Death Changes His Mind

      A billow of icy clouds rose up, and from it emerged Death. Pale skin, silver hair, and armor as black as night made him seem foreign next to the girl. She was a summer breeze that warmed the heart, he was a winter blizzard that chilled to the bone.
       Trembling with conflict, Death knelt at her side, tossing aside his black cape, letting it trail into the wind. Already, the flowers sprung up around the girl and the darkness from Death competed against one another. Each of them struggling for a state of equilibrium--his icy shadows crushing her wonderfully lit petals, and her petals planting themselves in his shadows. Both sides growing and expanding, while simultaneously shrinking and waning.  He knew what he had to do. It was his duty and he was supposed to accomplish just that. But something made him pause. Something about this girl sent him off into a whirlwind of internal conflict. By simply gazing at that girl, Death himself felt emotions he had never before sensed.
           His gloved fingers hovered inches above her face. Just one touch and it would all be over. He would complete his quest, and she would... He paused and attempted at tearing his gaze away. Though one look back into her glowing face made him transfixed. Beauty emanated from within her. He pulled back, hating himself, wilting like one of her fading flowers from the crush of his own self-doubt. He felt worthless and utterly ugly. Scarred, dangerous, and unloved. But he noticed that the nearer he was to this girl, the more the pain dissolved.
            He waited for the internal battle to resolve itself. For a while, it did not. Eventually, one side grew more powerful. Death could not fight it. This foreign sensation was winning him over. Deliberately, he pulled back his shaking hand and let out a deep, lonely sigh. He knew the consequences. He knew the price he would have to pay for not fulfilling his duty. But there was no way he could bring himself to do it.
           Slowly, he pulled back into the darkness, casting one more nostalgic glance at the girl before turning and treading away into the snow.