The Moon looked at the crowd of creatures gathered in front of her. She was their leader and she always wanted the best for each and every one of them. Death was in trouble and she did not know how many creatures were siding with him. What she knew was that Time was on their side and that was a relief. Time was very wise and having him on her side was great. Love, however, she wasn't too sure about her. She had blocked the bond and it just seemed like she didn't want anything to do with this whole situation. Life kept blabbering about how he doesn't trust Love and that she was the biggest threat, but the Moon had faith in Love.
Faith… She had blocked her bond too. Faith and Death had always been close and it wouldn't surprise the Moon if she sided with him and his love.
Life stood next to the Moon and cleared his throat authoritatively.
"My mother and I are really concerned about Death. It has come to our notice that Death has violated the laws of the universe and fallen in love with a human girl."
A gasp escaped everyone's lips. The assembled creatures looked confused and some even looked scared. They all looked up to the Moon for guidance, for she was their leader and nobody really trusted Life.
"Death did not do this on purpose" the Moon continued, "My younger son would never do something against the universe. It is that human girl that is manipulating my dear son. I'm a concerned mother and as he is a little brother to you all, I want your support to tear this couple apart. I'm only doing this to protect my son."
"What exactly are you planning?" someone among the creatures spoke.
Life smiled his evil smile, "A war if necessary. But we need to find the couple. We need to snatch that girl away from our brother and destroy her."
"How do we destroy her? You said you granted her immortality." the same creature spoke.
"We imprison her for the rest of her immortal life. She will starve and face eternal torture, but she won't die because I granted her immortality." Life chuckled, "I will ensure she suffers. Once we capture the girl, she is my responsibility."
***
Amisha couldn't believe a single word she'd heard in the past one hour.
Dean and Shiuli had called her to Shiuli's room at 11. When she entered, she saw Shiuli fidgeting with her fingers and Dean lovingly trying to calm her down. Amisha had walked up to them silently and saw a few tears escape her sister's eyes. Something was wrong and she had felt it at that exact moment.
And then they started narrating this story and Amisha just laughed. She couldn't believe all the nonsense the two people in the room were sprouting through their mouths. At first, Amisha called it a prank.
"You really want me to believe that this guy is Death and you work for him. You're now an immortal like this dude. And his family of creatures hates you!" Amisha laughed so hard, her stomach hurt, "Also, the Moon is apparently this dude's mom and she hates you and so does a lot of his kin? Look, this will make a great novel, Shiuli. But this prank won't work on me."
And then Dean, or who they claimed to be Death himself, let out a frustrated sigh. He got up and told Shiuli that he will show Amisha everything. Amisha did not understand what was going on, but Shiuli seemed against the idea at first. But she saw Amisha smirking and being a non-believer, so she agreed.
Dean/Death then walked up to where Amisha was sitting on the study desk and placed his forefinger on Amisha's forehead. Before she could protest, he started chanting something that sounded very much like Latin to her ears. Then everything went blank and scenes started to unfold in front of her. That's when she saw it all. From when Shiuli woke up in the hospital to her speaking to her dead parents. A gasp left her lips when she saw Isra die in front of Shiuli. It was like she could feel Shiuli's pain through the visions. She saw how Death and Shiuli had confessed their love for each other and she felt like she was standing there on the sidelines like an audience to a play. It was too much to take in.
After Death had withdrawn his finger from her forehead and stopped chanting spells, Amisha fell to the floor in a state of shock. Shiuli immediately ran to her side and embraced her. Death looked concerned too, but remained quiet. When Amisha finally understood what was happening she started screaming. Shiuli was glad no one was home because Mr. and Mrs. Manoj would then hear their daughter's deafening scream.
After almost fifteen minutes, the truth was starting to sink in. Amisha recovered a little and sat on the desk. She took a few deep breaths and looked at her best friend. No matter what, she would always love and support Shiuli. Also, thinking about this would only destroy her mental health, so she decided to just believe whatever she had seen. Maybe I've gone crazy. But crazy or not, Amisha would always support Shiuli.
"Please say something, Amisha" Shuili was crying, "Please say something!"
After a long pause, Amisha finally spoke.
"You are Death" Amisha pointed at whom she had believed to be Dean, "When I die you will come to take my soul away in that wretched briefcase of yours?"
"That's the protocol. Yes."
"And you love my sister? She is an immortal and she won't age."
"Yes."
"Shiuli" Amisha's expression looked stone-cold, "I will always support you, but I don't want you to make the wrong decision. This guy… are you sure about him? Are you sure about the two of you together?"
A pained expression morphed into Death's features.
"Yes," Shiuli spoke in a confident voice, "I love him with all my heart and I know that he loves me too, Amisha. He makes me happy and I cannot imagine my life without him."
"Then I will support you. I will be there till Death comes to take my soul away someday. I will always be there for my beloved sister."
With that, Amisha smiled and pulled Shiuli into a tight hug. Shiuli's posture relaxed and she laughed. The mood shifted and everyone looked happy and content. Even Death's face held a loving smile.
"Hey, Death man" Amisha looked at Death, "You better keep my girl happy or I will be the one to carry your soul to the judgement grounds."
"That's highly impossible, but I get your message."
"Good."
Amisha then offered to go to the kitchen and get something to eat for all the three of them.
Shiuli's face was bright with joy and she put her hands around Death's waist and rested her head against his strong chest. Death immediately pulled her flush against him. After marveling in his comfortable hug for a few minutes, Shiuli finally pulled away and looked at Death. She then narrowed her eyes at him when she remembered something.
"You were supposed to tell me what you are hiding."
Death pinched his nose, "I don't want to spoil the mood, Shiuli. You look so happy right now and so is Amisha. I don't want to ruin this moment."
"Something is bothering you, isn't it? Something terrible."
"Yes," Death sighed, "Something to do with the Moon and Life."
"Then I want to know about it right now. I don't want you to keep it from me. As a couple, we are supposed to share everything with each other, Death. Be it our joy or sorrows, what is mine is yours and yours is mine."
Death cupped Shiuli's face and looked at her with a pained expression. He felt like an open book in front of her. He felt so raw and full of emotions. He was worried for her and he didn't want to lose her. She was his weakness. But if his weakness was so beautiful and pure, he would choose weakness over strength any day.
"Shiuli… we will have to relocate you. And by relocating I mean shift you for good. The creatures know where you live and this place isn't safe for you anymore."
"What do you mean relocate?" Shiuli's eyes widened, "I can't do this to Amisha! I can't do this to her parents who gave me a new life!"
"It's for your safety, baby." Death was pleading, "Please try to understand the gravity of the situation. The Moon thinks that we've broken the universe's rule. She's gathering creatures to support her cause and I will do anything to protect you, baby! I cannot lose you!"
"But Amisha… and her parents" Shiuli felt helpless, "Heck! They're my parents too!"
Just then the door to the room opened and Amisha entered. She looked like she was going to burst into tears, but she took two deep breaths and looked straight at Shiuli.
"You will go with Death and that's final, Shiuli. I love you and your safety has always been my priority. I've almost lost you once, I can't lose you now."
***
Time stood in front of the Moon. The other creatures had left, including Life, but the Moon wanted to meet with him personally. She said she had something very important to discuss and Time was worried that she had a clue about what he was doing. Betrayal was a foreign concept for the creatures of the universe, but Time would do anything for the cause of the universe.
"The last time we had a conversation about this, just the two of us, you kind of took Death's side, Time" Moon sighed, "What changed?"
"Reasoning."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I understand what is right and what is wrong."
A gentle smile crept onto the Moon's face and her face and posture, both relaxed. She looked much younger than she already looked and Time's heart constricted in pain. He stood tall with all the confidence in the world, but in his heart, he was panicking. All he wanted was to keep Death and Shiuli safe. He didn't like lying, but he was doing it for the greater good. The universe would surely forgive him, wouldn't it?
"I trust you, Time" the Moon smiled brighter, "I trust you more than anyone right now."
"Even more than Life?"
"Yes. No matter what, I can never completely trust him. He is my elder son and I love him, but I'm not completely sure of his motive here. I'm not blind, Time. I can see the evil glint in his eyes every time he talks about this whole Death fiasco."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Keep an eye on Life. I trust you and only you. I know he is supporting my cause and is on my side, but he has his own reasons for this. I don't want him to create a bigger mess. I don't want him to mess up anybody's existence. You know he is cruel and if anybody can stop him, it is you."