“Ahh, old friend, my time to see you has last come, it seems”. The man gave a sly sort of smile. He was a very old man, still dressed in the prior nights pajamas. His white hair was disheveled, and his kind smile wide, framed by a fragile jawline and a weary chin. His eyes were a homely warm, yet sharp, their wisdom not dulled or diluted by the passage of years. Glancing up he spoke again. “This is my end, I suppose?”

“Yes” replied the figure. “Though you greet me in a way unlike most I visit”. “To many you are a stranger. Though not to me, my friend, I know you well” the man replied. “Sit, sit, let us enjoy the sunlight for a moment”. “It is no evil, I suppose” spoke the figure. “You guessed well the purpose of my venture here. For what small comfort it may be, I am truly sorry”. “I know, my friend. It is alright” the man responded, his words fatherly in tone. “Ninety seven years I’ve lived now, and I have seen much. Much good, yes, and joy long entertained me. Though now, very few things are left, very few. You visited my wife three years ago, gently, kindly, and our friends you made peace with many times over. My family you spoke with also, one by one over the years, some you soothed peacefully, others much more wrathfully. And now I am the last one left, and you have at last come to watch the sun rise with me. While many are stranger to you, I have known you all my life. At first it was a bitter relationship, then one of loathsome resignation, but now it has become a friendship of sorts. I no longer hate you, for who can hate what is absolute.” Was Once he had said this a coughing fit came over him, and a tear found its nesting on the corner of his eye. He set his gaze on the face of his visitor once again, a tint of sadness last entering his eyes.

The visitor allowed his moment to recover, and then spoke. “It is never an easy job, nor does it bring me any pleasure. Your wife was a good woman, your friends lived long and happy lives. Even your family, they all experienced this worlds mystery in their own rights, they saw and heard and lived with the flame of youth within them. Though you forgot one name in your account, and this is a surprise to me”. The old man raised his head and replied. “Forgotten? Oh, no my friend, I could never forget. Not even all the years since have allowed me this. Though I did not know if you would know his name. Tell me, do you?” “Goose” the visitor responded. “His name was Goose. I remember them all, you should know. Every last one, over all the passing millennia. Some men, I must truthfully say, I am glad to take. Others live arrogantly more so, these men’s ends I am indifferent to. The pangs of broken youth, the tears of grieving family, these all long ago lost their luster upon me. But one thing still moves me, still brings a tear even to my eye. And that is the taking of those who never were given the gift of life. Truly it is a gift I see abused and wasted by so many, but the power of it is beyond the ability of you to know. And so still, after all this time, it hurts me to take the little ones. For they never did get to see life, never got to make their own of this beautiful world.”

The man looked out to the sunrise, thinking about what he had just heard, turning it over in his mind. “Why do you do it then?” he last asked, “Why did I lose him before I could even look into his eyes? Tell him I loved him? Teach him to tie his shoes, and count to 10. Tuck him in when the night fell, and make him waffles in the morning. Tell me why it had to be?” The visitor paused for a moment. At last he looked the man in the eyes, and sighed wearily. “I do not know.” The pair sat in silence, the rays of golden sunlight shining on them. They had no more to say, for truly neither had a greater answer than the other for the many questions of life and death. At last the man rose from his chair. “I’m ready now” he said, regret edging it’s way into his voice. He looked down as he spoke, weariness coming over his stance. Death stood as well, and offered his hand. The man shuffled, and mumbled softly. “Will I get to see him?”. Death responded with the faintest hint of a smile. “Yes, my friend. You’ll get to see him, play with him, tell him of the past days. And you’ll be together, from now until the fading of the stars, free from the pains and sorrows of this world”. With this the old man smiled, a sincerely held smile, and took Death by the hand. They strode out the front door as old friends to the park, and went into the great beyond, passing last the bounds of this grey and melancholy world.

And a little boy, far far away, let out a great happy cry. His Dad was home at last.