Balance

Chapter 5

5

            The return trip to the Heavens was much less worrisome than the first leg of her journey. Soul-keeping box in hand and smile on her lips, she gently floated into the core realms of the Heavens and walked straight to the large, bright light that was the Deposit. Once she tossed in her collected souls, they would be cleansed of all emotional worries and mortality, and then sent to Higher Heavens.

            Eleanor was about to get a fresh list of souls, when she saw a familiar dark figure lurking about the halls. She expelled the smile from her face to brush off suspicion. The Sister turned and headed the direction opposite of the man coming her way.

“Eleanor,” Death spoke her name like a command. Rattling her brain for a believable alibi, she spun on her heel and lifted her gaze to the towering man.

            “Hello, Death. A pleasure to see you up and about,” she kept her tone low and even. She had the creeping feeling that telling him of Calix was not the brightest idea.

            “Where have you been? You didn’t return from yesterday’s work until just now.” His eyes narrowed. “Have you been slacking off? Eleanor, you do know the importance of taking souls the moment they are released! We cannot simp-”

            “I wasn’t slacking,” she interrupted. “I had my whole daily quota filled, honest. I was just…” she searched for a word, “wandering.”

            Death made a small, grumbling noise in his throat. “Wandering? You wasted work hours wandering?”

            She took a breath. “Yes, sir, I did. The last soul on my list was in this town called Knotweed. After I took the soul, I started to explore the town. There are so many people there who have such amazing connections with their neighbors and the town itself. I never had that when I was alive. The Heavens is a fine home, of course; but I have nothing in my old home to look back on and miss.” She shrugged. “Walking around Knotweed made me feel like I was a part of it, and that it meant to me what it meant to the townsfolk.” Eleanor met his eyes and, not for the first time, she was thankful to inherit her parents’ acting skills.

            To her relief, Death didn’t see through the words. He was either too busy to question or too passive to care. But, something in the way he chewed his lip made Eleanor believe he really was thinking over her story. Opening his mouth, then closing it, then hesitating, it took him a moment to decide upon his reply. “How about you take the rest of the day off of work? I can spread your quota among the other Brothers and Sisters.”

            Quizzically, Eleanor asked, “Not to sound disrespectful, but why choose me, sir? I know so many others who worked much harder than I did last night, and are more deserving. Yesterday, Burke slept through his day’s work, and Olive covered him while doing her own.”

            Death raised an angular eyebrow. “Most others wouldn’t willingly question an excuse to throw their workload onto someone else.” He studied her, eyebrow still arched. “Eleanor, have you ever thought that the reason I give you privileges is because I like you?”

            Eleanor almost laughed. “What?”

            His expression remained the same. “You’re a diligent worker, you’ve always stayed dutiful to Life and I, and you save personal problems for after you’ve carried out your responsibilities. You still hold the yearn for knowledge you had when you were alive, which I cannot say is true for many others here. I think you’ve got something right in your head. I also think you should take the rest of the day off starting now.” With that, he strolled back down the hallway and into a vast, snowy plain.