Death comes creeping slowly, quietly, closer and closer.

My Priest says not to worry about it, that the pain will only be momentary. But what does he know? He’ll still be alive.

Ever closer the fatal date creeps, until at last it is here.

Time to take my math final.

Daniel Quillen is a retired HR director and a writer (19+ books). He lives in Centennial, Colorado with his wife. They are the parents of six children, grandparents of fifteen. They are currently living in China, teaching English at a Chinese University.