The air was cold tonight, snow littered the street on this quaint town with the only light source being the lamps that stood tall and the moon and stars shining below. The streets were deathly silent, with only the sound of the wind blowing, the laughter and cheer of the people inside bars and their homes, and the sound of snow crunching under the paws of a hooded figure as he walked through the streets silently as he whistled a soft haunting tune

Death's job was never easy, not every human ready to pass was an elderly person who lived their life to the fullest, or a cruel ruler getting what they deserved. There were times where it was a young person who got too drunk and didn't watch their footing. Sometimes it was a new mother that couldn't handle the stress of childbirth. Sometimes...it was a child, suffering from the cruelty of the world

And he had a feeling that is who was next

When he walked passed a alley between two houses, he stopped when he heard a strange sound coming from the back. At first he thought it was a dog whining, but when he heard it again, it sounded like a person quietly coughing

Curiosity took over him as he slowly made his way down to the alley, keeping his paws on his sickles in case it was a trick or an ambush. He heard the sound again this time it was closer, his eyes landed on a few barrels that were stacked on top of each other. He carefully moved one of the barrels and what he saw made him stop dead in his tracks

A young girl was sitting beside the barrels, huddled up into a ball as she shook like a leaf from the cold. Her dress was old and torn, with only a old scarf wrapped around her in a vain attempt to keep warm. The girl looked up with fear in her eyes and shielded herself with her arms, as if she was anticipating an attack

"It's alright pequeño, I'm not going to hurt you." He said in a soft gentle tone. He kneeled down to her level as he pulled down the hood of his cloak, revealing his face to her. He took the appearance of a wolf, his fur was as white as the snow on the ground, with the only form of color aside from the grey patch on his face was his bright red eyes that looked at her with sympathy. "What is your name?"

The girl lowered her arms slightly when she realised he wasn't trying to harm her. "M-Mary, my name is Mary." She said in a soft voice, he almost didn't hear her. "Who...are you?"

"I'm just a traveller wandering through this town" He said, he knew that she was already scared so telling her who he was would only scare her more. He then noticed beside her was looked like the burn remains of what looked to be matchsticks, and he then noticed in her hands was one more unlit matchstick. "May I sit beside you?"

Death saw Mary looking unsure for a moment, but eventually she nodded. When he got the confirmation he carefully sat down beside her and stared at the wall as Mary kept the match close to her. After a minute of silence he spoke"If you don't mind me asking...why are you outside on your own?" He asked, still stating at the wall. After a moment Mary spoke

"I was scared to go home..." Mary said softly. Death immediately turned to look at her as she continued. "I was ment to sell these matches to someone, but no one is interested. If I go home to my father without selling them and earning even a penny...he will be very angry" She finished as she held the match tighter to her chest

Death could feel the anger growing inside him. How could a father let his anger out on his own child? Why was she the one sent outside to freeze while he sat on his ass by the fire. He took a deep breath to calm down. "Do you have any other family with you?"

"No sir, my mother died when I was a baby, and I lost my grandmother not too long ago." She muttered as she weakly rested her head on his shoulder. "I miss her dearly..." She said as her eyes begun to close

Death could see her growing weak, she had nowhere to turn to, she had no one. He knew he couldn't leave her like this to suffer. "...I know where your grandmother is"

Mary opened her eyes when she heard that. "You do?" She asked

"Yes." He said before standing up and offering his hand. "If you wish to see her, follow me please" Mary thought for a moment, before reaching for his hand. Death gently helped her up as he walked her out of the alley. "What was your grandmother like?"

"Oh she was the kindest, most loving women I've ever met. We use to sell matches together. Every Christmas she would make a lovely roasted goose for all of us. After we ate we sat by the tree and she would sing till I fell asleep. I remember she use to tell that when a shooting star passes, it was some making their way to heaven" She finished as they walked out to the street

"I see...she seems like a nice women" Death said as they made it to the middle of the town. "Here we are, she should be here"

"Where is she?" Mary asked as she looked around. "I don't see her"

"She's here, all you need to do is light that match" He told her and pointed to the last match she had

At first Mary didn't want to and was starting to think he was lying, but believing she had no other choice, she lit the match. She watched the match slowly burn for a few moments before she heard a soft, old voice behind her, a familiar voice

"Mary?" It said, she turn around to see an older women walking up to them from the snow

"Grandma?" She said, and the woman gave her a warm smile. "Grandma!" She ran to her as fast as she could and hugged her tight, tears falling from her eyes. "Oh grandma, I missed you so much!"

"Oh my dear Mary, I'm so sorry I had to leave, I missed you too." The woman said before looking back at Death with the same old smile. "Ah! There you are my old friend, thank you for your help"

"Of course my lady, its a pleasure helping you" He said watching them with a soft smile

She smiled back before looking back at Mary. "Come on Mary, let's get you warm and fed" She said and begun to head out to the snow. Before Mary followed she ran up and hugged Death, which caught him by suprise, but after a bit he hugged back

"Thank you sir, you really are a angel" Mary said as she hugged him

"Your welcome, and take care" Death said as she let go and nodded before following her grandmother into the snow, both smiling and laughing as Death waved bye

A few hours passed and the sun started to rise as Death was heading out of the town. He stopped when he saw passers-by all at the alley where Mary was, whispering towards one another

"The poor thing, she was left out here all alone to freeze?" One women said

"Look at the matches on the ground, the poor girl was trying to warm herself up" A man said

As Death got closer he saw what they were talking about. Beside the barrels was Mary's body, she layed there like a statue not even her chest was moving. The passers-by were too shocked and upset to notice the peaceful look on her face, a soft smile still visible

Death sighed gently as he continued walking, he knew Mary wouldn't have made it, so he had spend her last few moments with her, trying to comfort her before he brought her to her grandmother to be reunited. He made it out of the village and into the snow covered field. Looking up he saw a few stars still in the sky

That was when he saw a shooting star fly pass in the sky. He smiled softly

"Have a safe journey pequeño" He said as he lifted his hood up and walked out into the field, whistling that haunting but also comforting tune once more