Mireo

Learning.

Overtime, I began to heal slowly and Halio taught me about the world. He taught me about nature and how people acted, which I loved learning about. He taught me how to sit in chairs and walk again since the fall.
I tended to trip a lot.
Legs are weird.
He was also really patient with me and all of my chaotic questions, even when he was visibly tired. And even after his work he still cooked for us both and gave me a daily lesson ontl the world.
He taught me that I wasn't human, but he didn't know what I was, and neither did I. But he said I could pass as a human with white hair and pale skin if I promised not to smile too wide near other humans. He said that pointed teeth weren't a human trait.
He also taught me that many people wouldn't agree on his decision to house me and it may cause problems if he had visitors. So he told me that if anybody ever asked, I was born strange looking and I was simply Halio's “roommate” from “a different country and living situation”.
I have NO clue what that meant but I just didn't ask.
“So let's say this big scary guys in black uniforms with big vests and guns came to our door.” He started, sitting at the kitchen table as he watched me draw on a notepad with a crayon. “And they ask what happened that night if the storm and why there was that hole in the sand on the beach. What would you say?”
I looked up from my drawing of a microwave.
“um… I'll say that I have no clue what they're talking about. And I'll tell them that they can come back later for my roommate to get home and maybe ‘he'll know what happened’” I announced, proud of my memory.
“Good. And what do we call those men with guns.”
“of..office..ers…. Pa-leese officers.” I grin.
“police officers but good enough.” He shrugged. “Are you drawing a microwave?”
“I thought it looked cool, don't judge me.”
“I'm not, just a little confused on why a microwave of all things. But you do you.” he watched me intently as I drew. I wanted to get every single detail right, whenever I did things nicely, he gave me a compliment. I absolutely love compliments! I'd do whatever just to get attention or a compliment, they're like fuel for happiness!
His voice broke through the sound of crowding scribbling of my crayon.
“So… just to be clear. You don't remember anything? Then how do you remember how to speak or walk?” His eyes narrowed and he stared at me.
“I dunno. I just do. I don't remember anything else though, other than the gods and humans. But everybody knows that-” I rolled my eyes ab decent back to drawing.
“what gods-??” He sat up in his seat. “Do you mean the God, or are you so brain damaged that you're making up stuff?”
I felt offended.
“There is a god, but thats only one and there's many! You didn't know that??” I stared back at him in shock, tossing my crayon down on the paper.
“no! There's only one! The Bible says so!”
“What is the bible-”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, why would I joke?”
“that was rhetorical-” he shook his head.
“Bless you.”
“No… fucking hell.” He swore and backtracked. “Okay just tell me, what are these gods.”
“Arzinthian Deities. I dunno any of them, but they exist and they control everything.”
“...I swear I'd think you were dreaming if you didn't have head trauma.”
“Well it's true!” I threw my hands up defensively. He had to believe me!!
“Yeah yeah sure. Whatever” he taught me sarcasm so I spotted it clearly on his face when he rolled his eyes.
“At least I don't think there's one god… or make up random words.” I wiggled my head in a mocking fashion.
“What words?” He looked at me curiously.
“Jesus Christ. Dying.” I listed several, but stopped at his gaze of… I dunno what to call it.
He leaned forward in his chair and suppressed a smile.
“You dunno what dying is?”
“Nope. What is it?”
There it was again!! That look! It made me feel strange and I didn't like it. I looked away from his face so I didn't have to see it again.
“Well. It's where a creature of some sort, gets too old and their time runs out. They have to leave their body, and their soul goes up and into a better place and leaves us.” He described it like he was talking to a child. “and we're left with their body. Bodies can't follow souls so we have to bury them as a sign of gratitude and luck in this new life away from us.”

“That sounds scary.” I mumble. Imagine someone's soul leaving them and you're left with a hunk of flesh-
Ew.
“It's not scary at all! It's all natural. But sometimes bad people deserve dying, and sometimes their timer won't run out for a long long time, so we have to do it ourselves.” He explained more about it and kept talking for several minutes.
Okay… so sometimes souls go to worse places as punishment for wasting their body and doing bad stuff…
And sometimes the best punishment is by “killing” them before the police can find them, because the officers aren't gonna give them a good enough punishment.
But there's one more question…
After he was done talking and explaining how we don't like the police, and how they work for a big company designed to scare us, I asked my question.
“So… how do you kill someone without their timer?”

“I'll teach you.”