Shiuli's head was spinning like a Beyblade. Death's eyes were stern and totally foolproof. It looked like she could trust him whenever he spoke to her, but immortality? This was a little too much for Shiuli's sixteen-year-old brain to process. Yes, maybe if Shiuli was around eight or nine years old right now, she would have believed Death and maybe, would be dancing due to happiness, but this was not the case at this age. Shiuli wondered… Does immortality mean I will live on like a perennial being? Like this creature right here who hasn't died since the start of this earth? Shiuli looked at Death and his silver eyes softened a little, he looked down at his fidgeting fingers and frowned.
"You are Immortal?" Shiuli whispered.
"What?" Death looked confused, "Well, yes. I think I've already mentioned that."
"So… you mean I'm Immortal too now?"
"Yes, that's what I mean."
"I will live on forever… being your assistant?"
Death did not answer that question, but from his expression, Shiuli knew what his answer was. Yes. Shiuli tried to process her feelings about this situation right here… what was she feeling? Scared? Shocked? Elated? Actually… nothing! Shiuli was okay with being Immortal and it was scarily unusual. Shiuli knew that being Immortal will mean she will never age. That was a good thing for her because she would always look like a sixteen-year-old. Being Immortal would also mean that she could fulfill all her and her parent's dreams and aspirations in one life span! How many humans got a chance to do that? And anyway, didn't Death say that it wasn't a choice she could make? Then why should she be afraid?
"Don't worry too much… strangely your revelation does not bother me at all."
"It doesn't now, but soon you will hate me for doing this to your normal mortal life."
"I already hate you, boss. I don't think the future will bring any change to that." Shiuli laughed.
Shiuli was amazed at how she could laugh and be sarcastic in a situation like this when her entire life had changed! Shiuli slowly got up on her feet and crossed her hands in front of her chest. She tilted her head to her right side and looked at Death, urging him to get up too.
Death looked at her with a confused expression for some time and then his focused expression was back. He gracefully got up on his legs and brushed away the grass from his back. He glanced at Shiuli for a second and then looked ahead towards the road that led away from Shiuli's new home.
"I have to go." Death said.
"Alright then. Goodbye. I will head inside."
"You can enter through the window by yourself or do you need my help?"
"Nah… never mind, I will manage. You go on."
Shiuli watched as Death disappeared. She had now gotten used to all these magical elements that came with being Death's assistant. Shiuli walked back to her window and climbed back into her room. She changed into her comfortable pajamas and lay down on her bed. Shiuli stared at the ceiling and played her memories once again. I'm Immortal? Shiuli wondered how difficult that would make her life. Shiuli got up and pulled out her laptop from her study table. Shiuli didn't want to think about being immortal at all, so she decided to google some images of the moon. At first, all she got were the images of the moon we all know, round with craters… beautiful even with so many wrinkles adorning its body, but then Shiuli added, Moon Goddess.
The results she got this time were mostly beautiful cartoon characters. Long and flowing silver hair with bright silver eyes, pale skin, and silver jewelry adoring her entire physique. Every image was a little different from the other, but they all had the same features. Shiuli wondered if Moon, Death's mother looked anything like these pictures. If she did look like these pictures of hers, then she must be really pretty! Shiuli wanted to meet all these other creatures and get to know them. Now that she worked with Death for the welfare of the universe itself, like all these other creatures, doesn't it mean that Shiuli was indirectly working with them as well? Shiuli wondered if the other creatures even knew of her. Was it even allowed to have human assistants? It was raining outside now and Shiuli wondered if there was a creature assigned to maintain rainfall too. Maybe she would ask about this to Death the next time they met? Shiuli put away her laptop and lay down on her bed. I should sleep, it's quite late.
***
Love had asked Death to meet her. Love was in Seoul and was waiting for Death at a tiny noodle shop. Love was a foodie and she loved Kimchi and Ramen so much that she had already finished a bowl of ramen even before Death showed up. Love looked at the street outside and adored the beauty of Seoul. It's so colorful! Just like romance! Love was here to talk to Death about his situation. Love had a feeling that Death was freaking out at the prospect of the confusion he was going through. From what Life had told her, Death doesn't even realize that he is in love. I will help him to figure out his feelings!
"What is it?"
Love looked up to see Death stand there with an uninterested expression. He was wearing his usual clothes and his eyes were bright rather than cold. Love tried to sense any kind of emotion inside the creature standing in front of her and what she sensed, brought tears to her eyes! Death was supposed to be a cold-hearted creature with the minimum amount of emotions any creature was supposed to have. And as for the question of romance… Death definitely was the creature who was in love! Life wasn't lying! Love smiled at Death and urged him to sit down.
"What should I order for you?"
"I'm not hungry, thank you."
"How are you lately? Feeling well?"
"What?" Death raised his eyebrows, "You called me here just to know how I'm feeling?"
"Yes, I did" Love giggled, "You're my baby brother after all."
Death rolled his eyes and gulped down a glass of water. Love was sipping on the green tea that she had just ordered. He definitely doesn't know that he's in love! Just as Love was happily looking at her cousin sitting there waiting for her to get done with her talk with him, the waitress approached them to ask what they would like to eat. Though Love had just finished up a whole bowl of ramen, she was still craving for some bean paste soup. Love asked Death once again if he would like to eat something, but he declined again. Love ordered her bean paste soup and watched as the waitress walked away.
"You eat a lot."
"I know" Love laughed, "By the way, you didn't answer… How are you?"
"I'm fine… as usual, it's too much work, but I'm not complaining. Anyways, it's been a long time since I saw you. The last time we met was when world war two was in progress… so, how are you?"
"I'm amazing! I was here because I just heard a rumor about you." Love smirked
"A rumor?"
"Yes… something about you having an assistant… is it true or what?"
Love couldn't hold back her giggles. Love was so excited about a new beginning that she couldn't wait to know more about this human girl. Whoever this girl was, she had the power to bend the laws of the universe to make a creature fall in love with her! Love looked at Death's confused face and smiled at him reassuringly.
"Hey… calm down. You don't have to explain anything to me. I talked to Life before. I know he set you up for this."
"Thank god! I'm sick of explaining myself!" Death rested his forehead on his palms," Time had come to interrogate too."
"I know. It was Time who had come to me on a certain mission and I got curious. So, I went to Life and talked to him. As usual, that monster had no essence of love in him! I instantly knew it was all his doing."
"But… why did Time come to you, Love?"
"He didn't give me the details… he just asked me some questions." Love smiled, "That's why I got curious."
"I just wanted to do my job, but certain things turned up and I had to seek Life's help. I didn't realize that all this will cause so many problems!"
"Don't worry about that. I will take care of these tiny problems. You do your job and be a good boss to your new assistant."
Love's eyes were filled with love. As expected, Death looked all confused and scared. As soon as Love had uttered the last sentence, the waitress came with their order and served it to Love. Love thanked the waitress for her services and started to concentrate on eating her food. Death watched his cousin sister as she hungrily attacked her bowl of soup. Love knew how fine Death's character was… Even though he was the kindest of the creatures, he was misunderstood around the world. Death was a creature you could always trust. Life could betray you, but Death would never.
"Why?"
Love looked up at her cousin with confusion brimming from her face. Death was quietly watching Love drink her soup while his face swam in a pool of fear and confusion. Death was an introvert among all the creatures. He always kept his feelings to himself, but right now, it somehow looked like his personality had changed. Death was definitely curious as to why Love was here and was speaking of taking care of the mess he had created. Though Love was the creature who could do anything for her kin just to see them happy, Death had seen a hint of play in her words… the type when you tease your sibling trying to give them a clue that you know a secret that you are keeping from them. Love could now see the spectacular result of Death's heart falling for a young human girl.
"You want the truth? Here is the truth, but are you ready to listen to me?"
"I need answers."
"Very well." Love pushed her bowl of soup away, "I sense a kind of emotion in you that I cannot in any other creature. You are special and I don't think you realize that yet, but don't worry… I see it coming, the day when your true emotions will reveal themselves to you. You are nothing like any of us… you are capable of wonders and for that, you may face a lot of backlash from our own kind. You don't have any idea what I am talking about and I know I've just gotten you more confused, but I just want you to know that I'm always by your side. You can always talk to me about your emotions… especially the purest of all your emotions."
"I just needed some answers… now I'm left with more questions! What is it about me that I am yet to find? What is it that you know about my emotions and I don't?"
"Let's just say… everything."
***
Death was confused when he went back to his little house in freezing Antarctica. Though it was really cold here, Death never felt like his body was having any problems syncing in with the atmosphere here. His body was used to the cold. But, today felt a little cold even to Death… not too much, but cold. Death sat down on his cozy white couch, rested his head, and closed his eyes. His mind was still wondering what Love and Time knew about him that he didn't! Death tried to analyze himself, but all he could think of was that everything started the night he requested Life to save Shiuli's life. But what changed inside me? Death opened his silver eyes and looked around his white house. The furniture was mostly ivory and his couch was white leather. Death had always preferred his life black and white… too much color meant too much brightness to him. That was not suitable for his personality.
Death walked outside his door and stared at the snow-clad surroundings. His entire existence he had spent in this freezing region and today all of a sudden, he felt like he should've stayed somewhere more… lively? That very word reminded Death of Shiuli. Why is everything so complicated around her? Death wondered why his feelings had to be a hurricane of doubt when all his existence he lived with clarity in his mind?
Death walked around the snow-clad landscape and realized how deserted this place was. He never liked the company of humans and liked to stay away from them in a cold and freezing place where his only companions were animals who loved the chill of this place as much as him. Death wondered why all of a sudden these thoughts and questions were torturing his brain. Death walked back to his house and shut himself inside his study room. Well, yes Death did like to study Physics and Chemistry… he also had a laptop which he hardly used for study purposes. Death opened his laptop and googled "images for death". All Death got were the images of dead bodies, some murdered, some succumbing to deadly diseases, and some accident-hit bodies. The sight was the usual he saw when he went to take souls. Death didn't know why the humans hated him so much. They created tales and myths about me being an evil god! Death was actually nice… at least he tried to be nice to the souls he met. Death closed his laptop and went to his kitchen. I don't care whether humans like me or not! Why should I anyway?
And just like that, Death started cooking himself his dinner. His thoughts were still screaming at his feelings, but he tried to ignore them. He tried his best though he failed. His food was burnt and he had to try cooking it another time… Death's situation was of a person who had forgotten to cook, eat, sleep, everything… How did I change so much? Death wondered whether creatures also fell ill once in a while, but that is impossible like it is impossible for a creature to fall in love. Death gave up the idea of cooking dinner and decided to go for a walk in the cold again. It's important for the creatures to eat, yes, but it isn't as important to them as it is to humans. Humans need to eat to live and stay alive, but for the creatures, it's just a way of feeling like a human in the universe where they look like the humans but are completely different from them. Death was never very interested in the humans… he ate whenever he went out to meet with his family because they always met for a meal, but lately, Death wanted to behave like a human… he wanted to live like the humans, eat like the humans and also sleep like the humans. For something Death never was… he was tired of being a creature.
Knock knock…
The knock on the door startled Death, he jumped to his feet and an expression of shock took over his chiseled face. Who is it at this hour? Death walked up to the main door and slowly opened the door. Death wasn't sure who would want to come to Antarctica just to meet Death! This place was freezing and plain… nobody among the creatures liked this place, everyone always complained about how boring Death was. Death wondered, who was the brave creature who had come just to meet him?
As Death slowly opened the door with a look of curiosity taking over his shocked expression, the latter came back to his face as soon as he saw the creature standing in front of him. Faith! Faith was Death's favorite cousin and they were best friends! Everyone in their family considered Death boring while faith was the deep one. Their conversations with the others were never very open, but with each other, they could be themselves. The most important part was that they understood each other like no one else. Faith was in charge of delivering faith to the organisms in the universe. Faith was the reason why humans believed in the greater good. Though humans interpret faith in various different ways, the meaning that they get out of it is the same. That there is a greater power above us all that is looking after us. Faith was very wise and that is what Death liked about her.
"Hello, brother! Did I disturb you?"
"No." Death smiled, "Come in."
Faith walked inside gracefully. Faith's oval face had hazel eyes which glistened beautifully. Faith's ebony skin tone complimented her long golden hair that reached up to her waist. A thin silver chain hung down her neck and she wore a green-colored simple gown. Faith's plump lips were red and her cheeks were slightly pink. Faith sat down on the white couch in the living room and smiled brightly at Death. Death sat down next to her and smiled back.
"How are you, sister?"
"I'm fine, but you don't look like you're fine." Faith frowned, "Is everything ok?"
"Not really."
Death couldn't express his gratitude towards Faith! He was so glad that she had come to meet her. I need to talk to someone or else my heart will explode. The torrent of feeling inside of Death spun faster now… he could see his best friend sit next to him and he just couldn't hold it any longer. A frown took over Death's face and his eyes looked lost… completely drowned in the sea of confusion that was brimming inside of him.
"I have so much to tell you, Faith! I don't know where to start! Everything is a mess!"
"Death." Faith leaned forward, "What is it that is bothering you?"
"You have no idea how glad I'm that you've come! I needed to share my feelings with someone or else my heart would explode any second now."
"Tell me… what is it?"
***
Faith was worried. When she had come to see Death, it was just to meet him and talk to him about how their respective work was going on, but now that Death looked like he was hit by a truck (though creatures won't die if that happened). Faith was worried because Death was the creature she had her faith in…and her faith was precious. Death was her cousin brother… since the start of the world, they had been best friends. Faith still remembers the day when Death and she together cut Time's clothes into shreds and later put all the blame on Love. Those days they were children and now they all were older than almost everything except the other creatures and the universe itself. Though Faith was older than Death, it always seemed like Faith was the younger sibling among the two. Death was always the one who listened and Faith was the one who did most of the talking. Both were quite wise, but Faith always considered Death wiser than her. Now, when she saw her best friend sit there like a mortified creature, Faith's eyes sank into the ocean of worries.
"It all started a few days ago. I was assigned to take away one of the special souls, it was a usual day for me… too much work and I was waiting to return home, but there was this one special soul along with two regular souls that I had to take. I went to the residence of the soul that had to be taken and saw the two regular souls first. It was a man and a woman dumping their heavy luggage into the trunk of their car. As I looked at them, I noticed a young beautiful girl walking towards the car… she looked so happy to be going wherever she was going with her parents. Something inside me rang like an alarm, Faith! Trust me, I don't know what made me neglect my duty like that, but I just couldn't take that girl's soul away!"
"Then?"
"The car met with an accident after a while…I took the two regular souls and went to the hospital where the girl was supposed to die. As I looked at that young girl lying there lifelessly, I walked away and talked to the souls of her parents that I had just taken. They begged me that I let her live like I was a monster who was about to eat their daughter! It just happened…I took a decision that I'd never taken so far…ever!"
"You spared the girl's life?"
"No." Death looked down at his fingers, "I went to Life and asked him to let the girl live, knowing that he would not do it for nothing. Life immediately asked me to take the girl as my assistant and make her immortal."
"What was the price you had to pay for that?"
"That's the mysterious part! He said he didn't want anything in return other than a chance to meet the girl!"
Faith didn't know what to say. It was possible that Death took pity on the girl and let her live, but that could've happened before too…why now after billions of years? Faith tried, but she couldn't explain what had made a creature like Death neglect his duty like that. Faith knew Death better than any other creature in the universe. Death never neglects his duty. For him, duty comes first and everything else second. Faith stared at Death as he buried his face in his palms. Faith gently patted his head like she were his mother and he was her troubled child.
"Something is fishy with Life." Faith frowned.
"Exactly! I don't understand how he can let go of this so easily!" Death looked up at Faith, "And well, Time and Love have been meeting me about this assistant issue… it's like I'm the criminal here."
"Maybe Life wanted this. He wanted you to be the criminal in other creature's eyes?"
"But if this is all he wanted, he wouldn't even want to meet with this girl… and the way Love was talking about it, it feels like something is right but wrong."
"How can something be right and wrong at the same time?"
"I don't know." Death hid his face in his palms again, "I need answers as well."
Faith wondered why Love was showing any interest in this matter… Time she could understand, maybe he was concerned about this whole human assistant given immortality part, but Love? What did Love see in this scenario that she jumped in? Love was the one who took care of others without any selfish aspirations. She only jumped into such technical matters when she saw she had something to do… or let's say someone to help.
"Death?" Faith called, "earlier you said you had to share your 'feelings'…what did you mean by that?"
"Feelings of confusion and irritation against Life, Time and Love… But mostly towards this girl because of whom this entire menace started!"
"What is this girl's name? Age?"
"Shiuli Basu…she's from India and is sixteen years old."
"Hmm… Shiuli…"
***
Shiuli was in Amisha's room and was helping Amisha pick a dress for her cousin's wedding next week. Shiuli wasn't the best person to give someone like Amisha fashion tips or opinions, but Amisha always valued Shiuli's suggestions to any famous designer. Shiuli looked at Amisha and couldn't take her eyes off her. Amisha was wearing a red traditional Indian attire called an Anarkali and her dupatta or the veil was pinned to her left shoulder, perfectly pleated. The golden and green beads which were traditionally called Kundan adored the borders of the dress and the green bottom was of satin. Shiuli always thought that the color red suited the Indian complexion in such a very beautiful way that sometimes Shiuli wondered if the color was exclusively made for the brown skin tones. Shiuli knew which dress Amisha would be wearing for her cousin's wedding.
"This is perfect!" Shiuli exclaimed, "No more options, please… This is it."
"Really? You've changed so much! The last time I asked you to pick an outfit for me, you threw a fit! Since when do you find fashion amusing?"
"Since the day I officially became your sister."
It still felt like yesterday that Shiuli's life had changed completely. Shiuli couldn't thank Amisha and her family for what they had done for her… these people were now her family. Shiuli always saw her parents in Amisha's parents, but though she was now officially adopted by them, she couldn't call them mom and dad. It was like she was replacing her parents… Though it sounds wrong of Shiuli to think of it like this, at the end of the day, Shiuli hadn't completely gotten over her parent's demise yet. And anyway, things were really complicated in her life as the supernatural beings were interfering with her mortality. Shiuli wasn't really getting enough of this. Shiuli wondered if she would ever get tired of this. I'm immortal now. The thought of being an immortal was both exciting and scary at the same time. Shiuli wondered if she would ever get tired of living… Shiuli also realized that being immortal meant watching your loved ones grow old and die while you remain eternally young. Shiuli looked at Amisha and a chill ran down her spine.
"Amisha…" Shiuli stammered, "What if magic was real and supernatural beings really existed?"
"That is impossible. Let's not talk about fiction."
"No, what if… I really want to talk to you about this."
"Why?" Amisha laughed, "Don't tell me you believe in this bunkum."
"What if I do? Will you disown me then?"
"No… I will try to talk you out of it and if I find you too obsessed with all this, I will get you help."
"Help?" Shiuli stared into Amisha's eyes, "That means it is possible that it is all in my head right? Like it is all psychological and I'm just ill."
Amisha's playful smile turned into a concerned frown. Shiuli was too busy to notice her best friend's fretful expression as she was too busy herself, trying to make sense of all of this. It is bunkum indeed… but my parents did die and I almost died as well. No matter how much Shiuli thought of it to be a creation of her imagination or a dream, she just knew it deep down inside her heart that this was the reality. Fiction can be non-fiction after all.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes." Shiuli smiled reassuringly, "I'm more than alright actually."
"You're acting pretty weird nowadays."
"I know, but I'm content."
"Content? What do you mean by that? In situations like this, you say you're happy, not content." Amisha added, "I want us to be happy always… no room for sorrow at all."
Shiuli smiled at Amisha. Life isn't something that can give you only happiness…it is something that has its ups and downs. Wouldn't life be all monotonous and miserable after a point when you have only happiness in your life and no sorrows? Ever imagined why people look for imperfections in their partners and seek to cherish and love them irrespective? Has it ever crossed our minds that a perfect person to have by our side means to have a supernatural being by our side and not someone with whom you can connect with and spend your whole life with? Shiuli asked Amisha to sit down next to her on the bed and once she sat down Shiuli explained.
"Do you think I'm perfect? Is that why you love me so much and consider me your best friend?"
"Why are you changing the topic? Content and happiness don't mean the same thing… we were discussing that."
"I know… they are two different words in the English language and they mean two different things." Shiuli's voice was gentle, "And I'm not changing the topic. All I want to do is have a conversation with you."
"Because I'm worried about you?"
"Yes… that and because I simply want to talk to you."
"Well then, no… you are not perfect and I'm sure I wouldn't have been your friend if you were perfect. The thing with you is that you have your own flaws and I have mine. I connected with you because your flaws are my strengths and my flaws are yours. We together make our friendship perfect. This is what I think."
"So then how can you expect our life to be perfect? Why do you wish for a life that has only happiness and no sorrows in it? If there was no sorrow in our lives at all then where would all the anger, frustration, tears, and relief go? Do you know what happiness is? It is the relief you receive after you have overcome a night of fear of losing your loved one. Happiness is the moment when after a night of crying and drowning in your sorrows you finally see a ray of hope, a reason to be alive. Happiness has to give room to other emotions to come back strong and pounce at our lives. Being happy always is not happy at all! That's why I used the word 'Content'… Say I'm content with this moment in my life because I can feel all the emotions… Say I'm content that I'm human enough to be hurt and to heal eventually. Say I'm content that even though a storm tore down my life into pieces, I got up and survived. Thank god for this moment and do not ask of him to give you happiness. Thank him that he gave you sorrow, misery, anger, and frustration as well… because this is what makes us happy."
"Then why do we all seek happiness? If we need all other emotions as well, why are we asked to be happy always?"
"Because we're ignorant. Because we think being rich with a lot of money and having a loving family by our side will make us happy. Because we think all we need in our lives is smiles and no tears. Because we are wrong."
"Are you content that even though a hurricane almost toppled your life, you are still alive? Are you content to be my sister and my parent's daughter? I know, me asking this to you may bring back some pain, but are you content?
"I'm content… the hurricane that almost destroyed my life has taught me to be content. I miss my parents dearly and I wish every day that whatever happened was just a nightmare and my parents will come back to me and embrace me lovingly, but at the same time I'm content that I lived… because I know now that it is what my parents wanted. I'm content that I have a new family now that was my parent's only family then. I'm content that I was loved then and loved now. I'm content that you are my sister and I'm your parent's daughter. I thank god every minute for what he has blessed me with."
"I'm content too." Amisha embraced her friend, "I thank god every minute for what he has blessed me with as well."
***
Death was in front of Shiuli's window, waiting for her to look out as he had knocked on the window several times. Death was assigned to take the soul of a French man who was around forty years old. The man's name was David and his dream was to be a musician, but he could never fulfill his dreams because he was a fourth-generation baker and his family's bakery was all he had. It was his parent's only memory and he had never had the courage to be anything other than a baker.
Death was startled as soon as Shiuli opened the window all of a sudden. She looked like she was running and her hair was a mess. There were feathers embedded in her hair and she was wearing a yellow-colored nightgown. Shiuli was smiling and her eyes looked happy. She's happy with her life. Death was glad that even after he had told Shiuli that she was an immortal now, she could be happy.
"Sorry." Shiuli was breathing heavily, "I was having a pillow fight with Amisha."
"Is that your friend I saw in the hospital the other day?"
"Yes. Well, are we supposed to work tonight?"
"Yes." Death replied, "In fact, we need to leave for France right now."
Shiuli's eyes lit up, "France? Really?"
"We have to retrieve a French man's soul."
"I'll get ready, I mean I can't go to France in my nighty, can I?"
"How would I know about human fashion? The last time I checked, someone wore a trench coat dress to an event and even Love was talking about it."
"Well, that was a celebrity." Shiuli sighed, "I'll be back in a minute."
A minute… Well, if Death wouldn't be a lonely immortal living in the South Pole all by himself, he would've known that women can never get ready in a minute. After waiting for a solid twenty minutes, Shiuli showed up wearing a plain sea-green halter neck top and black denim that hugged her legs and accentuated her curves beautifully. Shiuli's hair was tied up in a messy bun and the feathers were all gone. Death noticed that Shiuli's lips looked redder than usual and realized she had put on some makeup.
"We aren't going to a party, human." He rolled his eyes, "We're going to work tonight."
"Yes, but our work is in France. It is the fashion capital of the world. Even I deserve a little girliness. I guess I'm getting too influenced by Amisha."
"Whatever, we are already late. Let's get going."