-No Serenades for the Damned-

On one cold night, I stood gazing into a mirror, contemplating it all, wondering about the paths I took, and the accomplishments I had in my life. But, as I gazed into the mirror, there he stared back at me. A pale man draped in a black cloak with a silver mask and a stained satchel stared at me with hollow eyes, he stood there as if he were a frame from a film. He just stared at me, and I, frozen by his devilish gaze, waited for his response. 

And he after almost an hour or so, finally spoke, but I wish he hadn’t.

“Hello, my friend.” He said with a menacing joy in his voice, “W-who are you!?!?” I replied, with my pistol in my hand, “Now, now friend, you don’t need to worry I’m not here to hurt you but rather to help you.” He said with a deceiving voice.

At this point, feeling threatened, I fired my pistol once, straight into his heart. He did not react.

He had come closer to me, so, I responded with a barrage of bullets, he started to speak again after I ran out of ammunition,” To answer your question, which you most certainly would like to have the answer, I’m not Death, nor God or the Devil, I’m not all of hell combined into one being or some sort of Angel or Demon or something in between, and I am not some sort of Ghost, but rather a representative of warning.” I could not react to what he was saying, as I was still shocked at his survival.

“I am here as a sort of assistant or better yet a messenger of what is to come, I fulfill a role and when my purpose is over, I am taken out of that position.” He said with a pep in his voice. I demanded to know what he meant by any of this, he let out a sinister chuckle and replied.

“A damnation never seen before waits for you, a hell and punishment not dreamed of by the most deviant of minds, is at your shores, Death waits for the day that he may sink his dagger in your decrypted heart. You are a wicked beast fit to become a burning ash made to singe the fingers of murderers and drunkards, a pain never even thought of before is before you, if you do not want that, you must repent, before you end up dining with the serpent, the traitor, and his children.” I stammered, trying to get out a word, but before that, he put his cold, dead finger to my lip.

“You have three chances to truly and fully change from your ways.” He said.

He pulled out a blood-stained dagger and cut three lines into my arm, he then said,” I will be there watching you, I will watch everything you do, I will see how you live and I will be there when you repent or I will be there when you throw your life away. You will never be able to escape me, for as the man who messaged you and will watch over you, I would be the one to also bring your punishment.”

“S-sir, how is any of this possible, how? I have not done any sin beyond comprehension nor have I brought suffering upon another, so why do I have this reticle on my soul?” He then said,” You can not fool the all-seeing eye nor can you fool his messenger, I know, we all know, what you did, the night in which you brought suffering to the world. There is no use in lying, it only puts you in a worse spot.”

He walked away slowly and calmly, but before he left my camber, he told me one last thing,” I wish you a good night my friend” he left my life that night, but I still can feel his presence, everywhere I go, and whenever I look at my arm, the once three cuts are now one.

But these worries of mine would soon leave me. I went through the forest to take a shortcut to my house, and waiting there for me was him.

He sternly yelled at me,” DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL!?” I drunkenly said,” I don’t take you for anything, you black-eyed, tulip!”

He yelled at me for relapsing and for ruining my chances and how he didn’t want to kill me and that I still had a chance, but I couldn’t take anything he said seriously due to my state. So I pulled out my pistol and fired, surprisingly in my condition, I was able to hit him in his black holes for eyes.

He staggered back a bit, his eye looking towards the sky, he lowered his head towards me, and I saw a sort of red mist emanate from his eye, it wasn’t blood but more like a sort of powder blowing in the wind.

“You had a chance, I gave you more than enough time to better yourself, I should’ve killed you the first time we met.” He pulled out his dagger and charged at me, I couldn’t react fast enough.

I felt the knife plunge into my lower abdomen, I saw, in an instant, all of my life and all of my sins.

I fell on my back, gasping and wheezing for air, all of the time froze before me, all of the sounds went mute, and all of creation was fading away from me quickly, I was dying quickly.

The last thing I saw before it all faded away from me was, that man fell right beside me, I don’t know if he died or passed out, all I know is that his purpose with me was done.

And that is why I am right here sir, this is why I’m standing before you, because just like you: I too was a wicked man, but, I offer you a chance for redemption, a chance for salvation that I can never receive, unlike you I am already forgotten but you can still be forgiven.