My friend, for example, asks: “When Lady Death comes calling, let me know in good time. I want to meet her, shake her hand, and invite her in. I want to talk to her about life and her answer.”
She never comes alone, the Grim Reaper accompanies her. My friend will try to make good use of the time with them, perhaps playing cards or drinking a good wine. Perhaps Mrs. Death will say coldly to her, “Your time has come, there’s nothing to be done.”
I know my friend will reassure her and say: “I’ll gladly accompany you to the bus stop, you can come back another time.” She doesn't want to just leave and leave everything unfinished and messy. She insists: “I feel good, I have strength and many ideas to realize. I want to see the rose bushes grow in the garden, walk across the meadows, and rest under the dense foliage of a tree.“
Ms. Death doesn’t give her any time and wants to set off with her immediately. Her companion, the Grim Reaper, is more affable, he would like to spend the whole afternoon playing cards and drinking good wine. In the evening, when the sun goes down and the sky turns pink on the horizon, they say to her: “You know your way, the hour comes for everyone, get up, you don’t need to take anything with you, go! You’ve had enough time to live and create, now hand over your place to others.”
It is said that Lady Death is wise and very experienced, but sometimes also unfair. It is said that she can be quick-tempered, and therefore one should not take advantage of her good nature. She has been seen exhausted, and then she realizes: “Humans do not respect nature and their own species; they destroy the delicate texture of life.”
Sometimes she wreaks havoc out of pure anger at the human race, mowing down the poor and the rich, the old and the young, the military, workers, farmers, students, merchants, politicians, clerics, and then Lady Death sweeps through the streets like a madwoman. The work becomes too much for her; she and her friend, the Grim Reaper, simply cannot cope with so much sadness in the world, and she cries out for more reason among humans.
July 2021