Death had had a long day. Not that Death ever had a short day; people were always dying to meet Death, so she was always busy. She sighed, rubbing her temples. It was telling to just how long a day it was that the joke didn’t make her smile, idiotic as it was.
Death unlocked the gate to her garden, Cerberus on her heels. He was a three headed pug today, but even that couldn’t bring a smile to Death’s face. She stumbled into her cottage, and collapsed on the couch, eyes closed. She needed a vacation. She had heard of them from the humans she shuttled down, but had never taken one. There wasn’t time. She couldn’t ask her sisters to pull extra shifts, that wouldn’t be fair. At least she had her sisters, and didn’t have to reap all day, every day.
There were three of them, always had been. In the old days, they were called the Furies, the Valkyries. Today they were just collectively called Death. Humans weren’t very creative anymore. She and her sisters had eventually named themselves after a human phrase they enjoyed; Mo, Mento, and Mori.
Mo and Mento were closer, leaving her, Mori, a little on the outside. Or maybe Mori put herself there; she had never really taken the same pleasure or fulfillment from her role as her sisters did. Cerberus liked her more, though, so she took that as a win. She reached down to scratch one of his heads, but jumped as the cottage door flew open.
Mo and Mento rushed in, arguing. Not that that was unusual; even though they were often inseparable, they bickered the whole time. It usually gave Mori a headache.
“I told you she was trouble, I told you not to reap her, but oh, no, you wouldn’t listen!” Mento spat.
“She was hit by a bus! That she walked in front of! What else was I supposed to do?!” Mo yelled back. They both turned to Mori.
“Tell her she’s wrong!” they shouted in unison.
Mori sighed. So much for a quiet night. “What happened?” They both opened their mouths to speak. Mori said hurriedly, “Mento, what happened?”
Sending a smug look at Mo, Mento said, “Mo was covering a few minutes of my shift, when a girl with a mark stepped out in front of a bus, and like an idiot, Mo reaped her.”
“Clearly she wanted to die! Why else would she jump in front of a bus?” Mo shot back. “Besides, I didn’t see a mark.”
Mori rubbed her head again, wishing for some quiet. But, if a mark was involved, she wouldn’t get quiet for a while. A mark meant that their cousins, the angels, had plans for someone, and they wouldn’t be happy if their toy was reaped before they were done with it.
“Let me see her,” Mori sighed. Mo and Mento looked at each other, worried. “What?” Mori asked, dreading the answer.
“Well,” they said together.
Mo continued, “she’s very…”
“Agitated,” Mento finished.
“Well, I would be too if I jumped in front of a bus and ignored my assignment,” Mori snapped. Her sisters glanced at each other, then turned to leave the cottage. Mori took a deep breath, and followed, Cerberus bringing up the rear.
The girl was loitering near the river, and glanced up at their approach. She watched them warily, her gaze lingering on Mori.
Mori saw the mark clearly. This human would be missed by their cousins, and soon. “You need to go back. It wasn’t your time yet,” she said, infusing her voice with celestial power.
The girl glared back.
“You’ve dragged me into this hellhole, but you can’t make me leave!”
Mo, Mento, and Mori stared at her, before a blinding light enveloped them all.
“Now you’ve done it,” Mori muttered, turning to greet their relatives, her headache pounding.
Inspired by a writing prompt from The Character Comma’s prompt generator.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020