Death Speaks

I came across a somewhat neat short story as I was going through one of Jeffrey Archer's short story collections yesterday (To Cut a Long Story Short). Although I had read the book a few years back, I had almost forgotten all about this story. It is not an original Jeffrey Archer story, and originates somewhere from the middle east. The writer is not known.

For all of you who haven't read the story I am talking about, here is how it goes.

Death Speaks

There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to the market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the market-place I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture; now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the market-place and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.