“I just did. Around a decade ago. I don’t have any recollection of being anyone before that. I met the previous Death and he said he’d chosen me to carry on. That he was done. My head was full of everything I needed to know. I just don’t have any inkling that I was ever anyone else but Death.”
“The first thing I’m doing when I feel better is getting you some new clothes,” Mya declared, looking me up and down.
“I think you’ll find the Grim Reaper has a kind of known uniform.”
“Yeah for when you’re out being all ‘Killer King’, but at home you can have some more comfy attire. I mean, maybe not loungewear, but certainly a sweater and some slacks. You can’t walk around the place permanently in leather.”
“Why not? I like my look.”
“Because the new Queen says so.” Mya raised a brow.
“We’ll see. I think you need to come to terms with the fact that I’m Death. You can’t really change me.”
“People fight Death all the time, don’t they?”
“Not really. They believe they do, when they get ill and they recover, but it’s all in the book. Your ultimate notice of life on earth is in there.”
“God, you suck the joy out of life.”
“Kind of my job.”
“So what do I call you? We can’t just call you Death.”
“That’s my name. Death. People say Grim Reaper, but that’s a nickname that came about in the 14th Century in Europe at the time of the Black Plague. We liked their idea of a dark cloak and scythe though and changed up our look at that point.”
“Well if we’re out and about I’ll just call you something else, like Denny for instance.”
“Denny?”
“Yeah, he was a character on Grey’s Anatomy. It was heart-breaking when he died. Izzie, his doctor and love interest, couldn’t cope and saw him as a ghost. It was the ultimate tragic love story.”
“So you want me to dress in a sweater and slacks and you want to call me Denny in public? Like, what do you think’s going to happen, we’re going to go to a rock concert together or something?”
“You never know. There’s such a thing as Death Metal, right?”
Mya was starting to pout. I had to go steady. She’d only died a few hours ago. The woman had a lot to get used to. Being a vampire infused with death powers, a new home, a new job. She needed time, and that was something she’d realise immortality gave her as she acclimated. Right now though, she was still thinking like a human and I had to make allowances.
“So when do I start to sleep all day and be up all night?”
“You won’t because there are medicines you can take to go out in daylight now. You need very little sleep, maybe a couple of hours, because I don’t sleep and you have some of my essence.”
“More time for film binges? I’ll call that a win. Please tell me I can watch DVDs.”
“We’re not living in the eighteenth century, of course you can watch DVDs. Once you’ve ordered some.”
“Do you watch films and TV?”
“No, I have a busy job. There’s no time for downtime.”
“You need to make time. I’ll get you hooked on something. Like there’s this new series out called Revenge. Might take my mind off now living in Twirly Trees.”
“You mean Gnarly Fell?”
“That’s the one. Oh and do you journal? Because I’m very up on that. It’s part of my daily ritual. Maybe you could get a book and join in?”
“The only book we’ll be sharing is The Book of the Dead.” I pointed to the brown book on my desk.”
“That’s it? That’s the book that tells you who is going to die and how?” Mya started to shuffle off the bed.
“You don’t need to worry about that book right now. You need to concentrate on getting to know the residents here, the old and the new, and see if you can get any of them to move out.”
“Oh, don’t be such a spoilsport, D. I died tonight. Show me my entry.”
I huffed. It was very loud, echoing around the room.
“You are such a grumpy shit.”
“I’m DEATH.”
“I’m death,” Mya mimicked, standing up and slouching over. She dragged herself across the floor to the table, making her face look morose while saying in a monotone voice, “I have no fun ever. I only wear black leather. I have a scythe. Let me take your life.”
She made a last-minute dash and flicked the pages over. “Please show me the entry about Mya Malone who died last night at 11:11 pm,” she commanded, and because she was part death, the book obeyed.
I could have stopped her, but she only wished to look at her own demise, so I let it go.
“Wow. It’s written in the most beautiful calligraphy.” She swept her hand over the pages. “There it is.”
I walked over and stood beside her as she stared at the pages. At the last lines that had been crossed through. Where I’d made the change to her destiny.
Circumstances behind death: Agrees a date with the vampire Lawrence Letwine of the Letwine ancestral line. Will bleed out in an alley near Wine Office Court at 23:11. Will be touched by Death and made a vampire by Lawrence Letwine of the Letwine ancestral line. Will take the role of Queen of the Wayward and preside over the Home of Wayward Souls.
“Well, I guess I have to make the best of things. This is where I am now. The first thing is to get the rest of this change sorted out so I can get out of this miserable looking room. I mean if you see someone is going to commit suicide, do you just bring them here for the evening?”
It was that sass that would carry Mya through her adjustment to her new existence, but as she bent over as the next bout of pain hit, I felt sorrow that her choices hadn’t really been choices at all.
But I was Death. I rarely made people happy.
Mya
My eyes opened and I realised I was still in the room of gloom. However, I felt fucking fantastic for a dead girl.
“Hey, Big D, am I done?” I stared at the guy sat in the chair at my side.
“You are indeed. Also, that is a nickname I can certainly live with. Be sure to say that one in public.”
Laughing, I swung my legs around to climb off the bed. “I want a house tour, let’s go!”
I thought I’d feel different in myself as I stood up. I mean my bones had cracked and stretched during the last few hours, but I didn’t. Rather, I felt how I imagined celebrities must feel after being on those vitamin drips. Just healthy and raring to go, which was ironic given it was the first day after I died.
But I felt free, which in some ways I was. No thinking about calories, or aging, or how I was going to pay my rent. I had a home which was huge. Okay, I had to share it, but Death had said I had rooms, plural. It was going to be bigger than my one-bedroomed flat for sure.
As I reached for the door handle, husky tones rumbled past my ears, “Allow me to lead the way. We’ll do a tour where no doubt you’ll meet a few residents. We’ll stop for breakfast on route, and then you can do a meet with a spirit to see how you get on. After that, you can have some free time to explore Gnarly Fell if you like?”