Death Sends His Love

It started on a Wednesday. Belladonna found a crudely wrapped present on her bed. She had no clue as to how it got there, but it was there. The wrapping paper was black with a red, poorly tied bow around the package. Carefully, Belladonna picked it up, and yelped when she opened it. Inside was a dead snake, with a black rose as well as a red hand painted card.

Hesitantly, Belladonna picked up the card.

"This is a present of my love,

You're my angel sent from above

I am Death,

And you are blessed,

With my eternal love.

-Death"

Belladonna screamed and soon heard footsteps swiftly approaching her room.

"Bell, what is—AHH!" screamed her mother. "Who- who would do this…?" Belladonna, who usually called herself Bell, wordlessly handed her the red card. "A black rose…?"

Bell, who had yet to find her voice, nodded once before breaking down in tears.

"Death? Is this some sort of- of sick joke, Bell?" asked her mum, Maeve who pulled Bell into a hug.

"I have no clue; mum I have no clue…" Bell murmured into her mother's shoulder. "Who- who could be so….sick so… perverted… I'm scared mum, I'm scared."

~/~

They decided not to call the police yet. They didn't want to make a big deal out of it. But it continued. The second time was a Saturday. Belladonna came home with her friend, Simoe, and found another crudely wrapped present on her bed. This time it was wrapped in red paper with black broken hearts on it. There was a black bow this time and the black rose was tapped to it. The rose held many thorns that had a red substance on the ends.

Belladonna saw it immediately, and stepped back.

"Sim, Sim… It's another one…" Murmured Bell.

"Another one what? Whatever it is, you should open it... Go on…" said Simoe encouragingly.

Belladonna reluctantly did as Simoe said. Inside she found dead spiders, dozens of them. There also was another hand painted card. It was black with a bleeding heart on it, and not the flower. There was also another black rose inside, with no thorns. Belladonna puzzled over it a bit, why there were thorns on one, but not the other, but in the end decided it didn't matter. She picked up the card and read it. It was a poem like the last one.

"You didn't like the snake,

That made my heart ache,

But I thought you might enjoy

A different kind of toy

So I bought you spiders

In hope you'll love this outsider

I love you more than I love Death

And you're as pretty as baby's breath

You're really divine

I wish you were mine,

The girl who stole my heart."

The card was signed with one jagged word, "Death".

Belladonna was paralyzed in fear. Not of the spiders, but at the fact that some one would send her spiders. Dead spiders. Oh, how she loathed spiders, dead or alive. They weren't scary, no, she just didn't like them. They were gross. This "Death" person, despite stalking her, obviously didn't know of her distaste for spiders.

"Spiders? Bell? Who is this 'Death' person?" To say Simoe was scared for her friend was an understatement. She was terrified. Who would do this? Who would spend so much time, killing spiders? For what purpose was he –if it even was a he— sending Skye these things… And what was that about a snake?

"Simoe, I didn't tell you, because I didn't want to scare you, but some one sent me a dead snake this passed Wednesday. I- I didn't know what to do. So my mum and I ignored it. We disposed of the snake, and thought it might just be a joke. But… but now I don't know… Why…?" by the time Bell finished she was crying, and Simoe didn't know what to do. What could she do?

"Bell," said Simoe slowly. "Bell, we have to call the police. We have to. Do you have the other card?"

Bell nodded wordlessly, tears streaming down her face. Bell was glad she never wore makeup, it would look horrible right now, it would be smeared all over her face, as she had rubbed her eyes a few times. She bit her lip.

~/~

Bella and Simoe phoned Maeve before they called the police, and Maeve came home as soon as she hung up the phone. When she got home she immediately called for her daughter and her daughter's friend.

"Another one?" Maeve asked her daughter, who replied with a small nod. "Call the police."

~/~

The police arrived in a timely manor, however they weren't much help. They dusted for finger prints but found none other than Maeve, Belladonna's and Simoe's. Nor did they find any other remnants of someone who may have been there without permission.

"Sorry, Ma'am, there's nothing we can find," said one of the officers. "We searched but found nothing out of the ordinary, but please, give us a call if this happens again."

The three females nodded numbly, wondering how some one could come into their house and not leave anything behind. Not even a finger print, or a hair. There were no foot prints in the garden under the window in Skye's room, which while being on the main floor, was rather high. It made no sense to them, but they were determined to figure it out.

~/~

More "gifts" came, and they ignored them, only to have them explode after being thrown in the garbage, so they decided they had to open them, or risk the house burning down in a fire.

The next "gift" came on a Tuesday. It was wrapped in shiny red wrapping paper with a black bow. It was still wrapped rather sloppily, but it was better than before, as if "Death" was improving his gift wrapping abilities. There was no black rose by it this time, but Bell knew there would be one inside the box and briefly wondered if there would be thorns.

"Mum!" she cried in a small terrified voice as soon as she saw it, and her mother knew exactly what had happened.

"Open it Belladonna, you know what will happen if we don't…" murmured Maeve.

Bell carefully pulled off the bow and took off the wrapping paper, inside the box were dozens of thorns, a black rose, and a card.

"Read it Bell…" prompted Maeve.

"You rejected my love

And ignored the dove

I sent to you to prove I care

You didn't even open the blood soaked teddy bear

But I'll try again and again

And even then,

You'll be in my heart."

Like the other two cards she'd seen, this card was signed in a jagged script, but this time, there was a post script.

"I am Death,

Nothing more, nothing less

I have known you for your entire life

I don't mean to cause you strife,

But one day you'll know who I am

And everyone else be damned."

~/~

Bell was a very smart girl, and had good intuition. She was also very artistic. She was quiet and shy around most, so she wondered if "Death" was in love with the quiet, shy Belladonna, or the vibrant, fun, loud Bell that she was around her mother and Simoe.

As Belladonna pondered whether "Death" loved her quiet self or loud self, she also wondered if he found her attractive. She was 5"7' and had shoulder length bleached blond hair, with bangs, it was long at the front and then short at the back, she had dull (in her opinion) gray eyes and wore no make up. She was plump, more so than most girls, but she wondered if "Death" liked that. She wasn't what seemed to be "Death"'s type, judging by what he sent her, he seemed to like morbid things, and she would expect someone like that to be attracted to some one who wore black all the time, and was the stereo-typical Goth, whereas she wore mostly green tops with dark blue or black jeans.

Bell was rather glad she hadn't opened the third or fourth gift, even if they exploded. She didn't want to touch a blood soaked teddy bear or a dead dove. Who would enjoy those? But as for the fifth gift, why would someone send her thorns? Wouldn't you get pricked a lot? And what about that message? "I am Death… Nothing more nothing less." She wondered what that meant… How could some one be death? And how old was Death, if he had known her, her whole life? Could he be her age, slightly older, or much older? How will she find out who he is?

Bell shook her head and decided to worry about it later.

~/~

Maeve was worried about Belladonna. She even took time off her work at the office to keep an eye on the house, but the day she did, they still found a "gift" on Bell's bed. Bell wasn't home, so Maeve decided to wait until Belladonna came home.

Bell came home at three, and her mother told her about the present from Death on her bed. Bell ran up the stairs and looked on her bed. This time it was wrapped with black paper with red criss-crosses on it, and a red bow. It was wrapped poorly like the other ones, yet slightly better. Maeve mused that maybe he was learning how to wrap gifts better.

Bell took a deep breath and carefully unwrapped the present, taking off the bow first, and then picking at the tape. Inside was a large crystal ball with a dark red liquid inside that Bell had a feeling was blood. The ball was the size of a basket ball and the crystal was only half an inch thick. She picked up the black rose, this time without thorns and set it aside. She then picked up the hand painted card and read it.

"In this sphere is your blood

I give it to you to show my love

I see thorns went amiss

So I chose this

In hope that you'll love me as well.

-Death"

The police came again that day. They did a test on the blood and it was, in fact, Bell's. This shocked her, as she hadn't bled that much in a long time. She didn't know where "Death" got her blood from, but she wondered if maybe "Death" had some sort of supernatural power.

Bell laughed at her latest idea about "Death", it was preposterous! Nobody has special powers, there's no such thing. Yet she wondered how else he could have gotten her blood. She had gone for blood tests, sure, but never did they take enough blood to fill up a basket ball sized sphere.

~/~

Days past and soon even weeks past without another gift from "Death", and strangely, Bell missed the morbid gifts, which had come to be one of the few constants in her life. Her only other constant was her mum. Because they moved a lot it was difficult for Bell to make friends, but Simoe was slowly becoming a constant as well, which Skye was thankful for. There was another girl Bell wanted to get to know too, named Dayna, who was Simoe's cousin that moved into town recently from a small rural community.

Bell's mum, on the other hand was very relieved that Bell hadn't gotten a gift from "Death" in over two weeks, as it had been a weekly thing until then. But she noticed that her daughter seemed to be acting strangely after the second week came without a disturbing gift, and she wondered if maybe, Bell liked the gifts in a perverse way. Maeve, however, didn't think it was wise to confront her daughter about it.

So Bell was slightly surprised and perversely pleased when she received yet another gift from "Death". This time it was in a blood red gift bag with black tissue paper, and a card and a black rose sticking out. The card was yet again hand painted. She opened the card and read the poem.

"I'm sorry you've waited so long

But I realized my gifts were all wrong

So I came up with a simple ploy

To research what someone else might enjoy

And I came up with this

And you I missed

Because you're the girl I love."

Hesitantly, Bell peered into the bad and inside was a black glass rose. She pulled out the real black rose and placed it in a box where she kept the others, and placed the glass rose on her bedside table.

~/~

Bell's mum hadn't been home then, but when she arrived, Skye came stomping down the stairs.

"Mum," said Bell. "I received another 'gift'. But... it wasn't… anything dead or morbid. It was a black glass rose…" She showed her the card, which Maeve dutifully read.

"Belladonna," She said after thinking for a bit.. "Bella, what if this "Death" person honestly thought you would enjoy those gifts… What if he thought- what if he thought that you would enjoy that stuff because he enjoys that stuff? What if… What if he really is Death? What if he isn't someone calling himself "Death" what if that's what he really is? Remember that one poem—"I am Death, nothing more nothing less"? Remember it? What if it was the truth…?"

"Mum, you've lost it. Maybe the person is morbid, but not "Death" you can't be death. You just… You can't…" Bell trailed off in thought. But she wondered what it? What if he was? Maybe she should ask him? But how? Well, he said he was always watching her, so maybe she could leave a note to him on her bed before she went to school tomorrow, and maybe she would find another gift. She smiled at the thought of another good gift.

"You're right, Bell. I'm being silly." Maeve said looking relieved, not realizing her previous words would end up having a serious impact on her daughter

"Maybe we should write him a note mum, a note asking who he is?" mumbled Bell.

"Don't Bell! We don't know who he is, or what kind of person he is." Cautioned Maeve.

But that night Bell didn't listen. She felt compelled to write him—or it if her mother was right—a letter. She decided to write her message as a poem, like "Death" did.

"Death it is me

I just wanted to see

If you were a person

And if the gifts will worsen

My mother thinks you're more than you appear,

Which is an idea that is queer

However I think she maybe right,

So that's why to you I write."

She liked the poem as it was to the point and even though the ending was a little off, but she didn't care, and she didn't think "Death" would either. She signed her name in her chicken scratch like writing, and wondered if "Death" would notice how lacking her penmanship was compared to his.

~/~

The next day she got a reply from "Death", which raised more questions than it answered.

"Death's" next letter was even stranger than usual, and Bell didn't know what to make of it.

"To answer your question, yes

I am Death

But that is all I am

I am not human, I am merely damned

I am a nonentity that's in love

Every thing I've said above,

Is true

So without further ado

I give you my gift of love"

Bell picked up her dictionary and looked up the word "nonentity".

"A person regarded as being of no importance or significance… Nonexistence… Something that does not exist or that exists only in the imagination." Bell read out loud from the dictionary. "How the heck can he be a nonentity? That's bloody damn well impossible!"

Bell decided not to share her discovery with her mother, or the fact that she, albeit reluctantly, had come to came to care about the nonentity that was "Death".

She didn't know, nor did she care why she grew attached to the nonentity, but she had. She started up a correspondence with "Death" and he sent her more gifts such as a snow globe with a black rose in it, a painting of a black rose that "Death" himself painted, and more black rose themed gifts in general. When she asked him why the black rose he said it was because black roses symbolized death, and that's what he was and he wanted her to remember him. Which Bell thought was very sweet.

~/~

One day, though, she got an idea. Death sent her gifts, so why didn't she send him gifts?

At first Bell didn't know what to give him, but soon she figured that "Death" would like the kind of gifts that he had been sending at first. However Bell didn't know where to get a dead snake, or a bunch of blood in a ball, or even a box full of thorns. A blood soaked teddy bear was possible, but she didn't want to lose that much blood or use something that he had given her. So she decided to put her artistic abilities to work and drew him a sketch of herself in black medieval style dress. She colored it with a pencil crayons ranging from different shades of red to shades to gray and black. It looked perfect to her, so she rolled it up and sealed it shut with wax from a blood red candle. She then put it on her desk for the night.

~/~

The next day she went to school and left the drawing on her bed with a note in the form of a poem. When she got back from school she saw, to her delight, that death had sent another present.

She grinned and opened the black clad package that was surprisingly well wrapped, considering how crudely the first few gifts were wrapped. Inside were the usual now thornless black rose and a beautiful wood carving of her holding a rose that she knew, if the carving had been colored, would be black. The carving was only eight inches tall, but it had as much detail as the real thing. She smiled and took out the hand painted card and read it.

"My beloved Bell

I know that my gifts are something on which your thoughts dwell

So after seeing your beautiful art

That I loved with all my heart

I decided to do something for you

So without further ado, I give you

Yet another token of my love."

Bell smiled after reading the short poem. It was just like the others, short and sweet (considering it came from "Death").

~/~

For her next gift, she decided to paint a picture with various shades of red and black, using her own blood for the deepest red. She smiled as she made a slit on her wrist, and let the blood drip onto a plate. Eventually, she grew dizzy from blood loss, and decided to patch up her wrist with gauze and medical tape.

She took out her black water color paint, and started painting a picture of a snake coming out of the eye socket of a skull with her blood and paint.

~/~

"Death" in return sent her a black and white sketch of Deadly Nightshade- the plant she was named after- as well as a small bit of the real thing. She thought it was sweet and was overjoyed at the warning in the poem, as it was proof, as far as she was concerned, that "Death" might want her dead. "Eat not the fruit of the flower my dear, For if you do for your life you shall fear," is what it said.

As time passed Bell fell deeper and deeper in love with "Death", and sent him more and more gifts, such as a dead raven with some Deadly Nightshade (also known as Belladonna) in it's mouth and a matching painting, and even a cobweb wrapped carving of a bell.

"Death" in return sent his usual black roses and poems, but other things such as a carving of her name in what appeared to be a bone, a black and white "everlasting" flower of some sort, and other gifts that Bell welcomed eagerly.

~/~

As Bell fell for "Death" she longed for a way to be with him. She knew it was possible but she had no clue how to go about it. How could she be with him? He wasn't a person, so she couldn't just waltz up to him and hug him or anything like that. She would have asked him how she could be with him, but she wanted it to be a surprise. Was it even possible? She wondered. And then one day a thought hit her; what if I died? And as soon as the thought hit her, she knew it would work. It had to. But how to kill herself? She didn't want to jump off a cliff, that was too much like that stupid book she read, Twilight or something. Cutting herself was too… insane and while it could be very artistic, she didn't think her mom would like the sight. So that also ruled out stabbing herself. Hanging herself would be too… ordinary, unexciting, common. It wouldn't be dramatic enough. She couldn't get in a car crash, that could end up hurting many people, and she didn't want to hurt anyone else.

The final thing she came up with was poison. She would kill herself with poison. But what type of poison? Something like ant poison? That was too… undignified. So a plant then, she decided. And what plant was better to kill herself with than her namesake? Yes, deadly nightshade was perfect.

She prepared it the next night and added the sap to grape Kool-Aid. She drank it and then went to bed. Before it took effect, she thought about her mom, how sad she would be, she thought about Simoe, and how distraught she would be. She thought about many things, like how happy she would be with "Death", and how she would be with him forever. But her last thoughts were thoughts of doubt. What if it didn't work? What if she just died, and just rotted in the ground? Or what if it did work, but "Death" stopped loving her? What if this was a mistake? She would have contemplated this longer, but she fell asleep, and would never, ever wake again.

~/~

Her funeral was on a Wednesday, exactly six months after her first gift from "Death". It was a small funeral, not many people there, just close friends and family. But it was a very somber occasion.

Maeve was in tears. What drove her to poison herself, she wondered. Why did she kill herself? Was the stalking too much? Was Bell some how unhappy and she didn't notice? Or was there some other reason? Bell had been acting so different over the last few months, so distant. She used to talk to Maeve all the time, but a few months after the stalking started she stopped. Maeve didn't know what to say, but she knew one thing for sure, "Death" better be happy.

But "Death" wasn't happy. For Belladonna did not join him. No, she would merely rot in the earth. And "Death" was upset. When he had been summoned to take a life, he never imagined it would be Bell's. He knew that someday, he'd have to, but not this soon. No, "Death" was not happy. He was wishing he was an entity, he wished he was a person. He wished he could die.

He watched as they lowered Belladonna's coffin into the grave. He watched as friends and family cried. He watched as they left. When they were all gone, he drifted over to her grave and read it.

"Here lies Belladonna Skye Robinson

A free spirit,

A beloved daughter,

And a girl who died too soon.

February 23rd 1993 – December 4th 2008"

Death lowered his hood and revealed a dark, shapeless, swirling mass of colors. A dark slash of black swept across his lower face into what was unmistakably a melancholic smile, and swiped his dark, shapeless hand across the grave and the epitaph changed.

"Here lies Belladonna Skye Robinson

A free spirit

A beloved daughter

A girl who died too soon,

And the only person Death did not want to claim.

February 23rd 1993 – December 4th 2008"

"Death" stood up, snapped his fingers and a bouquet of black roses appeared on the grave. He lifted his hood again and turned, disappearing in a swirl of black mist.

-Fin-

AN: I edited a bit of it, fixed some mistakes and such. I apologize for the fact that at first I switched between the name "Skye" and the name "Bell". I had originally wanted her named Skye, but then my friend gave me the idea for Deadly Nightshade, and I decided to change her name to Belladonna, another name for that plant.
Calling her Bell was a bit hard. It felt more natural to call her Bella, but I hate that name, and not just because of twilight. Please forgive my errors, as I don't have a beta.
Bell's mum, Maeve, is named for my best friend, who helped a lot with this story, so a big shout out to her!