We were running around in the yard, with cattle and the like all around us sprawling with life. I played with my little brother with two small wooden dolls, as we roleplayed two knights on an adventure as we usually do. Today, it was just like any other day, going about and doing what needed to be, and playing my roles with Rick as we passed time. Rick and I patiently waited until the end of summer for us to go school, as it was a place where we had the most fun. So in the meantime, I’d help with mother and father’s farmland, tending to the crops and cattle as it is all we had to keep ourselves alive. Today I plucked an endless amount of weeds. I kneeled down and went for one and said to myself,

“They’re becoming ever so endless. Don’t think I’ll finish plucking all of these this week” 

I took a deep sigh, then I looked to my left and noticed a man on a horse quickly galloping towards our home. As he got closer I stood up and noticed he was wearing some sort of cloak, made of thin white cloth. He wore a tunic under the cloak with a snake emblem on the left side of his torso, he seemed peculiar. As he arrived at our home he stopped his horse and told me, 

“I warn ye, there’s a sickness going about. Half the town is dyin’; Say kid, what’s your name?

“Sid”

“Well Sid, how about you and your family stay inside for the day? I reckon it the best thing you can do for now. Ye don’t wanna get sick right?”

“..Alright, I’ll tell them. Thanks sir!”

The man took off without a word back along the cobblestone road he came from, presumably going to other homes in the area. I walked back in my home, finding mother and father eating a meal at the dinner table. Mother wore a dress as most girls do, and father wore pants and a ragged tunic any time I’d see them they were instantly recognizable as they always wear these, I brought joy to me when I saw them. Meanwhile Rick had already fallen asleep as he usually does after we do our roleplaying. As he slept, I quietly  told the mother and father of the man I’d met. 

“Ma, Pa, a strangely fit man on a horse told me out on the yard that there’s an illness going on. He advised us to stay inside for the time being.”

“Really now? Haven’t heard nothin about an illness”, said father, doubting my words.

“Well, it’s starting to cool outdoors so staying inside is what we’d usually do. Thanks Sid”, said mother.
A few hours passed as I rested near our home's hearth, I’d do this until sunset, and went to bed at nightfall. Rick still remained asleep while mother and father were getting into bed. Therefore, I lay on my bed and soon fell asleep. 

It was then morning and I felt something was off, I hadn’t felt tired after I awoke, nor had I felt energetic. It was quiet, and all I could hear were birds. I stood up from my bed, went into the kitchen and peered out the window. Everything seemed normal at least to me so maybe I was just imagining things. Although, usually mother and father are awake before I’m awake, already finished with their breakfast. I decided to check on them, and so I went into their room. 

“Ma? Pa?” I called out, waiting for a response. 

“..Ma?! Pa?!” I called out once again this time a bit louder. There still wasn’t a response.

I walked over to mother, and quickly noticed her fingers were dark, almost completely black, her eartips as well. I thought maybe she’d hurt herself so I patted on her repeatedly, even shook her in an attempt to wake her. Her skin felt cold. I then quickly went over to my father to see blotches of dark purple skin as if he was bruised. I touched his hand, and he also felt cold. I waited, seeing if maybe they’d wake up after some time. Then…I came to the conclusion that they had passed away.

“Is this the illness the man had talked about?”, I asked myself aloud.

To my sudden realization I felt the need to cry but I didn’t, I couldn’t. Upon their death, I thought about Rick, and so I went over to check on him as well. Rick looked to be asleep as he usually sleeps most of the day. I walked over to him, and found him in the same state father had been in. I tried waking him up but it turned out he passed away from the illness as well, yet I didn’t really feel surprised. I went outside and sat on a small wooden stool placed next to the door. I pondered on what had just happened as I was certain that it really did happen, but felt no grief for my family’s passing. 

After collecting my thoughts, I decided to go out on a walk to the neighboring town where we get most of our food from. I surmised that maybe the illness affected only certain kinds of people, as I hadn’t been affected by it in any way. I arrived at the town, and found it deserted since it's usually thriving with people all around. First thing I did was go to the butcher shop, where we got our meats to see if Harisson the butcher knew. I went inside and saw the typical cow meat hanging all around the ceiling. 

“Harrison, hello? It’s Sid”, there was no response.

Yet, I heard footsteps and shallow breathing as someone slowly approached. I then saw Harrison’s figure as he looked at me. He wore an apron with dry blood as he usually did.

“Sid?”, Harrison said in a confused way.

Harrison appeared unscathed, without any effects from the illness. Yet he had a hard cough. 

“Harrison, have you fallen ill?”, I asked.

“I think so, although everyone else who caught the illness died in a few days. I’m still alive somewhat. …How are you fairing Sid? Are you ill?”, he asked.

“I’m not sure...but from what I saw on mother, father, and Rick they all seemed to have dark marks on them”, I responded. 

“Oh, so are they all right? Or..?” Harrison asked.

“They died…” I answered quietly. 

“Oh, well I’m sorry to hear that. I’d feel sad, but I think I’ve felt bad enough over everyone else who passed away in town. Albeit, how are you not ill Sid?”

“I’m guessing I’m just lucky...”

Then all of a sudden, Harisson took a glance at me and began aggressively coughing. I quickly looked around, my hands quivering as I tried to think of something to do. Then I heard a pained fatigued exhale from Harrisson. I was unable to help him and then he swiftly fell flat on the ground.

“H-Harrison?” I asked aloud.

I walked over to him, only to find him lying there sleeping. I touched his hand, it felt cold. I then sat there on my knees waiting to see if he’d wake up. Then realizing that he’d most likely died from the illness. I decided to leave the butcher shop to look around for anyone else in the town. After some time, I found no one alive. I still felt no emotion, I lacked any kind of grief towards Harrison’s death.

As nightfall approached, I was on my return home with an extreme hunger. I arrived at the front yard where Rick and I used to play, as I saw all our cattle laying on the ground in the distance, but it was of no surprise to me that they died from the illness as well. I entered home only to see my family’s corpses still laying there. Next to the hearth, we had a wooden table with some fruits. I decided to eat them as they were unusually flavorless, and then instantly fell asleep the moment I lay on my bed. I woke up the next morning, and noticed the corpses looked rotten. My house began to smell, as the corpses’ stench had spread all throughout.

I quickly left and went outside to see the dark clouds encasing the horizon; I wondered, “Why am I not ill?”

It had only been a day since my family’s passing and the town’s, yet it felt like a week had passed. I walked down to the cobblestone road in front of my house, and noticed that all the cattle and crops were no longer there, and all there was left of my family’s farmland was soil. I looked to my left and noticed a man on a horse slowly trotting down the street. I’d decided to see if that man was ill as well. Slowly approaching the man, I realized it had been the same man who warned me of the illness. He saw me, and sped up his horse to approach me. 

“Ey Sid, I seen you still alive past this sickness. Ain’t seen a single living person since last week.”

The man had said last week. I realized I’d been asleep for a whole week, but decided not to bring it up during our conversation. So I decided to simply ask the man’s name.

“I could say the same sir, haven’t seen anyone alive but you. May I ask, what is your name?”

“Tod, I’m Tod. Sid I oughta tell ya sum I found out. Seems to be that the sickness is called The Black Death. Saw it written in a red colored paint on one of the walls of town’s homes. The town East o’ here. 

“Hmm, I see why someone must have called it that considering those under the illness get black markings on their skin” as I agreed with his statement.

Tod dismounted his steed and took out his hand in front of me as if he were wanting to shake hands. 

“Shake my hand will ya Sid? I’ll see it be that this sickness ain’t goin away no time soon so this is my hello and my farewell”

I shook his hand firmly, but his hand felt rigid and extremely cold to the touch. I quickly recoiled after a shake from Tod’s freezing hand. I looked up only to see he wasn’t there anymore.

…I was puzzled in disbelief, he nor his horse were there and I’d heard no sound as if he were leaving. I looked around trying to see if I could spot him anywhere, yet he was nowhere to be seen. I looked down at my hand that I shook him with and saw a white handkerchief tied around the palm of my hand. Out of curiosity I removed it and took a close look at the handkerchief. In bold, harshly written ink words said:

“Upon thy benediction, the dark omen will lay no harm on thou”

 I repeated it in my mind continually reading the message trying to figure out what it meant. Then I had a thought, that maybe the message had relayed the fact that I was unharmed by The Black Plague. Yet the message said “will” not “has”, meaning that maybe I couldn’t be harmed by the plague considering I hadn’t yet gotten ill. 

After that, I continued walking down the cobblestone road. The clouds began to clear up, letting the rays of the sun light up the world. I wasn’t overjoyed upon my immunity to the plague and felt no sadness towards those whomst died from it. Strange that I’d felt no emotion, considering I used to smile even over the smallest things back before the plague’s arrival. So I walked down the road in search of Tod, wanting to learn more about this plague, and to ask if he was the one who’d given me the handkerchief. My curiosity grew more and more, creating questions in my thoughts over the fates of everyone I knew outside of town and where the black plague had even come from. Yet I kept getting reminded that there was no one to ask, as everyone had been consumed by The Black Plague.