"Let me get this straight. Were you ever a child? And do you have siblings?" — @#@#
"What is it? It's so weird that I have a family, and what's the problem with me being a kid once. I just didn't appear out of nowhere…well, maybe. Hahaha." - Death
After I organized my mind, I started asking Death several questions. And I have to say that she is a great listener, she paid attention to everything she said, always with a smile on her face. She, unlike many people, did not judge my actions in the course of my life. Interested in why she was like that, I questioned her; and her answer was simply that it is not up to her to judge, but only to listen, welcome and, at times, advise.
Of course, it wasn't a one-sided conversation. Death told me many stories. Of the various beings she came for, their adventures, misadventures and misadventures. And if you think that Death is silent, you are very wrong. Her stories were always told with fervor, nostalgia and passion. She looked like those grandmothers and grandfathers who share their life experiences with the younger generation. Funny analogy I know. But well, it's literally millions of years old, so I'm not wrong.
"I have to say Death, I needed this. Thanks" — @#@#
"Because you're thanking me, I should have. It's been a long time since I've had a good conversation." - Death
"(sigh) Seriously, I never expected this to be possible. Damn it! I'm talking to Death in her library while drinking wine." — @#@#
In the course of the conversation, our throats went dry. Then Death took a bottle of wine from her pocket, literally. When I asked she just said "magic". Her answer sparked curiosity in me, so I asked if magic existed on my planet, and the answer was exactly this:
"Magic is everything, it is everywhere and in all things, whether they are alive or not. A force that is present in myriads of worlds."
The surprise when I learned that magic existed as well as other worlds was like a bombshell. I knew the theory of the multiverse, I've read about it, and also several stories on the subject. But a theory is just that, theory. Yet here I was, being told by Death himself that other worlds existed.
"Death, I want to ask you a question." — @#@#
"Just talk, don't stall." - Death
"It's okay, you're here with me, talking and drinking quietly. Don't you, you know... guide the lost souls?" — @#@#
When I finished the question. Death was taking big gulps from his goblet. She really liked wine a lot, she drank five bottles and it's already Friday.
"To answer your question. I don't need to be there to look for them. And it's not like I haven't been working. Right now there's a massacre taking place in a village in Africa. And I'm there to accompany them, as well as in several other locations. Not just in your world, but in many others, in all universes." - Death
The first part was a novelty. I asked something similar before, she replied being omnipresent and almost omnipotent. However, the fact that she didn't need to be present to guide souls was something new.
"So why are you going in person? Wouldn't it be easy and simple to put it on autopilot?" — @#@#
"Look around, and tell me what you see." - Death
Raising an eyebrow at her question, I turned my attention to my surroundings. At first I didn't know what Death wanted me to realize, until I noticed something strange. There were more new books than old ones in the pyramids.
"That's why I go in person. To know their stories, their lives. Each book here is the memory of the life of every living being I've ever searched for." - Death
"Each lifetime in… You had to work so hard then to fill it all up." — @#@#
"That's because you haven't seen the other sections in the library. This one is just one of thousands." - Death
"What!? One of thousands?" — @#@#
She started laughing at my dumbfounded face. Who wouldn't be, the billions of books here, maybe even more. But to my surprise this is just a section of the Before The End Library.
"Don't be too surprised, my brother's library is at least a thousand times bigger than mine. And he doesn't even work to increase its numbers." - Death
"A thousand times bigger? What big wants a place like this." — @#@#
"Magic works wonders." - Death
"Okay, magic exists. I forgot about that." — @#@#
When I thought about it I remembered the bookshelves behind Death. Comparing the pyramids to books, they are pretty normal. In such a thought arose, if every book here is the story of every living thing that Death sought. What's special about the books on the smaller shelves. They're not even full.
"The books behind you, are they special?" — @#@#
Death didn't answer my question, just stared at me.
A few seconds later she sighed and rose from her humble throne. Turning toward the bookshelves, she motioned for me to follow her, which I did.
"Remember when did you ask your first question?" —Death
Looking at her strangely, I didn't understand what she wanted, but I answered anyway.
"Yes, I remember well. I asked if you are the end, middle, beginning or a guide." — @#@#
"And I told you that I'm the beginning. But I didn't say why." - Death
Now that she brought it up, she didn't actually explain what she meant by "beginning".
"All these books here have a difference compared to the others. Each of them is from a person who was given the opportunity to live again." - Death
My eyes widened at this revelation. The reason is, that according to Death, each life lives a lifetime. There's nothing like more or less.
"I know what you're thinking. And I didn't lie to you when I said every life lives a lifetime. But these are special." - Death
Her voice carried a touch of sadness but also tenderness.
"In the beginning when I was creating my library, I noticed that certain individuals for some reason when they died, still had life. As contradictory as it is, even dead they had life. Intrigued by this, I asked my older brother, Destiny, why this." - Death
When she finished speaking, she reached for a book. Stroking the cover with her fingers, she said again:
"The reason life hasn't left them yet, my brother and I concluded, was simple... They haven't lived yet." - Death
"Didn't they live?" — @#@#
"It may seem confusing, but it's quite simple, actually. A being who lives without purpose, without existence, deprived of the privilege of living... someone empty who seeks a purpose, who embarks on a pilgrimage seeking to understand what can only be understood to those with life." - Death
When she finished her dialogue, her eyes were locked on mine. And in them I saw the same emotions my parents showed when they came to comfort me for the loss of my grandfather... sympathy.