'What's your name?' asked Jason, as kindly as possible. 'What?' responded the Girl, looking confused, for the first time. She looked into his eyes, trying to work out if the question was some kind of trick, but all she saw was innocence and true interest. She felt lost. 'Your name, I was wondering what it is. If I'm going to have to sit in this funny little room which I'm allowed to change, but not leave, and play some kind of game which I have no chance of winning; because I'm right aren't I, I don't have a chance in hell, do I? Anyway, I'd like to know your name.' 'I' the Girl felt very stuck suddenly. 'I don't have a name. Or, no-one ha

The girl kept her back turned. Jason was right, she was nervous. Everyone had told her that her first time would be easy, they would ask for chess because it was always chess. And she would play and she would win, because what does Death do besides win? In the end everyone dies. She hadn't expected discussion of the subject, and certainly not questioning. 'Make it nicer, if it's so dreary. It's your afterlife' she suggested, calmly levelling her voice. 'Can I do that?' asked Jason. Everything felt a little beyond his control. 'Well of course. Just think of it how you want it. I suppose it's just grey because you're confused and upset and

'Well' said the girl  slowly 'you pick which game you want to play.' Jason thought about this. Despite having been telepathically informed more than once, he was once again fairly certain this was a bad dream. And a dream which was not getting worse, just a lot more tacky. Pick a game? Like what, pick-up-sticks? 'Essentially, yes, that's the way it works. Although I'd steer clear of pick-up-sticks because it tends to rely quite a lot on luck, and considering you were just murdered an hour ago, I'd suggest you are pretty short on that particular commodity' replied the girl, without looking at Jason. She had turned to face the grey wall to th

'I can see how the cloak would work. You do look quite imposing, until you take a closer look' Jason agreed. She had looked quite threatening up until now, but he could see her face clearly, and he wasn't afraid at all any more. Just puzzled. The girl looked young, with a pale but not pasty face, and the dark blue eyes. They glittered, almost as if they were filled with the night sky, full of stars. Her face was heart-shaped and she had a tiny mouth and tiny nose. In fact the more he looked the more he realised that she was all quite petite, except for those big blue staring eyes. They unsettled him, and he looked away. 'What do I do for t

'So, this is limbo. You might have heard of it. This is the space between life and death. You have a choice now. You can choose to walk straight into the afterlife, or you can choose to fight.' Jason thought about this. He took a short walk towards one of the grey walls. At first it kept away from him, always a step out of reach, but after a few minutes it decided to let him touch it. He gently stroked his hand along the wallpaper. It felt rough and soft at the same time, and he closer he looked the more he noticed that it couldn't decide on a pattern. The paper seemed to softly alternate between a print of flying birds, and tiny flowers. Th

'You've actually been impressively calm and accurate about everything so far. Much better than most people.' Jason thought this over for a little while. And slowly came to terms with being dead. And then slapped himself twice, decided it was all real, and looked at the girl. 'So, who are you then? I imagined death being more bones and scythe, if you know what I mean. And you look pretty young too. Not quite what I was expecting' The girl wandered in a circle, debating the questions. 'Well you were close earlier, I'm actually nineteen, but I know I look young. And I'm not exactly death in the classic sense of the word because that went out

What he saw was enough to scare anyone to death. It was his own body, lying in bed, eyes staring glassily at Helen. No wonder she was screaming so loudly. 'Well, now what?' Asked the girl, quietly. 'Are you ready to come with me, or is there anything else you want to ask?' 'I'm dead? Did you kill me then?' Asked Jason, stunned. 'Of course I bloody didn't, would I still be here if I had? He left a good while ago. And anyway, how would I be able to see you? And wouldn't your wife be screaming at me if she thought I'd killed you? Idiot.' Jason was a little stunned. The mysterious girl had gone from ethereal to plain rude in the blink of an

The street was quiet. The street light flickered for a few seconds and then went out, leaving the scene dark. The only movement was the gentle wave of the leaves as a young woman, dressed all in black, her head hidden by her hood strode silently out onto the road. She looked up and down, and finally selected the fifth house. There was a swift glimpse of her face, deep blue eyes and pale skin as she looked towards one of the first floor windows. Then, without a sound, she evaporated into thin air. The street light blinked once and then came back on, dimly lighting the road. A row of suburban houses in red brick sat happily in their plots, fro