SECOND PLACE

BY KODA CHRISTENSEN

IMAGE BY Koda Christensen

“What do you want to be in your next life?” Death asks the dying cat. “I need a realistic reincarnation equal to the virtue and sin of your life.”

“I want to be something smarter to outwit my shortcomings. I want to be human.”

Death grins and gestures around them. Shoes grip sacks of sinewy sapiens that walk all over. There’s a murder scene under their noses; a squashed stomach sopping scarlet blood will lead to a sure-fire death.

“One of them killed you–why become your enemy?” The cat’s unsure eyes sink down, searching for an answer in the tire marks scoring its pelt.

“Fine. I want to be stronger. I want to be a dog.”

“The world has many dogs already. Choose another.”

“Something bigger, to ensure my survival. A tiger.”

“You can’t.”

“A leopard.”

“Not that, either.”

The cat pauses. “What can I become?”

Death lies his sickle aside, squatting down next to the small soul. His hand caresses the skin on its side. It closes its eyes and feels his words.

“There are no shortcuts to becoming smarter, stronger, or significant. And there’s only one reincarnation equal to the virtue and sin of you. Let me ask you again.” Death kneels, shielding the cat from the sun. “What do you want to reincarnate as?”

The cat takes a moment to think. Then it speaks with a smile.

“I wouldn’t want to be anything except myself.”

Koda Christensen’s, Realistic Reincarnation, placed second in the BCPW’s Flash Fiction contest. Christensen attends H.B. Beal Secondary School in London, ON.