Chapter 2: 2.

Death

I appear in Judgement to see the line of souls standing and waiting. All the souls we collected today. My angels are keeping them in line. I walkto the middle where a large wooden table is with two chairs facing each other. On the table there were several scrolls, each detailing the human life of each soul.

Judgement is a place my Father created for souls to go through assessment after their death. It is simply a large room in the sky, connected to mine and Life’s castles. We each had our own place and Father had his own, with the angels who served him. In the room, there are two visible entrances on each end. One leads to Life’s castle and another, mine. At each entrance, a pair of angels stand guard. 

There is a third hidden entrance, which leads to a place no soul should hope to go. A purgatory. 

In Judgement, I would look at their time as a human. If they did not commit any major sins during their time alive, they will be sent to my brother, Life for reincarnation and Life would give them the new begging they deserve. If they barely made any mistakes or did not hurt others, Life would allow them to be born again in a happier environment. If they had made some mistakes and repented, Life would give them a new beginning that may have more suffering to atone for their previous life. 

If they have committed major sins, they would be denied reincarnation, and instead either work for us to repay their sins or Father may even punish them. Some of those who have committed unforgivable sins may even have their souls purged by me in the purgatory. So far in my existence, I have purged a few. They were truly disgusting humans who did not deserve another chance.

Nat is standing by the table, his usual spot while I assess the souls. At my appearance, Nat and all the other angels bow their heads in greeting. I walk towards the table and sit on the chair I usually do.

“Let’s begin.” I glance at the line of souls.

I assess the souls one by one. Most of the souls today are being sent to Life for their reincarnation. Only two who were murderers in their human life will be sent to Father for punishment. 

Soon, I am down to the last soul. I stare at the human male I collected personally earlier. Niran’s father.

He sits down on the chair opposite mine, his eyes on me, staring calmly. I notice that his resemblance to his son is striking. I open the last scroll that belongs to him.

He was a military general who served the country loyally. He has killed some lives in war and also saved many. He was good to his men, faithful to wife and loved his son. He did not force his son who wanted to be a writer to be in his footsteps. He also helped others if they saw they were in need. Eventually, he fell ill with a disease. A decent life with minimal mistakes. 

I roll the scroll back up and hand it to Nat, who is beside me. “Send him to Life for reincarnation.” I state quietly. Nat nods. 

The human gives me a nod and stands up, ready to be led away by one of my angels. However, I speak up. “Wait.”

The human and especially my angels turn to me in confusion. I have never done this before. I am surprised at my own actions too but I keep my promises if I make them.

“Your son.” I stare at the human, and his eyes widen at the mention of his child. 

“He could see me and asked me to pass you a message. He loves you, and he will take care and protect his mother.” I passed on the message Niran told me.

My angels are all shocked at my words. No human alive has ever seen me before. The human is a little shocked too that his son could see Death. Also, I have never given into a request before. I know what they are all thinking, what is going on? However, none of them will dare to question me and I do not feel the need to explain to them. 

“He saw you…?” The human chokes out.

"Yes, but it is not his time yet.” At my statement, the human looks relieved. He nods as he could process his son’s message from me. His tears welled up with tears. 

“Thank you for passing me the message. I can go in peace.” The human smiles at me before allowing himself to be led away by my angel.

I stand up. “There are a few more souls that require collection later. Send Gorn to do it. I will do the assessments tomorrow.” I instruct Nat. Gorn is another angel of mine. I would do it myself but after my encounter with Niran exhausted me a little and after assessing all the souls. Once again, it is a first for me. I just wanted to be alone now. 

With that instruction, I disappear and reappear right in my study. I remove my black coat and toss on the sofa before moving to sit behind my large wooden desk. I drum my fingers on the wood lightly as I think about Niran.

Niran, the first human who could see me, talk to me and even touch me. I lift up my hand which he held earlier, recalling the warmth. Then, I recall his tears and his smile. This fascinating human that actually made me feel some form of exhaustion for the very first time. 

So many “firsts” today… Let me add one more, then. I have never done this.

You are reading story Death is Always With Me at novel35.com

Created by our Father and as immortal beings, Life and I have many powerful abilities that allow us to carry out our duties. While our Father is the most powerful being as the Creator of everything, we are powerful enough. Much more than humans of course. 

I snap my fingers and an image shimmers in thin air before me. The image gradually moves, showing Niran and what he is doing at this exact moment. Life, who is extremely curious about humans and their life, would observe them sometimes.

I, on the other hand, have never bothered observing any human before. I have never been interested in their boring human lives. I just show up when their time is up. Yet since this human fascinated so much… I watch as he is still in the hospital, hugging his mother and comforting her. He is crying again, and his tears this time makes something within me feel off. I can’t put my finger on it. 

I continue to watch him quietly and gradually I realise what it is. I want to wipe those tears away from his pale face. They don’t belong there somehow. His smile earlier was much better. As I am having those disturbing thoughts, I sense his appearance. 

In a blink of an eye, my brother, Life appears before my desk. Both of us look somewhat alike and about the same height. We both have dark hair but mine is long and I leave it naturally styled, while Life’s hair is a little curly and frames his face. 

Unlike me who prefers to be dressed in dark colours, Life is the opposite, often dressed in all sorts of vibrant colours. Glancing up, I see that he is dressed in a pink blouse with white trousers today. 

“What do you want?” I ask, glancing back at the image of Niran. He is now talking to someone else now. An older male. I know right away it is a relative of his, his father’s brother. While there is no sound, I know they are talking about funeral arrangements. 

“Are you actually observing a human for the first time?” Life sounds both surprised and happy. “Is he the one who could see you today?” 

I expected the news to reach his ears and for him to look for me. While my brother and I are opposites in our personalities and our duties, I am still close to him. We grew up and learnt together. So, I do not hide anything from him and vice versa.

“Hmm.” I nod. “Do you have any ideas why this child can see me?” I ask my brother, hoping he might know since he knows more about humans than I do.

At my words, Life gives me a look of disbelief. “He is not a child. He has lived for 18 human years. He is almost an adult human. Stop calling all humans, children.” 

“They are all children to me. We are immortals who have not aged since we matured and assumed our responsibilities.” When we were created by Father, we were infants that grew too. The Angel who conceived us, Mae, cared for us as we became older. Soon, Father created the human world and taught us to assume our responsibilities and made us immortal like him.  

“And you did not answer my question.” I point out.

Life shrugs and he leans forward and looks at the image of Niran too. “Some humans are known to be able to see souls too. They call souls “ghosts” and are terrified of them. Maybe he is just special. He does have a pure soul despite living for 18 human years. Usually they would make some mistakes by then but this human is good hearted.” Life tilts his head slightly. “Ah, I remember him. He was a priest in his previous life who helped many others. I blessed him to continue his kindness after his rebirth.” 

Maybe he is just special… Special indeed.

“It seems his time for this life is short though. 5 more human years and to die saving another.” Like me, Life is able to see the duration of a human’s time. 

“I wonder why his fate is such when he is good-hearted.” I murmur as I watch Niran comforting his mother again.

“Father may have his reasons.” Life concludes. 

The fate of each human is decided by Father, and that includes their duration. Even for those who have reincarnated, while Life may decide the environment they would be rebirthed into, Father would be the one who set their fates eventually. 

While we are allowed to observe humans and know of the future events that may happen to them, we are not allowed to interfere in their fate. It is the biggest rule. So even if Niran is able to see and talk to me, I am not allowed to reveal his life details to him.

“Well, I need to go and process the souls you sent my way. I was just curious after hearing about the human who could see you.” Life says. 

With those words, Life disappears and leaves me alone to watch the human that fascinates me. 

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