"It has been too long since you've visited. Here, let me grab the door, invite you in, offer you coffee and toast. Our conversation will be formal at first. You'll loosen up after the first mug you finish. I'll share the developments in my life since we last spoke. We'll laugh after that. We'll reminisce and swap stories and talk too much for too long.
When it the sun begins to set across from the front porch where we sit, you'll mention that it's about time you depart. The moment I've been dreading for a lifetime will come and, strangely enough, I no longer fear it. I guess that's what happens when you spend years gnashing your teeth about it. When that moment finally comes there's just no point fighting it anymore. You have to stand up, look it in the face, and give in to what must happen.
So you knock back one final swallow of the joe in your cup and get to your feet. Me, I take my time. Not because I'm scared. Because I want to revel in this moment and remember it.
But the time for dilly-dallying is over. I'm ready to walk on. I'm ready to visit another home. I'm ready to shut this door and move on to something new. So let's go, old friend, and find ourselves a frontier only you can show me."
There was no hesitation on the visitor's part. He only nodded and pointed down the gravel road leading away from my house. That was our destination.
It would be an awfully long walk.
At least I had a companion for the journey, even if Death wasn't the ideal partner.
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