The Space Between

The Space Between

         My consciousness returned to me. The raindrops above my face stayed suspended in the air, never falling. I looked down at my bloody corpse splayed out on the sidewalk. Not too far from my body the police by the courthouse had their hands firmly planted on the handles of their holstered pistols. I peeked inside the car on the road and saw my assassin. He was an overweight middle-aged man with long shaggy hair. He didn’t look like a killer to me, he reminded me of someone who ran a food truck. Past him, I caught a glimpse of the crowd through the window on the other side of the car. I got closer and saw the expressions of horror frozen on their faces.
         There was a tall man who stood among them, opposed to the world. He was a handsome blonde man dressed in an expensive black suit and tie. He took a cigarette from his chest pocket while time remained motionless around him. He pulled out a cheap plastic white lighter from his pants pocket and lit his cigarette.
         I called to him, “Who are you?”
         He put the lighter back in his pocket and strolled over to the corpse, “I don’t have a name, most people just call me death,” he said casually.
         “What’s happening here?”
         “You’re in between life and death. I’ll help you go where you’re supposed to. Before we go, I wanna know if you got any last words.”
         “I was a man of faith, I’m not afraid of where I will end up. I fought for what’s right. I gave my life trying to deliver justice to evil men. I have no regrets, what more can I say?”
         “What about Sophia?” he said before taking another drag.
         “My ex-wife?” I sighed, “We had problems like any couple does. She fell out of love. She took custody of my daughter Olivia and left. It was a shitty situation but she made her choices.”
         “How many holidays did you miss for work? How many phone calls did you miss? How many chances did she give you?”
         “She knew what it was going to be like after I took this job. I had to do this, no other prosecutor in the state wanted to touch this case.”
         “Is that the truth? Or were you just looking for recognition?”
         “My career could’ve used the recognition that's for sure, but it was never about the fame. When I was fresh out of law school I only thought about what was best for Olivia. I took all the high profile cases I could, I wanted to give her the childhood I never had.”
         “But you signed away your rights to see Olivia during the divorce. You fought so vehemently in court trials yet you never so much as asked for partial custody. Did you even care about Olivia?”
         “Of course I loved her. I just thought she’d be better off living with her mom since she’s around more. I still get to see Olivia. You act like I abandoned my family.”
         The man dropped his cigarette to the ground. His blue eyes were devoid of warmth as he stared through my being. He spoke vehemently, “You’ve been lying to yourself. Your pursuit to support your family was corrupted by your pride. Your faith was tarnished by greed, you never touched a bible since you got your first paycheck. You blamed everyone else for your problems yet you refused to take responsibility for your actions. You drowned out your sorrows with alcohol and waited for things to get better. The truth is they were never going to be better because you were never better”
         “I know I wasn’t happy. Why are you telling me this? At the end of it all, when there’s nothing left, why now?”
         “You are a good man but you’ve lived a life without care. I’m telling you this because you have a chance to change. You're not dead and you need to wake up”
         My body was stiff and weak. The hospital lights were blinding but there was a shadow hanging over me. My eyes adjusted and I made out my daughter’s face scrunched up with tears. For the first time in ten years, I cried.