There were some. Who wanted a painful death. Quite a few, in fact. Jose Alvarez, down in the warehouse, had asked for a painful death, and that was what The Death Bringer brought him. Jose and Ivan Pennant were having lunch out at the tables, just out from the main entrance, when Jose revealed this notion.

“Now, why would you want that?” Ivan asked. That’s when it dawned on him that he’d only half-chewed his sandwich. It sat, moist and lumpy on his tongue, nearly void of any flavor.

Jose’s face contorted, as though Ivan were the one at fault for his bizarre answer. He took a swig of his Vitamin Water and said, “Why wouldn’t I? If I’m going to go out, I’m going to go out big.” He paused and gazed out at the traffic going left and right. “Hell. I’d take one hell of a car accident.”

Ivan. Wasn’t one to make friends with his co-workers. He merely saw them as acquaintances. Individuals who he conversed with at work, and only work. He knew next to nothing about Jose Alvarez and didn’t much care to learn more, but he did think he was off. Especially after this revelation. “You’re insane,” he finally said.

Jose scoffed. “What? And you would want to go out like a chump? In your sleep? Or what? Terminal disease? I’ll tell you this much, Pennant. I’d much rather drown than endure cancer. This guy Bobby, in accounting, he did that, and no thank you.”

“I haven’t the slightest idea why one would want to endure cancer,” Ivan said with finality. His intention was to end the conversation, sway it in another direction. It worked. The remainder of their lunch consisted of sports talk.

About six months later, Jose Alvarez got the death he desired. It wasn’t a fire or a traffic accident. It had nothing to do with drowning. He’d gone camping with some co-workers, and one night a bear had a particular interest in his tent. Ivan had heard the details through work, for better or worse. Some exaggerated, some not so much, and those were the tidbits that scared him the most. Everyone he talked to said that he screamed even after his face had been removed. Some said he’d continued to scream after the bear removed his arms and legs…but not all.

He'd heard that one night during Jose’s dreams, The Death Bringer visited him. And in those lucid encounters, Jose told him that he wanted a painful death—one that people would remember. People remembered for better or worse, so Jose got what he desired. So…good for him, right?

Most people claimed to meet The Death Bringer in their dreams. Dreams, not nightmares. The Death Bringer would visit, and he would ask you how you wanted to transition from one world to another. Once someone was visited, they had roughly six months until their answer became answered. In rare cases, it was a year, but Ivan didn’t know anyone who’d lived past six months.

Years later, Ivan would get his visit from The Death Bringer. The job in which he’d met Jose was a lifetime ago; hell, when this happened, he couldn’t recount the last time he’d even thought of Jose. That was years ago, decades, in fact. The Death Bringer had visited most of his family from his generation and older (thankfully), as well as most of his friends. As well as Nora. Sweet and beautiful Nora, who managed to maintain her beauty as she aged, at least in Ivan’s eyes.

Ivan couldn’t tell what The Death Bringer wore, but it looked like a suit. His shoulders were angular, his arms and legs were a bit too straight. His voice was calm; Ivan had always heard that his voice was soothing.

“How would you like to die?” He asked.

Peacefully, I just want to see Nora. I would like to die in my sleep, if possible.

The Death Bringer smiled. Ivan couldn’t quite see it, not through the black distortion; he just somehow knew.

“That is what I’ll give you,” he said. “And you will love me for it.”

For the next six months, Ivan Pennant savored every moment. He would think of Emily’s smile as he went to bed every night. How it was the exact same as her mother, Nora’s. How it could light up the darkest rooms. He would go to sleep to the tune of his grandson Nate’s, laugh. Thinking about how there was so much life and wonder held within.

Ivan Pennant died peacefully in his sleep. Feeling nothing but love for Nora, Emily, and the grandson that he got to meet.

Love for the life that he was so lucky to endure.