He felt it was going to be a long night. Although he had been walking for quite a while, he was neither tired nor sleepy. He just kept pushing on through the dark, lonely night, wondering at the amazing silence surrounding him. All he heard were his own footsteps, his breathing and the rustle of his clothes as he moved through vast expanse stretching ahead.

here was no light, no sound, no sign of life around him A strange fear began to creep upon him, an uneasiness that enveloped his being. He quickened his steps as if the sun would rise sooner if he walked faster. He was almost stricken with panic now, breathing heavily, desperately wanting to get out of this God forsaken place, yearning for contact with some form of life, be it another human being, an animal, a bird, even an insect.

The wall suddenly rose in front of him. It was a high wall, made up of dark stones and he was surprised he had not seen it until he almost ran into it. He lifted up his head to see how high it went and saw something move on the very top. He almost screamed with fear but managed to control himself and he took a long careful look at the shape now standing motionless up at the top of the wall.

It was a woman, a young and beautiful woman, dressed in a black, sexy gown, her long white legs showing through generous slits, accentuating her slender waist and broad shoulders. He was relieved that he finally met another human being in this no man’s land, yet he could not help wonder what she was doing here. He hesitated for a while and his overwhelming desire to get out of this dreadful place finally took over his curiosity and whatever brief infatuation he may have felt for the woman on top of the wall.

“Excuse me for bothering you, but can you tell me how I can get out of here? I am quite lost.”
“There is no way out of here,” she replied matter of factly, “this is the end of the road. End of everything.”
“What do you mean, end of everything?”
“End of everything. End of meaning, too.”

He kept asking questions, hoping to get a straight answer but she kept on saying things that did not make any sense, repeating over and over that this was the end of it all.

He felt the panic rising again, as if her strange replies revealed what he had already suspected. But this couldn’t be; this was a frightening place allright and, yes, he almost worked himself into a hysteria but he was still in this world, wasn’t he? He had not walked into another dimension or magically got transported to another
world, did he? Soon, the sun would rise and shine its light upon the world, he would walk out of this place, see other people, and….
“She must be mad,” he thought to himself. Why would a woman, and in that dress, be walking up on a wall in a strange place like this? And the nonsense she was talking – this being the end of everything and all that. Yes, she must be mad; maybe she had escaped from a lunatic asylum nearby and men in white would come and take her away, and “There is no way out of here!,” she screamed again, in a high-pitched laughter, freezing the blood in his veins. He looked up and saw, to his horror, that she was now transforming into something else, something ugly and evil and terrifying. Scorpions crawled over her body, snakes were sliding on her feet and her beautiful face frozen in an ugly grimace, looking down at him with an expression of hatred and disdain.

He began to walk away, then started to run. He had to get out of here, away from her.
As the sun rose from the horizon, her shrill voice still rang in his head.

“Get out of here or prepare to die!”
It suddenly dawned on him that she meant exactly what she said.

>> NEXT STORY

At number 13, infamous for its inauspiciousness, Death awaits to bring an end to certain things.

Looking back from the point he has arrived at, the Fool saw clearly that nothing would ever be the same again. His encounter with Death proved that his senses were not mistaken. This was the end of a period.

Because that is what death does, it brings an end. This might be the end of a relationship, a process, a job, or an emotion. It might represent the collapse of a state, a change in regime, or an era coming to a close. It might be related to the material world, but it might also have an entirely abstract meaning. The common point of countless possibilities is the fact that they all say “so long”.

The Death card in the Tarot has always been frightening for those who only dwell on its lexical meaning. As if by conditioning, the question, “Am I going to die?” springs to mind. But the Tarot is not a doctor. Since death is related to ends; possibilities include the death of a human being, a flower in a pot, or a tiny kitten. These are still just a few of the millions of possibilities. And after all, Death in the Tarot actually corresponds to something symbolic.

The Death card, in contrast to popular belief, one of the most fruitful cards. Because there can be no new beginnings without ends. More significantly, some things must end to make room for more valuable things. Although ends may come unexpectedly and cause great sorrow, sometimes you might be grateful for an end. Let whatever it is that is slipping away from your grasp go! You should focus on trying to create a new beginning from this end, concentrate not on what has departed but on what has arrived in its place, and prepare yourself for what you really deserve.

The Death card tells the person who draws the card that certain things have ended and that change and transformation are waiting for him or her. Instead of resisting this force and clinging on to the past, inviting it in will open the doors to more satisfying experiences. The ruler Zodiac sign of this card is the passionate, sharp-tongued and sexy Scorpio, the sign of destruction, creativity and transformation.

The symbolic Death card in the Tarot tells you that death is not something to be feared, but that it is abundant. Death will remove the factors that restrict you, sweep dusty roads and make you a different person. It will liberate you just as your possessions begin to take possession of you, and gift you a new life.

People don’t really like losing, or for that matter, the idea of death. But to reject a truth as fundamental as death is tantamount to excluding life itself. In the final analysis, life and death are inseparable. Then again, it is easy to say that in theory, but when it comes to practice… We are human, after all. It is only natural that something coming to an end gives you sorrow, or moves you to mourning, for a certain period. Yet this process, like any other, is finite, and dawn will soon break again.

>> NEXT CARD