Death drives a Fiat 500

Flashing amber lights

An unmistakable warning of impending danger

But I’ve not noticed it

I’ve stepped out into the road

The hazardous chasm that divides the safety of the pavement

I didn’t look right before I took the plunge, did I?

I was watching a 12 second video of garlic being chopped

Was that worth putting my life on the line for?

Is this the hill I am dying on?

Will the Valkyrie escort me to the eternal feast in the sky?

Probably not

I look up now as I’m two steps into the road

A crimson Fiat 500 driving 20 mph is approaching

Death doesn’t look like the epic depictions we see so often

Not a hooded skeleton riding a horse wielding a scythe

But a 20 year old woman with one hand on the wheel and one on her phone

Maybe she’s watching garlic being chopped as well?

I look down, towards the monochrome ground

Is this the last time I look at the Earth?

The last time I take in its black and white striped surface…

Wait, is this a zebra crossing?

The car comes to a rest

I awkwardly wave and keep walking

Not today

I have diced with death and yet still I stand

Immortal for another day