The Sound of Her Wings

The weird feeling that had been in Didi's stomach all day hadn't gone away after she left a note for Jono. If anything, it had gotten worse -- a consequence, she supposed, of talking about it so damned much. Needing to get away on her own, she went down to the beach.

It wasn't long before she'd taken off her sneakers to wade into the water, going in almost to her knees. She bent at the waist, a small dark figure searching for shells on the bottom of the clear sea. Sexton's voice was in her head: Didi. It's really dumb to go swimming with your clothes on...

She chuckled at that memory a bit, though she couldn't have told you why it was funny.

Didi	It wasn't much longer until she felt a sudden, sharp ache in her chest. The small figure bent further, staggering as she cried out in pain, and collapsed into the water entirely. The waves, silent and eternal, did what they always did. They washed away what was no longer needed. She was groggy when she sat up and rubbed her eyes, not certain where she was other than that she was dry and it didn't hurt any more.
Death	"So that was it," Death offered, sounding a bit bemused. She hadn't been sure how a year would go; now she knew, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. "How was it?"
Didi	"Oh, it was wonderful and horrible," Didi answered. "It was filled with people. I got to breathe and eat and make love and go to classes and ... all sorts of stuff. I wish it could have gone on forever. I wish I could have stayed with my friends. I wish it didn't have to end like that..."
Death	"It always ends," Death answered with a slightly skeptical compassion. Hadn't Didi been making this argument to that half-demon girl earlier today? "That's what gives it value. When you get to be alive, even for a year ... well, there's only one way to stop living."
Didi	"I suppose so," Didi allowed. She remembered what she'd said to Raven perfectly well. It didn't stop her from complaining to the management. ... which was herself.
Death	"Was it worth it?" Death asked.
Death	"I ... I don't know," Didi admitted. "I think so. I hope so. I met such amazing people, and I loved them the way a human does. And I went places I've never been, and I had a birthday, and I saw Delirium and Morpheus and I was a cat and ..." She shrugged. Listing everything would make her sad. "I wish it could have gone on forever."
Death	"Take my hand, Didi," Death offered, giving the same gentle instruction she'd given billions upon billions of humans. It wasn't the time to comment on what Didi had done while she was alive; those memories were hers to cherish forever and examine later.
Didi	For the first time in all the centuries they'd been doing this, Didi hesitated before gripping the hand. "I made a promise to Drake," she said. "You'll keep it, right?"
Death	"I'll be there for him," Death confirmed. "Of course." She wanted to see some of the people Didi loved, too. It wasn't just about the promise. She waggled her fingers, coaxing Didi along. "My hand?" The girl reached to accept it... and then Didi was no more. Death stood there alone, letting herself feel how strongly Didi had wanted to stay for one moment until she set it aside. There was, as always, work to do.

[OOC: Text liberally borrowed from Death: The High Cost of Living. Warning for character death. NFB, OOC loved.]