"Where do you live?" Shiuli asked Death as they sat down on the fine grass outside her bedroom window.
Shiuli looked at Death who was sitting there looking at her. It felt weird honestly. Shiuli never had a man look at her the way Death looked at her every time they met. He sure seemed annoyed by her, but he still seemed so in awe of her. It's just because I'm the first human he has ever had contact with. Shiuli lay down on the grass and stared at the night sky filled with twinkling stars.
"Antarctica." Death sighed as he lay down next to Shiuli. She became a little uncomfortable at first, but then she saw how handsome he looked gazing at the stars and her heart felt at ease.
"That's a weird place to stay."
"I like quiet place away from human dwellings. Also, I like the cold… It matches my personality."
"You need to change your personality and your place of residence, sir" Shiuli laughed, "Or else no woman will want to love and live with you."
As soon as Shiuli said that, Death turned around and raised his head on his palms. He was still lying down, but had turned to face his new assistant. He looked annoyed and Shiuli blushed a little at the fact that he was directly staring at her again. Shiuli slowing turned to face Death and mimicked his actions. She tried to look annoyed too, but Death looked so beautiful! Her eyes softened and a gentle smile crept on her face.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Death asked with wonder in his eyes.
"Simply." Her smile brightened, "So, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No." His annoyed expression was back.
"Oh."
Though Shiuli was 100 percent positive that the man opposite her had no romantic bone in him, she still felt a wave of relief when he said that he didn't have a girlfriend. It was none of her business to know whether her boss had a girlfriend or not, but her heart always urged her to know more about him. In fact, after they talked over breakfast in France, Shiuli's heart was acting a little nervous around her boss. She felt her heartbeat quicken whenever she caught him staring at her and a wave of comfort surged through her. Right now, when she was lying down next to him on the grass while they both looked into each other's eyes, Shiuli couldn't help but giggle a little.
"Creatures don't fall in love. We don't do romance."
"Then how do you reproduce?"
"Magic. Like I told the story of our creation before, I and my brother Life were created by Moon dust."
"Like the other creatures were created by the universe?" Shiuli's heart felt heavy.
"Yes." Death's eyes softened and the annoyed look left his eyes, "What is it? Why do you look so dull all of a sudden?"
"Nothing" Shiuli sighed and gave a sad smile, "It's getting late, I should go."
"Are you sure you are okay?"
"Yes, I'm starting school again from tomorrow. I should go sleep."
Shiuli slowly got up and started walking towards her window. She didn't look back at Death, but she knew he was standing right there where they were lying down next to each other just a while ago. Shiuli's heart ached for some reason and she didn't know why. The fact that Death mentioned that creatures like him do not fall in love, hurt her a little. She didn't know why. She never felt this way before. She wanted to talk to him a little more, but she also wanted to get as far away from him as possible. Her insides churned with a hurricane of feelings she could not comprehend and as she tried to climb up her window, she felt her leg's grip slip and she tumbled backwards. As she was about to fall, she felt a pair of strong arms supporting her from behind. She knew it was Death and instantly her face turned red as she realized that her back was pressed against his strong chest.
"Are you okay?" Death's voice was full of concern.
Shiuli turned around in his grip, "Yes. Thank you for saving me from the fall."
Death slowly withdrew his grip around her and walked a step back to put some space between them. His eyes looked down at the ground and Shiuli felt like something was missing from her. Her body craved to be held by him and she mentally slapped herself for thinking like that. But it felt so good to be held by him. Shiuli's mind was drowning in an ocean of thoughts and emotions when suddenly Death moved closer and without a word, lifted her in his muscular arms. The action took her by surprise and her blush darkened. Death slowly brought her to the window and sat her down on its base. Shiuli slowly jumped into her bedroom and turned around to look at Death.
"Thank you again. For helping me get into my room."
"Goodbye." Death whispered as he vanished into the thin air.
***
Amisha was in her room when her phone rang. She picked it up and saw Shiuli's number pop up on the screen. Why is she calling me so late at night? Amisha's eyes sparked with tension. She wondered if everything was okay with Shiuli. She instantly picked up the phone and answered. Shiuli's voice sounded like a whisper.
"Can we talk?"
"Is everything okay?" Amisha's voice was full of concern.
"Yes, just need to talk to you."
Amisha immediately cut the call and ran to Shiuli's room. She didn't care to knock and rushed inside the room. The room was dark and Shiuli was sitting on her bed in her night gown. Shiuli looked up at Amisha and gave her a sad smile. Amisha's heart sank as she saw her best friend and sister look at her like that. She gently closed the door behind her and walked towards Shiuli. She sat down next to her and gave her a tight hug.
"You okay?" Amisha pulled back and looked Shiuli straight in the eyes.
"Yes… But I feel sad."
"Why? Is it about your parents?"
"No." Shiuli's heart ached thinking about her parents, "I don't know why."
As someone who knew Shiuli since her childhood, Amisha knew that Shiuli wasn't someone who would call her in the middle of the night like that when she felt sad. She was strong and she always kept her feelings to herself. Even when her parents passed away, Shiuli cried silently without saying anything to her or her parents. Shiuli was someone who kept her feelings to herself. But now, Shiuli looked like she wanted to share something with Amisha, but couldn't find the right words to do so.
"Tell me what you are feeling right now. I can see the unease in your eyes."
"How can people feel emotionally attached to someone who is professionally connected to them?" Shiuli sighed, "I mean, if you work for someone and they are annoying and heartless and you still feel like you want to protect them. Like why would you want to protect your employer from all the harm that can come their way? Why would you want to protect someone who is way stronger than you? Why would you want to melt their stone cold heart and fill it with warmth? Why?"
"Whoa! What is this all about? You don't have a job, so who is this that you are so annoyed with?"
"Just the protagonist of the novel I'm reading." Shiuli lied.
"Jeez." Amisha laughed, "I thought you hated romance novels! Are you reading one right now?"
"What? No!"
Shiuli's eyes went wide and she turned into a statue. After a few seconds, her features softened a little and a look of realization took over. Amisha smiled at her best friend. She is so obsessed with these novels. Amisha found it funny that someone with Shiuli's personality was taking interest in romance novels, but then again… Shiuli was a teenager and it was normal for teen girls to fantasize over romantic stuff. Sooner or later both Shiuli and Amisha would find a man and fall in love. They will grow a family and their children would be cousins. The thought filled Amisha's heart with warmth.
"I think the girl has a crush on her boss." Shiuli looked down at her hands.
"The protagonist?"
"Yes. Seems like the book is going to have a sad ending, Amisha." Shiuli's eyes looked at her best friend sadly.
"But why? What if the boss has a crush on her too? What if it has a happy ending?"
"No, Amisha. The guy here can never feel love or any feeling close to that. He isn't human."
"Well, whatever it is, I don't want you to get all sad over some piece of fiction. Sleep. We have school tomorrow."
With that Amisha affectionately patted her friend's shoulder and left. Leaving behind her dear friend and sister whose heart ached as she fell asleep.
***
Shiuli woke up in the middle of the night. She checked her phone and realized that she had only managed to sleep for an hour before she woke up. Her heart felt heavy and Death's face was stuck in her head. While talking to Amisha, a sudden realization had hit Shiuli's confused mind. I like him. Shiuli had only had crushes on celebrities before, but not a real one. Shiuli wondered why she felt that way towards Death. He wasn't even human and he didn't even care about her. But then when she remembered how concerned he looked a few hours ago when Shiuli fell against his back, her lips stretched into a light smile. But then the smile vanished when another thought materialized inside her head. He only cares for me because I work for him. Shiuli hugged her knees and looked outside the sole window in her room. It was the same window she used whenever she went on assignments with Death.
"How can I have a crush on someone as annoying as Death?"
Shiuli thought out loud and she lay down on her bed. She remembered the first time she saw him in the hospital. She had never thought she would grow so attached to that man. Yet she was here, sleepless, thinking about a man she could never have. She closed her eyes and prayed to the universe.
"Creatures deserve romantic feelings too. Even if it isn't me, Death deserves to smile and feel things in his heart. He deserves to be content with his existence. He doesn't look like he is." Shiuli sighed, "Give him a heart that can feel. Save him."