3 am, page 1

Sitting here looking at the full moon, wondering how everything came to pass and how I found myself in this situation. Before me lays a note book with wild scribbling and a date and time circled. 9 am. Its almost 3 am which me gives exactly 6 hours till I have to meet her. My cellphone lays beside the notebook. I pick it up and look at it. Only one call made today. 1 simple call to wrap up my affairs. I could not tell you when it rang last.

How sad is my life that I have no one to say goodbye too, someone who will miss me. Have I made this little of an impact in this world? I am sure my father would look at me as a disappointment if he was still around. He left just days after my birth. I'm sure he looked at me and thought I was a failure at even such a young age.

Well at least that piece of # was right about one thing. As for mommy dearest, she is somewhere back east living the dream with husband #2 or #3. To be honest I could not tell you which one she is on. We don't exactly talk often outside of the card during the holidays. You know what they say the seed never falls far from the tree. Mom is a loser and so was her son.

Standing up I walk back into the kitchen for another shot. Why make this decision sober right? I bet there is not a person out there who faced with what I am would choose to go it stone cold sober. I've always been a fan of yager since I had my first sip when I was 15. Past the lips over the gums down it goes..I shut my eyes as the fire hits my stomach and roars back up my throat. Putting the glass down I look around at this joke of a home. #ty second hand furnishings for a #ty second hand life...go figure. Angrily I turn and throw the glass against the wall.

# it, who really cares about Simon Norwick. I shall go out in a brighter blaze then how I came into this miserable pisshole of a life. Damn it I need another drink and I've broken the only glass. I grab the bottle and walk back over to the couch where I sit down.

**Rewind to a few weeks ago. How it all started or ended depending on how you look at it.

It was hot July night I was working closing like I usually do. Which means just sitting there staring at the clock willing it too make its way around. The shelves were stocked the last of the drunks came in for their beer sometime ago. Soon I would be getting morning rush hours into the city for their coffee and whatever else they needed to make it through the day.

With nothing left to do and the clock not moving any faster I grabbed the lasted issue of Hustler to thumb through. Nothing like a skin flick to make it through the rest of my shift. I had hardly settled into the interesting article when the chime of the door alarm rousted me. That is when she came in to my life.

She was eloquent in some indescribable way. Dressed head to toe in black with blood red nails and lipstick. She did not say a word just went straight to the coffee where she poured a cup and held it too her nose taking in the smell. "I'm sorry but that is at least 5 hours old. I can brew you another cup if you like?" I told her. She did not respond, other then to lower the cup and look at me. Have you ever felt like you were being visually raped? Ya that is what it felt like.

"Is there something else I can get you?" I tried again hoping to draw some sort of response

from her. No such luck. She simply continued to look at me as see wondered about the store picking up items and looking at them only to toss them back down.

Ok, so this is some what odd but you know its not the weirdest thing I have seen while working this shift. Seems the dark of night brings out all the kooks so too speak. She has now made her way to the counter where she pulls a dollar from a pocket and tosses it on the counter. "Je vous reverrai" She tells me with a smile as she walks out the door.

These encounters continued much in this fashion for the next several weeks. It got to the point where when she would come in I would not even bother looking at her so long as there was a dollar on the counter when she left I didn't care.

Fast forward to a week ago when everything changed for the worst or the best depending on how you look at it. I have not yet decided on that.

Just as it turned 3 am she gave in. Dressed in the same outfit the same look upon her face. In some ways I had started looking forward to these odd little visits. For one reason or another I am not sure why. It felt as if there was something more to it then just what was on the surface. I had even gone so far as to make sure there was a fresh pot brewing just for her.

I had taken to observing her to see if I could pick out any differences from one day to the next, perhaps a different perfume or dress, anything. To this point it had been to no avail. Everything was the same.

Instead of going to the coffee bar, she came straight to the counter and stood in front of me. Not saying anything simply looking at me. "Hello, Simon" she said. The words flowing from her mouth like honey. I felt an odd sensation run through my body. Like pins and needles. I could feel my heart beat accelerate. She reached out and put her hand on my cheek touch as light as a feather. Slowly she runs it down my cheek. A soft moan escapes my lips. What in he hell is going on I wondered. I could feel my legs turning to jelly as I slumped into my stool.

Without another word she has come behind the counter and now is straddling my lap. Her lips close to my ear she whispers "So lonely you are. You feel as though this life has nothing for you. So many times you have stood looking in the mirror asking why. I can see into your very soul Simon. I know your wants and your misgivings." I feel her hands running up my chest and the beating of her heart.

My mind is swimming in a fast ocean of uncertainty as she continues to move against me. Before I can say anything she has moved off my lap and is leaning against the counter looking at me with those eyes. The eyes of a predator viewing its dinner. Taking a deep breath I run my fingers through my hair... "Who are you?" I manage to ask barely able to get my breath.

"It's always the same questions. Who are you? What do you want?" she says with a disinterested smile.

"If I were to tell you my name Simon would it matter in the end? If I were to tell you I have been watching you for some time would that matter either?" she asks in all seriousness. I can sense the atmosphere in the store has changed. Its dangerous now as though she could take my life in a second.

I scramble to my feet and move away from her, my brain screams that the further I get away from her the better I will be. "Who are you?!!" I ask again, aware of the note of fear that has crept into my voice.

"Oh Simon, if I tell you will you calm down?" She asks me in a not too serious voice. "My name is Lilith. I am here for one reason. I am here to offer you a job. I have watched you for some time. Do you think I just happened in here one night?" As she says this she laughs.

"You were born for so much more Simon! So very much more. I can show you that path Simon. All you need is to say yes and we will leave this all behind us." She waves her hand around her as she says this.

Is this some sort of dream I have found myself in?? Looking at her I and everything around me I can't help but wonder. I look at the clock and I see that it still reads 3 am even though I know at least 20 minutes or more have passed.

I feel as though I am a wild animal caught in a hunters snare and the hunter is standing in front of me taunting me.

"If I say no? What will happen to me then?" I ask her? She says nothing for a minute just continues to look at me in that way of hers. "If you say no Simon, simply put nothing will happen to you. I will walk out of here and you will never see me again. Your miserable life and this #ty job will continue for a short time and then it will be over and you will never know what you turned down."

Not knowing what to say at this point I walked over to the beer cooler and grab the first beer I can. Twisting off the top I down it in one full gulp. Feeling a little better, I turn to her. "So your name is Lilith and you have been watching me?" I ask her. She doesn't say anything just nods. "Ok, so why me? What is so special about me? I am nobody just trying to make my way through life with as little hassle as possible." I say.

"Simon, I am not here to play a hundred questions with you. Just know you have been given this opportunity something very few if any are. you need to know no more then that. I can show you what the job is but that is all. Other then that you leave it up to chance." she says as she walks closer to me. "Do we have an agreement Simon?"

As she says this I can see that predatory glint in her eyes again. Holding out her hand she tells me to take hold of it.

Not knowing what else to do I take hold of her hand and to my amazement the store dissolves around us. Everything around us washes away.. I suddenly feel as if that beer was not such a good idea. I can feel it trying to make it's way back up my throat. "Close your eyes Simon and it will pass." I hear her tell me. Squeezing her hand tighter I do as she says and the feeling slowly recedes.

"You can open your eyes now." I hear Lilith tell me. I open my eyes and I see that we are no longer in the store but in the hallway of one of the rundown apartment complexes outside the city. I start to ask her where we are, she puts a finger to her lips silencing me. "Now is not the time for your questions." She tells me.

"I have brought you here to simply observe and listen. I told you that you have the opportunity to do something great. This is what I do and what you will do if you choose to accept the offer." As she tells me this she leads me through the door of one of the apartments. Inside we are greeted with a small tidy apartment. On the couch sits an older gentlemen who looks to be in his early seventies.

All around the apartment are photos. Photos of a couple. This man and what surely must be his wife. Although I do not see her around her presence is felt every where I look. "Stay here" Lilith tells me as she walks over next to the man and sits down on the couch. I see before him on the coffee table is a bottle of pills and next to that is a half full bottle of Scotch.

Before I can say anything the man reaches out and upends the pills in his hand and swallows them all washing it all down with a large drink of the Scotch. "HEY...." I start to yell at him before I can get anymore out Lilith is nose to nose with me. "He cannot hear you nor see you Simon. This is his path. The path he has chosen to walk down. Now please be quite!"

Feeling somewhat like a chastened little kid I stand there my hands in my pockets not really sure what else to do at this point. Lilith has resumed her seat next to him and is holding his hand.

Perhaps 5 minutes have passed when I see the final effects of the booze and drugs taking its tole on him. Even know thinking about it, its hard to explain what I saw. It's almost as if he started to crack into pieces and out of those cracks a brilliant light shone through till it completely blotted him out. As quickly as it all started it was over.

The light was gone and with it so was he. All that was left was something that I guess could be considered a body. It really looked like shapeless piece of clay on the couch. Lilith was standing next to me. She reached down and took my hand and just like that we were back in the store. The clock still read 3 am. It looked as though no one has been in the store. Which is a good thing since I was not there...

"That is what I do Simon and what you will be doing should you choose to accept." Lilith tells me as she walks over to the coffee bar.

"I...I don't understand Lilith. Did you kill that old man? Is that what you want me to do? Go around killing people?" I ask her my voice barely above a whisper.

I feel bile in the back of my throat threatening to birth its way into the world. The sad cold realization of what I have just witnessed blasting its way into my mind. I need to really sit down or I am gonna pass out cold.

Stumbling over to the stool I sit down my hands on my head. "Relax Simon. I did not kill him. He killed himself. I was, we were just there to help him to the other side. Nothing more. I am Simon what you would call an Angel of Death. Each and every single person born upon this world is walking a specific planned out path. Occasionally they get off track and what we saw is the result. He was not supposed to take his own life, however it was the choice he made. Free will Simon everyone has it. This was his decision. As such whenever this happens we are notified and sent to their aid. I helped him to bridge the gap between this world and the next." She tells me as she sips her coffee.

Looking at her I can't even begin to formulate all the questions I have..."So there are more of you?" I ask her.

"Yes, Simon there are as many of us as there are grains of sand upon the beach." She smiles.

"How exactly do I fit into this" I ask her hesitating for fear of her answer. "Well Simon, do I really need to tell you?? You and I both know what has been in the back of your mind for sometime. If you say no to this offer in a few weeks time you will be one of my assignments. You will transition from this world to the next, whatever it will be. No one will remember you and every one will forget you ever existed."

What she says stuns me to my core. I could ask her how she knew but what would be the point of that really?? Perhaps this is all for the better? I really have nothing to lose in this life of mine....

"Yes" I say to her. One simple word with a million different effects. Lilith claps her hands together and laughs. "Welcome Simon. Welcome to everything you never thought possible." She tells me.

Quickly she grabs a pen and a piece of paper and write down an address and hands it to me. "You will meet here the day after tomorrow at 9 am. I trust you will be able to find it?" She says smiling at me.

"I so look forward to our adventures love!" She says over her shoulder as she walks out the door.

Fastforward**

I look at my watch and take one last drag of my cigarette. It's 8:50 and I am almost to where I am supposed to meet her. All my worldly affairs have been wrapped up. I wonder if I will see the bright light like with the old guy or will it just be over. Crossing the street I look around me.

"Simon..." I hear her voice flowing like honey just like the first time I heard her say it. I turn around and see her on the opposite street smiling the predator looking at its pray. Her words are broken by the sound of screeching brakes. The last thing I see is the flatbed barreling towards me the driver laying on the horn.....