A man is sitting in a tavern in Damascus. He looks up from his wine and sees Death staring at him from across the room.
He cries out: “But this cannot be my time!”. He flees Damascus. He rides his horse fast, right across the desert to Samarra. When he arrives, he is thirst. Standing before him, at the well is Death. Upon seeing death for the second time, the man, he cries out -- "This cannot be! For I escaped you in Damascus!"
And Death, he lays his hand upon the shoulder of the man and says: "I also was surprised to see you in Damascus. For my appointment with you, it was always to be here in Samarra."