Time

Prologue 10

Death watched the hourglass. It was splintered and moldy, but still held. It wasn't just one of the hourglasses that tracked a person's life. It was Past's hourglass. Very few of the forces had hourglasses, only the most powerful. Death and Life had one. Present, and her sisters Past and Future had them. So did War, Famine, and Pestilence. Some others had them too, along with the Gods. Past's hourglass was strange, but so were the other forces. All the sand was on the bottom, except for one grain. It was stuck to the roof of the hourglass. Death thought for some moments, then put the hourglass back on its small, diamond shelf in his office. Future's hourglass, made of silvery metal and with blinking lights, was also strange. All of its grains were stuck to the top, except for one that had fallen to the bottom. Presents' was flowing, but refilled as constantly as they fell in the golden hourglass. Death's was a normal, wooden hourglass, but it fell very slowly, and Death could refill it with a thought. Life's was made of light, and had flaming seeds that fell to the bottom, and then disappeared through a void back to the top. The other forces' hourglasses were also like this, and so, they cheated Death. But any of them could stop this. Death closed the locked shelf and put the painting that usually covered them back in its place.

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

Death walked through his garden. A bee buzzed past and Death plucked a flower out of its bed. It had red petals, emblazoned with occasional pink. He had named it a Vrank Rose. He smelled deeply, and then buried it in the loamy ground so it could help more of its kind grow. Death walked to a tree that lined his apple orchard and knelt under the shade. He plucked an apple and ate it, hearing the spiders in his head chew on it and feed themselves. He reached into his head and pulled out several dozen, laying them on the tree. He smiled and walked off.

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

Death walked into his kitchen and started up the stove. It was made of pink granite and had steel burners on the top. He put a pot that he had soaked beans in and started cooking them. He dashed in spices and added in tomatoes. He added bell pepper and a few drops of medicinal blood. Hugo likes that, Death thought. He took some powdered blesi and put it into the pot, putting the lid on. He blinked and the stove dinged. He lifted the pot and set it on the counter. He ladled out a bowl of the chili and set it onto the table. He took a bowl himself and put it onto the ground. He rattled his finger and heard a bark. Ozo ran in and started devouring the food. Death bent down and patted Ozo, and then left the dog to eat.

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

Death lounged in his chair, reading. He wore spectacles, he had thought they made him look more professional, and would readjust them every few minutes. He closed the book and set it down on the desk, opening one of his drawers. Pulling out another book, he set the other aside and set to reading the new book, delving into a realm of physics and mathematics.

Silly nonsense, Death thought, and continued reading his fiction.