wouldn't she tell me?

“I know you’re still curious,” she said. “But you will understand, very soon.”

I broke off from Mors and the curious eyes of the other dancers and stood on the side of the room, wondering. As I stood there I stared at Mors. Everytime she looked at me, my heart skipped a beat and she would always smile at me in a knowing way that would make me wonder. What did she know? She seemed to know something, something that was going to happen soon. I felt the presence of my brother at my side. I could only guess that he was wondering the same thing.

Then Mors approached us, that knowing smile still spread across her face, her hollow eyes staring into my soul.

“It’s time,” she said.

“For what?” I questioned.

Then I felt it, the sharp, cool steel in my back. As I collapsed to the ground I could see my brother collapsed at my side. Warm blood pooled beneath me and my vision faded… back into view. I was so confused, I could’ve sworn I had just…

I looked down, my brother’s and my body were still bleeding on the ground. But I was standing there, how?

“You know how,” Mors said. “You know what just happened and you finally understand why no one else could see me and why I’m here.”

I scoffed. “Of course, of course. You’re Death, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Every now and then I like to live a little, but only people close to death and dead souls can see me.”

“And I’m dead.”

“Yes.” Death reached out her hand. “And it’s your time.”