Shiuli Basu was in the car with her parents when her heart started beating fast. Something was definitely wrong and somehow she could sense it. Her eyes were teary from an unknown fear and she hugged herself tight against the cold. The car AC was on and it was getting quite cold inside. She could hear her parents talk about their new flat in Mumbai in front of the car.
"Mom, could you please turn off the AC?" Shiuli shivered, "It's getting very cold in here."
"Cold? Darling, I think it's alright."
"Mom, please."
"Okay."
Her mom smiled back at her and turned off the AC. The car still felt cold. Maybe I'm going to fall ill or something. Shiuli did not want to fall ill in Mumbai - she wanted to roam the streets of Mumbai eating Pav Bhaji and Pani Puri. Shiuli wanted to visit Juhu Beach and try to spot celebrities in the city. Falling ill was the last thing she wanted.
"Baby, you okay?" Her dad asked, "You're shivering."
"Yeah… I'll be fine."
"You are already missing Amisha, aren't you?"
Shiuli didn't answer that question. She did miss Amisha a little bit, but it was overshadowed by her excitement to reach Mumbai. The car was going quite fast as there was very little traffic on the road and the atmosphere outside was a little... weird, to say the least. Shiuli stared out of her window and looked at the streets of this small town she had always lived in. It looked eerie to her today.
As Shiuli got lost in her thoughts of her childhood, her mom's screams snapped her out of her thought chain. Shiuli turned her head to look at what was going on. Two giant balls of light came rushing towards them. Something collided with something. The sound was deafening! Shiuli saw red in front of her and everything went blank.
***
It was a long day, but Death somehow wasn't tired. He was nervous. The most irritating part of this was that he is never nervous. Not even when he has to stare into the eyes of those nasty jury members who sit at the judgment panel and sentence souls to either eternal torture in hell or eternal peace in heaven. Death was always calm. He knew how to be stone-hearted and didn't care about anyone and anything until this girl, Shiuli entered the scene. He didn't know what was happening to him… he definitely had no feelings for her and he definitely did not want to take her soul… the irony. But, in the course of this evening, Death had failed to do his duties, was forced to meet his stupid brother, and now had to make this girl his assistant.
Death slowly entered the emergency room where Shiuli was resting and looked around at all the medical equipment around her. Science had progressed so majestically that it somehow lessened Death's task. Due to the scientific advancements in the medical field, the death rate among humans also decreased. It was actually a problem, but Life always said that he was trying his best at balancing the human population. Death always wondered what would happen if he ever decided to quit his job. What would Life say? What would happen to humankind? Would Life assign some other creature to do Death's job? But somewhere inside his head, Death knew that he could not quit. He wasn't a human worker who could jump from one job to another whenever he wished, just for a salary hike. He was a creature of the moon. He did not work for a salary… he worked for the functioning of the earth and the universe. It was not just a job… it was a responsibility and there is no running away from responsibilities.
"Okay…" Death murmured to himself, "Get to work… though you don't know how exactly to do it."
Death slowly walked up to the bed at the center of the room and stood firmly trying to figure out what he would tell to this girl when she woke up. He gently touched the girl's forehead with his right thumb and silently, under his breath whispered the magical spell that would save her life. Mortuus ut vivas. Shiuli blinked frantically as if life suddenly came seeping into her and when she finally opened her eyes, she winced in pain at the effort of moving her body. She looked down at her bandaged hand and leg and felt a throbbing pain in her head that was quite unbearable, but when she looked around her, she found herself in a hospital room with a young man standing right in front of her.
***
Shiuli's mind was not functioning properly. The last she remembered, she was in the car with her parents and the next second she was here. In a hospital room with a young foreigner standing in front of her. He was clad in an all-black business suit and she sensed ice in his stare. He was as pale as snow and his hair was as dark as the night. His face was chiseled and his jawline was so sharp and symmetrical that Shiuli couldn't take her eyes off them. His eyes were silver and cold, exactly like his demeanor and he had an athletic build. But one thing Shiuli could not understand. What in the world was happening?
"What am I doing in a hospital? Why is my whole body bandaged like a mummy's? And why in the world is the doctor wearing a business suit instead of an apron?"
"Quit screaming please." The man's voice was cold and harsh.
"What happened to us? Were we in an accident or something? Where is mom and dad?"
Shiuli was crying. Her heart throbbed at the idea of an accident and something told her that everything was wrong. She being in the hospital was wrong. Her parents not being there was wrong and this man standing there was wrong! All wrong!
"Calm down human. I will tell you everything, but you have to shut up and calm down!"
"How can I?" Shiuli sobbed.
"I understand your situation, but you have to shut up and listen."
Shiuli couldn't talk anyway. Grief and fear had already taken over her body and tears kept rolling down her cheeks like waterfalls. This man right here was creepy and something told her that whatever he had to tell her was definitely bad news. Hope mom and dad are fine. Shiuli wished with all her might. She believed in God and thus, she prayed and prayed that her parents were just fine.
"Ok… So, I don't know how to do this, but I'm going to try and sound at least a little sorry. You and your family met with an accident en route to the railway station and thus, you are here in the hospital. You are in the ICU if you haven't noticed already and your best friend and her family are outside, praying that you survive. As for your parents, I'm sorry they're dead. Spot dead to be precise."
Shiuli's heart cracked and tears stopped coming out of her sorrowful eyes. All of a sudden, she felt paralyzed with all the revelations and emotions flooding in. Shiuli didn't know what to say. Her life was perfect just a while ago and now everything came crashing down on her. She was lying there, staring at the ceiling, motionless. Her eyes were heavy like stones and her eyelids were paralyzed too. Somehow her ears were functioning properly and she could hear the man continuing his talk.
"And well, I know it's hard on you." The man cleared his throat," But I want you to know that you are alive.
"I don't want to be." Shiuli's voice was hardly audible, "Make sure you kill me before you leave please."
"I can't."
"Why doctor?!? Why!? I don't want to live!"
"And no… I am not the doctor."
"I don't care what you are!"
Shiuli was lying there like a dead soul. Her eyes seemed so much like Death's- Cold and dead. Her entire world had collapsed on her and all she wanted was to disappear… from everything that was living and breathing. Shiuli was never an emotional person. Even when she felt anything for anyone, she never expressed it. She liked keeping her feelings to herself. Similarly, Shiuli really loved her parents who loved her with all their hearts, but she never showed them how she felt. She always shrugged away her parent's show of love. She was their only child and she had never said "I love you" to them. The thought of this made Shiuli shiver with grief and guilt.
"Well, I think it's better you learn how to care about what I am, mortal." Death rolled his silver eyes, "Look, I don't think your parents would be happy if you died. They want you to stay alive."
"Want? You talk as if they are still here somewhere…" Shiuli blinked back new tears.
"They are."
"What?"
Shiuli stared at the man standing in front of her with an air of purpose. His tone was nothing like joking or sympathy. He looked like he had a job to perform and he would do it at any cost. He looked inhuman and timeless. The way he was looking at her, she knew that he shouldn't be there.
"What do you mean? One moment you tell me my parents are dead and the other you tell me they are alive?"
"I never said they are alive… I said they are here… as in their souls are here."
"Souls? Who are you exactly?" Shiuli's eyes flared, "Why are you here in the ICU if you aren't the doctor?"
"I am Death."
"Are you kidding me right now!?! MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!"
As soon as that scream of utter frustration and grief came out of her mouth, Shiuli saw the man frowning with annoyance and suddenly disappeared! OH MY LORD! He was nowhere to be seen. One moment he was standing right in front of her and the next POOF…. He isn't there at all! How? Just as Shiuli let out a gasp of amazement, the man reappeared right behind her. Leaning in with angry eyes and staring at Shiuli's upside-down face.
"Believe me now?"
"Wow! That means you are here to take my soul too right? Do it! Please… Just take me to my parents!" Shiuli's eyes sparkled with hope.
"Change of plans." The frown disappeared from Death's face, "I have your parent's souls here with me… You want to talk to them?"
"Talk? I can still talk to them? Is it possible!?! Good Lord! Yes!"
"Okay then."
***
Death looked at the young girl's eyes with amazement. The way her eyes gleamed with hope when she heard that she could talk to her parents was beautiful! He had never seen anybody so beautiful ever. Her eyes held pain, but their brownness held hope like everything in the world was possible. Her eyes gave hope to everything in the universe. Hope… Even the word seemed like a new one to Death. Since the time Death had first seen her, dancing happily her way towards the car, everything that intensified… the situation, his heart's beating, everything…
Death turned towards his briefcase which was lying down on the floor beside him and held it up gently so that Shiuli could see it. A wave of doubt passed her hopeful eyes and then her eyes lit up with pained happiness. She tried to sit up but quit the idea when an enormous tide of pain hit her body like electricity. Death carried the briefcase next to her and gently held it right next to her beautiful face.
"Mom! Dad! You in there? Can you hear me?" Her voice was sad and tender.
"Shiuli is that really you?"
"Mom… mom is dad there too? GOOD LORD! I love you guys so much! I never told you, but love was always there between us!"
"Baby… Are you still alive?" Mr. Basu's voice was urgent, "You did not die, did you?"
"No… But don't worry daddy, I will ask him to take my soul too… I will come with you, wherever he might take you."
"What? No! You will live! Promise me you will stay alive! You can't die, baby! You can't! You have dreams… Big ones. They just can't end like that! You have to live and make sure your dreams don't die! They have to come true… Because your dreams eventually became ours too! We want you to make a difference in the world with your writings! You have a rare talent, my princess. Don't let it go wane! Promise me!"
"Dad…" Tears streamed down her cheeks, "I can't! I can't live without you two! How can I? I can't!"
"You have to! It is our last wish! Please! PLEASE!"
***
Shiuli could not believe whatever was happening. The world seemed so unreal to the point that she herself felt unreal and unimportant. She didn't want to live. How could she be without her parents? Her parents were her life. Shiuli did have big dreams… being an author was all that she had lived for. She had done so much for her dreams to come true and well, her parents had invested a lot of emotional support along with the financial one for her dreams. Her dreams were theirs too. They had every right to make decisions for her, but she couldn't just accept this! She couldn't live in peace if she knew that she decided to live alone on this planet when she had the chance to die with her parents. The latter seemed the best option to her. Shiuli looked at Death's face. He stood there staring at her with his big silver eyes like he was waiting. Shiuli's tears were hot and a sense of purpose and composure took over her body.
"For you mom and dad… just for the two of you" tears were gently flowing down her cheeks, "But wait for me wherever you go. I will find you guys someday… I Promise."
"We promise to wait for you, my child… But after you have accomplished all the success in life and have grown old." Mrs. Basu's voice was as delicate as glass.
Shiuli knew that the decision she had taken was going to hurt her a lot, but she knew that she had given hope to her parents. They would sit peacefully in their afterlife and hope… hope to reunite with their daughter again someday. The word hope was a beautiful one. Even the sound of it made a person's heart warm and sunny. The meaning of it was even more beautiful than its sound. Wherever there was hope there was magic and Shiuli knew it all along. She now hoped for a better future… which would be hard of course, but it will make her parents proud of her for sure! With a newfound hope taking over her entire being, Shiuli said her goodbyes to her parents one last time until the day they would meet again. Death carried the briefcase away from her and walked out of the door. He looked a little too human to be Death… Even though Shiuli could still not actually believe that the young man she had just seen was a person who carried dead souls away. He seemed kind and gentle and Shiuli's perception of Death changed immediately. Death was supposed to be cruel and ugly, but this man right there was quite the opposite of what the world thought.
Just as Shiuli was about to close her eyes to rest her hurting body and a hurting heart, Death suddenly materialized in front of her and almost gave her a heart attack! HOLY GOD! Her eyes went wide and a tiny gasp of shock escaped her pretty lips.
"Sorry to scare you" He rolled his eyes unapologetically, "But I am still not done with you… I will meet you after a month. I think a month is enough for you to get over your parent's demise."
"I can never get over their death."
"Well, it's important… so I will see you one month from now."
Shiuli looked at Death and realized that it was really hard for her to keep her eyes off him. He looked around 18 or 19 and his eyes were cold, but warm as well. As stupid as that sounds, she could not explain how someone could be so cold and warm at the same time.
"Thank you."
"What?"
"Thank you for letting me speak to them one last time. I really needed that."
"I didn't do it so that you would thank me…" Death shrugged, "Whatever, you are welcome."
Shiuli watched him vanish into thin air. He was rude, but nice too… What is up with him? Shiuli kind of hated him, but she liked him too because he let her talk to her parents. He gave her a new reason to live. Death technically gave her a new life. The fact that Death was actually a person made Shiuli wonder if everything was possible in the world. After all, all human myths and stories were not bunkum. Humans make their own stories and they themselves don't believe them. Shiuli could now understand that the answer to all secrets was in believing in your own imagination. Writing was all about imagination too… so technically, writing was like magic.