Angel of death

Leah wiped away another tear. Rocking back and forth in her favorite rocking chair in the corner of the family room, she reflected on her life and her day alternately. The soft lamp light highlighted her soft features and green eyes. A lifetime of non stop stressing definitely left it’s mark on her face. She looked her 55 years.
Closing her eyes she couldn’t chase away that feeling of dread that had been hounding her for the past 24 hours.
It all began last night when she began to see, feel and hear it.
The shadows cast by the drapes on the green walls started taking forms unlike which she’d ever seen. Menacing yet casting a hypnotic spell. She sat there transfixed as they grew and shrunk with her pupils, morphing into fantastic shapes and images. The silence was holding her hostage as one of the shapes on the wall suddenly took the form of her Mother who died in her mid 50s some 25 years earlier, and then quickly shrunk back into another shape. It became clear to her that this is it. She remembered reading that people can sense the Malach Hamaves the day they die and she vividly recalled the uneasiness her mom felt the day before she died in her sleep. She felt her throat tighten as a sense of panic gripped her.
Then she heard the whispers, at first they were very faint then they got louder and clearer although she couldn’t make out what they were saying. They were frightening yet calming in a strange way.
She fell asleep in her chair and when she woke in the morning she tried her hardest to act normal not wanting to alarm her husband and children. She found her hand shaking as she sipped her coffee That dark presence was all around her. The whispers, the shadows were closing in. She avoided the phone, friends and even her favorite blogs and spent most of the day reflecting on her life and accomplishments.
She had a tough childhood and emerged a strong young woman. She wiped away tears as she remembered her moments of joy and grief. She wondered how her family and friends will react to her death and found herself growing very sad. She tried listening to music, not to hear those whispers but it just agitated her more. Wrapped in her favorite cashmere wrap she shivered, a woman alone with her fate. Darkness fell once again and she called her children, trying to keep her composure as she told them again and again that she loved them. The shadows returned once again dancing on the green walls restlessly. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she started penning a letter for her family.
She suddenly turned white as a ghost as she recalled…a conversation..
Oh my goodness!
Of course!
She grabbed the phone and dialed her son David number..misdialing twice in the process.
David..!..David
Come on..answer the PHONNEE!
“Hello..”
“David..!”
“Whatsup Ma?”
“Zeeskeit..remember yesterday”, she started breathlessly, “we were discussing Moishies Bar Mitzvah and you said something jokingly like..wouldnt it be funny if you don’t even make it to the Bar Mizvah after all you’ve been stressing over it..just before you got another call!”
“umm yea”
“David…Say CHAS VSHALOM!...say Bli Ayin Hora!!”
“huh?..ma come one..you know I don’t believe in that stuff…”
“JUST SAY IT!”

“ok..ok calm down Chas Vshalom ..Bli Ayin Horah”, he said with a chuckle.
Just then her husband opened the door and the light, chasing away the shadows, only to see his wife with her head back, utterly exhausted and relieved.


.