Between Life and Death

A Death Wish Part 3

●DEATH●

The next day, Death heard a knock at chamber-door, and Death, groaning as he sat up in his bed, rubbed his eyes as he opened the door. When he realized the person standing in his doorway was Life, he yelped and tried smoothing his hair down, realizing that his hair probably looked like something blew up in it. Life chuckled at Death's panic, but Death could immediately tell that something was wrong at seeing her saddened face.

"Life, is everything okay?" Death asked concernedly, and Life smiled, but Death could see it was forced.

"Yeah, I'm just here to tell you that I'm going to leave soon, so you don't have to take care of me anymore. I think it's time I go back to my old life," Life said, staring right at Death. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Life, are you sure you're okay?" Death asked, reaching for Life's hand, but she swatted his hand away.

"Yeah, I'm sure," she said, not quite meeting his eyes.

Death knew for sure she was not okay, but knew better than to keep pushing her about it. "Alright, if you say so," he said with a sigh. "Want me to teleport you there?"

Life shook her head quickly. "No, I'm good." She turned to walk away when Death reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Promise that you'll visit me - I don't think I'd be able to live without you. Not after everything," Death pleaded, and Life nodded slowly.

"Okay," she whispered.

"And promise that you'll let me visit you, too," Death continued, and Life nodded again.

"I promise," she said, voice cracking, and before Death could say any more, she pulled herself from Death's grip and sprinted away, leaving Death to wonder if it was something he did. For a brief moment, he considered running after her, but he decided to give her space.

As per usual, Truth came waltzing by, seeming to appear right after anything happened with Life.

"So, what happened?" Truth asked, drawing out the 'so' and ending with a slight lilt in her voice that left a suggestive tone.

Death shrugged. "Life told me she was leaving, but something about her seemed... off. She smiled a lot, but they weren't genuine. When I asked if she was okay, she told me she was fine, so I just left her alone."

Truth scoffed and placed her hands on her hips. "Death, you don't understand. When a woman says she's okay, she's actually not, and by leaving her alone, you've only pushed her away more," she explained. "And you just got her back," she muttered quietly, and Death's blood froze. Truth rubbed her temples as she sighed, "I've got to teach you more about all this. You're absolutely terrible."

"Oh shit - I screwed up," Death said nervously, running a hand through his hair. "I really screwed up."

Truth nodded. "Tell me something I didn't already know."

Death facepalmed and groaned. "Should I go to her?" he asked through his hand.

"Yeah, if you want to clear things up with her," Truth said, rolling her eyes. "Go on, lover boy - what are you waiting for? Go get your girl!"

"I'll be back. Tell the others where I went, okay?" Death asked, and Truth nodded. In the blink of an eye, Death was at the front gates of Life's palace. Without hesitation, Death marched in, brimming with confidence to make her happy, to make sure their was still a them.

All confidence was gone by the time he was in front of Life's bedroom door. Doubt began clouding Death's mind, and he began second-guessing himself. Besides, what Truth said doesn't make sense - if someone says they're okay, they're okay. Why would a woman say she's okay when she's actually not? Women don't make sense, and I've had nearly a billion years to study them.

He was just about to leave when he heard Life call out with uncertainty, "Death? Is that you?"

Knowing it was too late to turn back, Death slowly opened the door to Life's room. "Hey there."

Life was on the balcony, resting her elbows on the railing. She slowly turned around to face Death, and he was horrified to see tears streaming down her face. "Hi," Life said as she wiped her tears away. "Wasn't expecting you here." Despite her tears, she looked beautiful. She was wearing a loose white gown, casual yet elegant, with her golden hair pinned up in a loose bun as small strands of it fell down and curled at her ears.

"Why are you crying?" Death asked, stepping into Life's room. She turned back around, perching her elbows on the railing again.

"It's no big deal, I'm fine. You can go back to the others," Life replied, somewhat coldly.

Death quickly strided onto the balcony and wrapped his arms around Life, hugging her from behind. He felt her inhale sharply as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "I know you're not okay, Life - I can feel it. Why don't you tell me what's going on?" he whispered against her neck, and he felt her trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

"I'm okay, so you can leave me alone," she said, continuing wriggle around.

"If you really want me to leave you alone, you do realize you can teleport out of my arms, right?" Life immediately stopped writhing. "The fact that you haven't teleported yet means that you want this, to some extent."

Life went limp, and she started to sob, her shoulders shaking with each heaving breath. "Life, you can talk to me," Death soothed, and Life only cried harder.

"I don't want to leave you," she whimpered between hiccups.

"Then you don't have to," Death said with grim determination, his jaw set.

"What do you mean?" Life breathed, and Death pulled her closer.

"I mean that you can come back with me - there is no reason to leave," Death explained, and Life turned her head to try to meet his gaze.

"But I need to rule over my kingdom," Life argued, and Death smiled.

"Easy - I can create a door that links our homes. That way, you won't have to teleport back and forth and waste your energy." Pushing herself from Death's arms, Life faced Death.

"Can you really do that?" she asked, eyes shining, and when Death nodded, she gasped. "Thank you," she whispered, her hands covering her mouth as her eyes shimmered with tears.

"You never have to be alone, Life," Death said while hugging her, and she smiled.

"Aisha," she murmured against his chest, and Death's heartbeat accelerated. "My true name is Aisha," she continued, and Death smiled, too.

"Aisha," he said, testing the name out on his lips. He chuckled. "Mortius and Aisha... I like it." His true name felt weird on his tongue from not using it too often, but he knew that with time, it would be used more.

Life laughed, the sound like wind chimes tinkling against each other. "Mortius and Aisha," she repeated, and another smile bloomed on her features.

Tilting his head down to Life's level, Death gently kissed her, saying her name on her lips over and over again, and she kissed him back as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck.

Five weeks ago, Death never would have seen himself in Life's arms, making him so much more grateful that he was with Life now. As their magic began to weave and intertwine in the air around them, Death, for the first time in 750 million years, felt a speck of light growing within him, chasing away his inner shadows. For the first time in 750 million years, he didn't feel weighed down by the darkness within, or feel his inner demons eat away at his happiness. He felt so full of light and purity, something he thought impossible up until now. It was because Life, the light of his life, was back with him, and, for the first time in 750 million years, he could finally feel happy again with his future in his arms.

Alas, this story is coming to a close, and I am part proud, part sorry, to say that next week's update will be the finale to this book, so keep an eye out! If you enjoyed this, it'd be greatly appreciated if you drop a like. Seriously, it makes my day :)

See you all next week!