The Art of Death

Chapter 7

Maddox lays across the grass, his head resting in Everlee's lap while she mindlessly strokes her fingers through his hair. He had transported them to their last location, a grassy field with endless towering windmills around them and rolling hills. It's peaceful, the only sounds of the windmills converting wind to energy.

Maddox's limbs are long and lanky, awkwardly spread out but he closes his eyes, recovering from his anxiety attack. Everlee, bless her heart, has remained silent, waiting for Maddox to talk.

If someone had walked by, they probably would've done a double take at the picture in front of them. A young man, clothed in dark robes, at peace with the girl whose hair looked like it could light the world on fire.

Maddox heaves a great sigh, opening his mouth to speak but quickly shutting it. Wincing, he sits up, his body already aching for Everlee's warmth. His almond eyes flit to her face then to the windmill behind her. Everlee's sage eyes search Maddox's face, her heart still grieving for him. A boy tied to a fate not meant for him. She didn't quite understand the whole Reaper business but she knew if Xie had listened to Maddox that night, he wouldn't have died, and he definitely would've avoided becoming a Reaper. But maybe, his fate was meant to be this. The broken boy burdened with picking up the broken pieces of humans like her. Forever being the shadow out of the darkness that saves lost souls. Everlee shakes her head at this thought. A life chained to Death is not a life she could imagine living. And the life she had lived was awful enough.

Maddox runs a hand through his hair, making it point out in all different directions, unraveling the work Everlee had done by smoothing his hair. She just rolls her eyes, her fingers mindlessly picking up the grass by their legs.

Maddox yawns, stretching his legs out in front of him then pokes Everlee's foot with his. A small smile lifts up the corners of his mouth causing Everlee to finally sigh in relief. At least he could still offer a smile.

This time, when Maddox opens his mouth, words tumble out so quietly that Everlee scoots closer to him to hear.

"I've carried this anger so long that I''m afraid to let it go. It's a shield around my heart, making the days easier, the Deaths simpler. And if I let it go, Everlee, I'm afraid to see the broken bits left of my heart. What if there is nothing left worth saving, too many pieces to pick up that won't fit back together again? What if I'm not worth saving and that the fate I got, was the fate I deserved?" Maddox's voice trails off as he looks down at the ground, his gaze not flickering from the weed in his hand.

Everlee stares at him, the silence between them not one of suffocation but of one laced with pain and understanding.

Maddox continues to fumble out his words, everything flowing out of him.

"This job has corrupted my soul. How could it not? Taking Deaths everyday, seeing all those memories of lives I could've had. Mortality is a horrific gift that can be taken away at any instance yet I can't help wishing I was mortal. To have that chance to feel the thrill of life knowing that at any chance, it could be ripped away from me. But instead, I am left with a never ending job slowly creating a monster that can't ever be changed back to the boy he was. "

He tilts his head up to feel the sun on his pale skin, and Everlee thinks this is the most human she has ever seen him be. Even when he was crying in his arms, his pain was still laced with the Deaths he carries. In this moment, he is purely a boy craving to feel the heat of a never ending sun.

Everlee scoots closer to him, her foot poking his ankle now.

"I understand. I once thought I wasn't worth saving. That the darkness in my heart automatically sealed my fate, one tinged with only destruction. But what happens if life isn't just broken into good and bad parts?. Or defined by the mistakes that we've made or the paths we were forced to travel. We were both casualties in our own involuntary wars and that doesn't define us as weak or monsters. Just humans who didn't know better. I know you feel stuck and that the walls are closing in, never allowing you a chance to breathe. So I tell you now, Maddox, breathe. Let that shield fall and allow yourself to be human. It's just me, and I promise I will pick up the pieces if you shatter."