The River. Saiyuki. Challenge: Myths. 100 words
It was taking so long.
He’d been ready to die for hours. He’d been ready for months.
Stumbling in the blinding rain, Gonou wondered if he’d died already, crossing a red river of his own making with three steel bands in place of two copper pennies. Maybe this was Hell, but he suspected the worst was yet to come. He fell, then opened eyes that the rain had washed clean.
As if the cuffs that made him human hadn’t been enough of a gift, Gonou realized another moment of undeserved grace. He had never expected Death to be so beautiful.