A Matter of Life and Death (short story)

A Matter of Life and Death

In this world there are many mystical beings. Some you can touch and feel, some you can see but not touch, for then your hands will burn. And some that are so full of magic, the have no form at all. Most beings have souls, and some others, nothing at all. Most beings don't like to be involved with one another, and then there are gods, natural born leaders that watch over worlds. And lastly, the most powerful of all beings, the unnatural, Life and Death. Unlike the others, they do not have souls but rather the essence of one, for they govern souls, in both the supernatural and the normal. And Life and Death, are in love.
Life and Death do not lust, so how can they love? You see, they are rather empty creatures, and were immensely lonely, since they have no form, and yet somehow resembles one of the most powerful creatures of the Earth, humans. Life and Death are energies, whist Life is warm and inviting to most, Death can be scorching hot and cold, triggering multiple emotions all at once if felt by other beings. They are the only ones of each other. And they have been since the beginning of time. And so, during these lonely times, they had found each other, and with that desperation of needing another being like their own, they put their rose-colored glasses on and spiraled into intoxication, which slowly over millennia's, turned into love.
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"HOW COULD YOU BE SO CRUEL?! SHE WAS A CHILD, A SWEET INNOCENT CHILD! SHE DID NOTHING! SHE BARELY LIVED!! HOW COULD YOU?!? HOW COULD YOU HURT HER LIKE THAT?! HOW COULD YOU LET THAT HAPPEN HOW COULD YOU LET HER DIE?!"
Life was screeching like they had never before, glittering tears flooded the soil and wails littered the air. Death had touched her. Death had touched their child knowing perfectly well he couldn't. Knowing perfectly well that they had spent half their time being creating such a beautiful demigod to raise as their own. And now she is dead. Gone, precious child of Life, just another soul to be added in the Unknown.
"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! DO YOU THINK I MEANT FOR THIS TO HAPPEN?? FOR MY ONLY CHILD TO DIE??! ARE YOU REALLY DOUBTING MY LOVE FOR HER?!", Death bellowed.
For a moment the meadow was silent, their pretty, special meadow. Where they had brought her up, where they had laughed together, where Death had beaten Life to near oblivion. Silence, and in a blink of an eye Life fell to the ground, eyes wide and teary, a gash on their cheek, torn gracefully from their ear right to the side of their lip. It was gushing out light like no other, glittering, red as blood light, streaming down her neck to the ground, another scar added to the many that littered their face and body.
Then came the wailing. As usual, Death smiled, they grabbed Life's chin up and tugged harshly, forcing Life to look right into their eyes, and slowly, with the lithe of a snake, Death had torn Life's "skin", all the way from their eyes to their toes. A perfect, outline, fit for a picture. They stood their for hours, halfway through Death had Life on their knees, half conscious and confused. When Life finally collapsed, the slightest bit of light, dim and weary, Death bent down to their level, cupped their face and said, "I love you.", then left. Like many times before Life was empty, they could not breathe nor see, all they could do was lay there, unable to feel their body, as golden liquid, now a gnarly brown, flowed a steady stream from their eyes.
A two sided love, yet one sided happiness.
Life had yet to feel peace, their only joy Death's company and their now deceased daughter.
So they decided to search, for centuries Life ran away, slightly disappointed over the fact Death didn't come running after them but had expected it otherwise. Life had searched over mountains and valleys, the caves of gods and hidden oceans, guarded by spirits who feeds on essence, just waiting to be eaten alive. Many moments Life searched and at many moments Life failed, until they came to The Sky. The Sky, not a sky at all, rather an abandoned underground goldmine, now riddled with lost spirits and The Birdwoman. The Birdwoman, was an old wrinkled lady, a human surprisingly, with the face of everyone's founding mother and the voice of a canary. Shrill and sweet, she spoke in tweets of the Before. Before humans existed, in the six days of Creation, right before the One rested their eternal rest.
Life gifted the Birdwoman a slice of a rainbow, taken straight from the Above world, since she could not move from her sitting position, gums showing with her pruny hands outstretched, greedily munching on the colorful treat. After she finished, her mouth opened wide and from her throat came a shrill cry. Still smiling, she invited Life to sit across from her on a large opal stone, not there before. 5 minutes passed, what felt like hours then came a reply call, a swallow, no smaller than a child's palm swooped in the area. It circled the Birdwoman's head seven times before landing on her outstretched palm. The Birdwoman, mouth stretched wide in a grin, held the swallow upright, and split it in half, and yet no blood was spilled, a sunflower yellow powder fell out of it instead, all that's left, the swallow's skin, split in half. Then the Birdwoman said a single word to Life, "split". And Life was thrown back to the Above world, The Sky nowhere to be found.
Befuddled, Life floated back to the Universe and summoned Death to meet with them. When Death agreed, Life smiled and took a deep breath. They know what they'll have to do. The sacrifice they have to make, to keep Death happy. When Death showed, shadows slithered around him like eels, they slowly made their way to Life, gently outstretched their hands to wipe Life's tears away. Thumbing gently over the torn lines on their face, Life flinching slightly, whilst Death smiled happily.
    "My love", Life gently started, "I must leave, I can't go on like this, I cannot handle this pain anymore", voice cracking, hands now into fists, weakly pounding onto Death's chest, "I will cease to exist if we stay together, and if I break you'll never be happy again, if I am finally unable to please your selfish needs, you will be alone, and I can't let you be sad that way, I won't be able to bear it."
Death still smiling, replied back to them, "So? What are you suggesting my darling?"
"I must split myself", sobs starting to break through, "take my essence won't you my love? So I'll still be here with you, no, NO, don't look away from me, look at me darling, smile for me hmm? I can't take this anymore my love, I can't keep hurting like this, I'm not myself anymore, I don't mind, really. It's just sometimes it just hurts so much you know?", tears streaming freely now, "won't you keep me? Just, just so I won't feel any pain, don't you love me?"
"Hmm? Death, darling, won't you say something? SAY SOMETHING! SPEAK TO ME! WON'T YOU LET ME GO?? DON'T YOU LOVE ME?! SAY THAT YOU LOVE ME! LET ME GO!! I'M COLD AND IN PAIN DEATH, I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! Let me go, please."
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay. But, one more time, before I lose you?"
"Yeah, yeah okay my love, one more time."
Grin so wide now, sickly green, poison streams from Death's eyes, Life staring back at them with the same look in their eyes, small smile adorning their beautiful face. They took Death's hand towards their face, pulling their index finger towards their eyes, and gently gouging one out, pure gold now mixed with maroon, lighting up the night sky with a gorgeous, eerie light, the meadow glowing underneath their feet, until Life was finally torn limb from limb, still smiling. Until finally, they fell, and up floated a single flower bud, landing on Death's hunched shoulder, towering over the meadow, and as the flower bloomed, inside was a beautiful baby boy, made of the purest light to ever exist. The child floated towards Death's face...and started giggling.
And Death broke.
Like glass, they shattered and they cried and shouted, screaming into the empty night, sky still lit up beautifully. Death started tearing themself, layer by layer, all of their essence, every shadow, every snake and eel, drops of poison fell to the ground as they did so, the child still laughing. Death had never felt so small before, never felt such melancholy. Wailing, they grabbed the child from the sky, and pulled back their arm to tear him apart, and froze.
Delicately placing the child on the grass, right where Life was before, Death tore their arm off, and their fingers, and their legs until all that was left was their heart, which stayed in the air for a split second before falling to the ground with a thud, cracked into two, and then there was light. There was so much light, the child had raise his chubby arm to shield his face from it, it never faded, so the child waited for his eyes to adjust, and in front of him a little girl, perhaps four or five, with shadows dancing round her perfectly plaited pigtails. She gently picked him up, leaving the meadow behind, to make their way together as the new Life and Death. And the same process repeated over and over again, with the Birdwoman still smiling wide.