[INTRO — NO MUSIC / CLOCK TICKING] 3:11 A.M. I woke up… and somebody was sitting in the chair across from my bed. Didn’t scream. Didn’t need to. I knew that silhouette. MAN: … You. STRANGER: Me. MAN: How the fuck did you get in my house? STRANGER: You still asking questions you already know the answers to. MAN: Nah. Not tonight. Bar. Highway. My car. Every fucking time you disappear. Tonight you’re telling me who you are. [LONG PAUSE] The stranger leaned forward. STRANGER: Okay. [BEAT DROPS] [VERSE 1] Same black jacket. Same calm eyes. Same motherfucker who’d been showing up at the worst moments of my life. MAN: What’s your name? STRANGER: I’ve had thousands. MAN: Give me one. STRANGER: You already have. MAN: Death? [BEAT CUTS] He smiled. Not evil. Almost tired. DEATH: There you go. MAN: … So all this time— DEATH: Yeah. MAN: The bar? DEATH: You weren’t ready. MAN: The highway? DEATH: Still weren’t. MAN: Then why are you here now? Death looked toward the clock. 3:12. Then back at me. DEATH: Because now… you are. [HOOK — HAUNTING SOUL SAMPLE] There he is… Standing by the door. Same man I’ve seen a hundred times before. Thought he was a stranger. Thought he lived inside my mind. But Death had been beside me… waiting for his time. [VERSE 2] MAN: Nah. Fuck that. I’m not going anywhere. DEATH: Everybody says that. MAN: I got family. DEATH: Everybody does. MAN: People need me. DEATH: I know. MAN: Then come back later! He looked at me almost confused. DEATH: You think that’s how this works? MAN: You came back before! DEATH: No. I didn’t come for you before. [SILENCE] That sentence hit harder than anything he’d ever said. MAN: Then why were you there? DEATH: Because you kept looking for me. [DRUMS RETURN] [VERSE 3] I couldn’t speak. He stood up slowly. Walked toward the window. DEATH: Every time you said you were done… I heard you. Every time pain convinced you nothing waited tomorrow… I heard you. Every night you stared into darkness wondering if disappearing would finally make things quiet— I was there. MAN: Then why didn’t you take me? Death turned around. DEATH: Because wanting the pain to stop isn’t always the same thing as wanting me. [TOTAL SILENCE] MAN: Then why tonight? DEATH: Tonight isn’t your choice. [VERSE 4 — THE CLOCK] Tick. 3:13. MAN: How? DEATH: Does knowing change anything? MAN: I NEED TO KNOW! DEATH: Why? So you can bargain with it? Change one little thing? Call somebody? Stay awake? Take a different road? You humans always think if you understand the door… you can keep it closed. MAN: Please. Death stared at me. Then finally: DEATH: Your heart. MAN: My heart? DEATH: It’s already happening. I put my hand against my chest. Nothing hurt. MAN: I feel fine. DEATH: I know. That’s why I’m here first. [LOW HEARTBEAT ENTERS] [VERSE 5] Now fear hit. Real fear. Not fear of darkness. Not anxiety. Not some imaginary monster underneath the bed. Fear of leaving. MAN: Give me five minutes. DEATH: For what? MAN: I need to call somebody. DEATH: They’re sleeping. MAN: I’ll wake ’em up! DEATH: And say what? MAN: I DON’T FUCKING KNOW! Goodbye! I love you! Anything! Death looked down. For the first time… he looked almost sorry. DEATH: That’s why people should say those things before they meet me. [SAMPLE FLIPS] [VERSE 6] MAN: Please. One phone call. He shook his head. MAN: You gave me chances before. DEATH: Life gave you chances. Don’t confuse us. MAN: Then what the fuck was the point?! All that healing? All those nights fighting myself? Learning to live again? And now you show up?! DEATH: That’s exactly why it mattered. MAN: HOW?! DEATH: Because eventually dying doesn’t make living pointless. It makes living expensive. Every ordinary morning you ignored. Every meal around a table. Every stupid joke. Every argument you eventually forgave. Every hug you thought could wait until tomorrow— Those were the fortune. MAN: I need more. DEATH: Everybody does. [BRIDGE — ALMOST SPOKEN] MAN: Are you God? DEATH: No. MAN: The devil? DEATH: No. MAN: Then what happens after you? Death smiled. DEATH: That’s above my pay grade. MAN: You’re joking? DEATH: You look like you needed one. For some reason… I laughed. Maybe because I was terrified. Maybe because after everything… Death wasn’t what scared me anymore. Leaving was. [FINAL VERSE] 3:14. Death walked toward the bedroom door. DEATH: It’s time. MAN: Wait. He stopped. MAN: At the bar… you said, “Let’s go.” DEATH: Yeah. MAN: Say it again. Death looked at me. DEATH: You sure? I looked around the room. Pictures. Clothes. Everything I’d spent years calling mine. Funny. None of it looked important anymore. MAN: Yeah. Death extended his hand. DEATH: Let’s go. [ALL DRUMS STOP] I reached toward him— Then stopped.
