In THE LAST GHOST, the Death that comes to end a person's life depends on the nature of the cause of death. There are 16 deaths, called Fatalities, in the book. Over the next 16 days, we will meet one Fatality each day, and discuss which heartbreaking fictional character death belongs with each character.
Meet the Thirteenth Fatality, Gradual Expected Death, Commonly Referred to as Kali
"Kali, the 13th Fatality, was an expected death, like Woe, but other than that she was Woe’s opposite. Kali was gradual, expected death whose cases were primarily the sick and elderly. Kali had grey-purple skin, long lavender hair, and had once told Woe that if humans lived for long enough, their cells, the little things that made humans up, would mutate, and so eventually, all humans would die of cancer. Woe had answered that Balthasar had told her than most humans died of heart disease—heart failure was the only true cause of death to him, but she considered what Kali said. Kali was another friend of Alexi’s, she would be helpful to the cause."--The Last Ghost
Kali is described as gradual, expected late death, primarily cancer or other long illnesses. However, you may be thinking, we already met Mors, the death of the cancer and other slow illnesses. This is correct, as the second generation of deaths are less specific cause based, and more attribute based, so Kali would have a lot of overlap with Mors. One main difference is Kali’s cases are primarily elderly.
Some good news is according to the CDC, the overall cancer death rate has declined 25% since 1990, which means work has been slowing for Kali.
This is not the case in fiction!
*SPOILER ALERT*
One of the most heartbreaking fictional deaths in recent memory is on This is Us is Season 1. Indeed, the E! online article says that “This episode wrecked us.” Randall, who was adopted, is able to reconnect with his biological father and build a relationship with him, as his father died from cancer. It is heartbreaking that they only had that one year together, and even though you know William is going to die, it is still heartbreaking when it actually happens.
What other fictional character deaths do you think would have met Kali? Is it worse when you know it is coming?