[ WP ] You begin to have the sneaking suspicion that Death *likes* you

It began with my mother when I was five. She'd been sick for along time. We knew it was coming, but it still hurt like hell. At the funeral I'd been dressed like a funeral Barbie. That was when I first saw the shadow. 
 
 The boy two doors down went when I was 12, whom I'd had a huge crush on. They say it was a heart abnormality, but I knew Geoff. He got all red ribbons on track and field. He could jump around for hours on his trampoline, and was our school's resident touch football champion. It was just too odd. 
 
 The shadow that appeared in the corner of my eye seemed to be there just a second too long. It was just a little odd... it seemed oddly Geoff-shaped. I somehow felt comforted. 
 
 Buffy, my lovely little cat, died when I was 14. She'd had diabetes and we were forced to put her down. I felt resentment to the shadow when it appeared this time. I sent all the nasty thoughts in my young mind towards it. I wanted it gone. I wanted my life tainted by this darknedd no more. 
 
 The shadow proved its usefulness to me when I was 17. Shelby Skarlovik had been a thorn in my side for far too long. `` Hey, it's death's best friend.'' She used to sneer. 
 
 `` You have no idea.'' I had thought. The thought of her fancy car wrapped around a big oak was all too satisfying to me. When the shadow came I showered it in praises; of thoughts that I can not repeat. 
 
 When I was 30, I was ready for it. My boss was a rotten scumbag who had tripped over his Mistress' stiletto and fell down a flight of stairs. I hid my smirk at the funeral with the program. I would finally be getting the promotion I'd been craving since I'd started my job. 
 
 This time when the shadow came, I was ready. 
 
 I turned to embrace it.
