[ WP ] '' Death extends his hand , smiling , “ Deal ? ” ''

The little girl lay on the floor, clutching in her small hands a stuffed bunny; a sad little thing - torn stitches, blue fur turned grey from dust and age - picked up from a box someone else had discarded, not unlike the girl herself. 
 
 She could feel a dark presence in her room. It did n't bother her. She'd felt it before, when the boy who was her brother was finally taken to a place where that woman could n't hurt him anymore. It will soon be her turn, and she will be free. 
 
 Her blood was soaking into the stuffed bunny's fur. She frowned. It was the only thing she had of him. Her tiny fingers desperately tried wiping away the blood, only to spread it further. 
 
 Death looked down at the little girl. Death remembers her. She'd clutched onto the boy whose soul he'd come to collect, like she was clutching the stuffed toy now, and looked right at Death with her piecing green eyes. Her voice was strong and commanding, unusual for a girl so young. Protect him. And Death had taken him away. 
 
 Death has existed since the beginning of time; seen everything. Become numb to everything. But in that moment, Death felt a spark of injustice that the woman who'd broken the poor boy would continue to breathe, while the boy would never find out what sort of man he'd grow up to be. And those eyes… Death would never forget those eyes. 
 
 She was fading fast. Death was running out of time. She opened her eyes and looked up. When she saw who'd come, the most beautiful smile Death had ever seen spread across her face. And in that moment, Death made a choice. 
 
 `` Promise you will fight for every moment, fight to be alive, and I will take the woman in the other room in your stead.'' 
 
 Death extends a hand, smiling, `` Deal?'' 
 
 A myriad of emotions flash across her face. Disappointment, anger, weariness, grief, and finally, fiery determination. She lifts up her arm with every bit of strength she has left, and takes Death's hand. 

