my name is death.

and i am here to collect.

last year, your husband took his last breath;

last year, your daughter finally felt like it was too much to be perfect.

it was supposed to be your end, too.

the losses were supposed to push you over the edge—

of your mind’s zoo,

of the nearby pier’s ledge.

you were never meant to survive.

between work, bills, and a single child left,

you were meant to take the dive.

i am here to collect because your life was theft.

you robbed me of my rightful sword

and sneered as you snapped it in half.

dear, i am your lord.

and yet, at me, you cried out in a laugh.

it has been so long since the time

when you would have accepted my knife,

for your love of a forever nighttime

made you desperate to end your life.

but being a glorious king,

i waited. for there was more loss to wreak.

for you, a purgatory i wanted to bring.

with greedy eyes, i wanted you to watch you grow weak.

and now i am here to collect,

but suddenly you are not so desperate anymore.

your mind no longer feels the usual neglect;

your body does not wear scarlet stains as it did before.

i am here to collect,

but you are ready.

with an army of support to protect,

with one amazing son to keep you steady.

i am here to collect,

but your heart’s ashes have blossomed into a flower.

armed with love and self-respect,

you have risen above my fatal power.

April would never forget that sound; the sound of a thousand freight trains crashing around her. She clenched her eyes shut even more as she held tight to pipes under the sink. She could feel her heart beating fast against her chest as she held on for dear life.

It had all happened so fast. The wind picked up. A siren rang out. Jonah had pulled her into the bathroom and underneath the sink, wrapping himself around her. Then the tornado ripped through their home, almost lifting the entire roof off the house. 

It wasn't the house that she was most worried about though; it was the barn. Jonah didn't know this but April had recently taken all of their money out of the bank and stored it in a small safe in the barn. She hid it under a dilapidated tractor. They had been planning to run away together to start fresh after being told they were getting kicked out from her Uncle's house. That money was all they had left and it was right in the path of a deadly twister.

Suddenly the winds stopped and everything became quiet. The tornado had moved along, taking half of the house with it. April and Jonah got up and made their way through what once was a wall into the living room. The house was a disaster, just like their lives had become in the last few weeks.

When Jonas lost his job, April thought she could pick up extra hours at the diner to pay off the rent. Surely her Uncle wouldn't kick her out, right? Wrong. The scumbag noticed she was one day past due and down came the gavel. She was given two weeks to pack up and move out. 

The front door was hanging open. Taking a deep breath and nodding at each other for reassurance, the couple walked out the door. Outside was chaos. Jonah's eyes betrayed the terror and worry he felt looking at the shambles that had been normal suburban homes just ten minutes before. Almost every building on the street was torn away.

April, however, was not worried. She looked toward the the right to see red barn and gasped in surprise. It was still standing and completely in one piece. She took off towards it and entered the structure, stepping around the fallen rusted tools.

Diving under the tractor, April dug out the safe. She put in the three-digit code, Jonah's birthday, and it popped open. Inside were nicely stacked piles of bills. She signed heavily.

"What are you doing?" Jonas asked from the barn doorway, "It's not safe in here, come on."

"Baby," she responded, slowing picking up the small safe, "Everything is going to be alright."