Appointment in Samarra
Story★★★★A fabled Baghdad merchant once asked his servant to run an errand. While at the marketplace, the servant rounded a comer and saw Lady Death. She terrified him so much that he returned with haste to his master. “I am terrified,” said the servant. “I want to take the fastest horse and ride toward Samarra.” The master granted his request. Later that afternoon the merchant visited the market and he, too, met Lady Death. “Why did you startle my servant?” he asked. Lady Death answered, “Frankly, it was I who was startled. I couldn’t understand why your servant was in Baghdad, because I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.”
The point
A servant fleeing Death to Samarra discovers Death had an appointment with him there all along—illustrating that running from God's will is futile and acceptance is wiser.