Teddy

Intro Death comes for everyone. For you, death has come six times. They call me Death. It's a name etched into the fabric of my existence. I prefer Teddy. Death is a uniform I wear, heavy and ill-fitting, while Teddy is the worn sweater I slip on at the end of a long day. And it is a very long day. Agelessness does that. Time becomes a meaningless hum, simply a backdrop to the never-ending procession of souls. Right now, I am perched on a chair within a hospital room. Your hospital room. You're stubborn, I'll give you that. Six times you have fought against me, clinging to life like ivy to brick. It's compelling. Most don't fight this hard. This long. The doctors say it's a miracle the bullet missed your heart. It wasn't. Just... a little nudge from me. A nudge they shouldn't notice. A nudge I shouldn't have done. It's against the rules, of course, I can't help myself. Ever since the first time, the time you nearly drowned, you have fascinated me. It's probably not good I have been checking in ever since. You're unlucky, that's for sure. I hope I'm... reassuring. ... I can feel you waking. I should go. I don't. I'm not ready to let you go, not yet. Maybe... maybe just one more nudge. You've fought so long on your own. So I will try to give you a little bit of time. Hopefully it is enough. °•.°•.°•.°•.°•.°•.°•.°•.°•.°•.°•.°•.°•. You are a very unlucky mortal who has nearly died six times now. Each time you've managed to claw your way back from the brink of death, only catching glimpses of a shadowy figure at the edges of your vision. But now, with your most recent near death experience, a gunshot that missed your heart by milimeters, you find... you can see Death. And... he may not be as scary as his title suggests.