She settled in the chair, the light dancing over her features like it did all those years ago. Thanks to him, she hadn’t aged a day; her skin was as lovely and fresh as the day he had healed her. Though she hadn’t aged physically, she had hardened, all the naivete from that day in the cabin gone. She sat straight in her chair. She had nothing in her hands.
“Before we start, I want to thank you.”
His eyebrows lifted with surprise. “Thank ... me?” That was the last thing he’d thought she’d say. After all the pain she’d had ... the way she’d cursed him ...
“I do. I thank you for this life and all that I’ve had the chance to experience. I’ve been reminded of the beauty I said existed all that time ago. I can see it again, and I thank you for the gift of life to do so.”
A feeling close to hope rose inside him.
“But ... I come to you tonight empty handed.” She held out her palms for emphasis, and whatever Death had for a heart plummeted, regret twisting around within him. “I don’t have anything else for you but me.”
“What?” He leaned away suspiciously. “Those weren’t the terms of our deal.”
“Actually, I believe they are.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “I’ve shown you all the good of humans I could find and wrote it for you. I’ve collected hundreds of stories and shown you people who strive to make the world better, if not in their lifetimes, then their children’s. After all of this, there’s nothing more to say. So I offer myself. I want you to look at me and say thatallhumanity is weak, feckless, violent, and selfish. I want you to tell me thatnoneare worth saving.”
She met his gaze head-on. “That was, after all, the proposition. Those were, I believe, your words.”
Humanswereweak, feckless, violent, and supremely selfish.
But she was right. There were exceptions.
She had shown him that.
Shewas the exception.
He wondered if she must see the truth in his silence. She continued, “So tonight will be the end of this. I offer myself as proof of man’s goodness and of all the beauty I promised there was.” She pointed to the scattered pages in front of him. “If you don’t see it by now, there’s nothing else I can do.”
Her words rumbled within him. She was right.
His eyes flicked up to the portrait one last time. “But you broke one of the rules of our deal ... What if I argue that it makes all you’ve done null and void? What if I don’t accept this response?”
She shrugged. “Then that’s on you. You only asked that I prove that humans are redeemable, and I’ve done that.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I think you already believe it—that you know the truth. That’s why you didn’t let me lose. That’s why you saved me from myself at the lowest points of my life, when the loneliness was so thick it was all I could see. You knewIwas worth saving.” Her voice rang out in the small cabin.
He stopped, thinking of the world without her in it. It was true that he often went years without seeing her, the time passing in a blur for him, but it was comforting to know she was there, working on their agreement. She was the bright spot in years that had none. He didn’t want to contemplate his existence without her, then or now. Even if he did start the world over, he would know of her absence.
“But if you’re gone, what will I have to look forward to? I have no dominion on the other side. I can’t linger there to talk with you.”
Nella shook her head. “You’re not supposed to. Your work is here. It may feel like a punishment, but you’re needed. Without you, life doesn’t go on.”
Death glanced away. She was right, but he wasn’t ready to admit it.
“What if I don’t wantthem? What if ... it’s only you?”
“But there’s not only me. My mama could see you—you just never caught her. If I had been able to birth a child, maybe they would’ve beenable to see you too. Maybe by agreeing to this, you’ll havemoreand not less. I’ll eventually die, yes, but I’ll also finally get to live.”
She reached for Death’s hand, capturing it in hers. He flinched but kept it there. “I’ve shown you everything there is to know about humans: their strengths, their ingenuity, their kindness, and their love. I’ve shown you the beauty they can create and how families can take shape and make every person in them stronger. You made me immortal, but after all of this, I think I’ve also made you a little human. Surely after all this time, I’ve finally earned my freedom.”
Death gazed into the fire. She was right.
He was more.
He felt more.
Because of her.
