Until We Part

She was surrounded by flowers of every kind, every colour and scent. Roses, daisies, baby breaths, tulips and so on, all you had to do was name it. With every step she took, flowers sprung up. Leaving behind a plot of land filled with flowers. 

The intoxicating scent of flowers and land that goes as far as the eye could see would have made any other person dizzy with excitement, wanting to see how far this plot of land would go. But she wasn't. She was tired of the field, and the sun, though not harsh, was constantly shining, there was never once rain. Yet flowers continue to blossom and weeds never appeared. 

Her blond, almost white hair, shimmered under the sun and lightly glowed where the moonlight touches. Flowers were always in her hair, sometimes a wreath made of daisies, other times a braid with baby breathes entwined.

Though a beauty, her only companions were a family of rabbits and a wolf that came and went, she knew he kept an eye on her from a distance. There was no one else but her and her makeshift family. Every other animal kept their distance, braver ones would stay for a couple of days but leave soon after.

She would travel with her rabbits and wolf trotting behind her, coming across vast lands and seas. She carried on with this for weeks, months, years. She never grew old, she even tried mapping out the place but it seemed to never end.

Until one day she came across a peculiar path, reaching for the map she made it occurred to her that this was a new adventure. Excitement coursed through her veins, oh how long has it been since she felt this emotion, she was buzzing. The wolf paced along behind her, with the family of rabbits on his back.

“Do you see this?” She whispered to them and they cocked their heads in acknowledgement.

“I’ve never seen this before; this might be our new adventure.” Though soft, her voice held a tinge of excitement and the rabbits made their way down the wolf.

Together, they clawed through thickets of weeds and thorns even as it scratched at her pale alabaster skin and their soft fur. She pushed the thorns away as though they didn't affect her, and as golden liquid dripped from her skin as she finally emerged on the other side. 

Her eyes feasted on the image that was laid untouched in front of her. An enclosed cavern with a shallow pond in the middle surrounded by trees with glowing leaves, it was unlike anything she has ever seen. She turned to her family and saw their injuries and gasped. They were far more important and she bent down to heal them.

As soon as she was done, she looked at the flowers around her and decided to pick one to add to the collection of those she had on her head that day, but as soon as her hands grazed the delicate petals, it turned to grey and fell to the ground crumbling like dust and disappearing. Never had a flower respond to her in such a way before.

A soft rustling made her turn, and a tall hooded figure in dark jeans appeared from the opposite of the cavern. It was clear, that it wasn't a woman who created this little piece of heaven, but this man. The wolf cowered behind her as did the family of rabbits that tried to conceal themselves as much as possible, burying themselves in the fur of the wolf. Their fear was tangible and she growled at the man.

He crossed the pond, stopping just a few paces away from her and she got into an attacking stance, her family was at risk. Just as he looked up and mirrored her attacking figure, his face was revealed, his eyes when his hood fell away were as black as the night sky, and they stared right into her very being.

Recognition dawned upon them and their faces morphed from shock to happiness. She ran towards him in happiness. However, in the eyes of the animals, they were sure it would be a bloodbath, with ripped guts and blood. But all that happened, was a hug. 

“It's been a while, come walk with me old friend.” She murmured, as she stepped out of the embrace. He nodded yet his feet unmoving, his hands went to her face and caressed gently as though they were trying to memorise her features, his gaze soft yet sad.

She placed her hands on his and gave him a smile of assurance. They walked towards the thicket where she came through, but before she could muscle her way, he gently placed a hand on her shoulders to stop her. With a wave of his hands, the thicket cleared, creating a pathway for them to walk out without harm. He smiled at her gently.

“It’s okay, you’re safe. He’s a friend.” She looked at her family with a smile but the wolf stared her in the eyes and huffed, then sprinted out of the cavern with the rabbits on his back. The smile on his face fell away at the animal’s action. She placed a hand on his shoulder in concern but he shrugged it off.

“Same old, same old. I'm used to it,” he smiled tightly but carried on walking with her by his side.

She brought him to the field of flowers, breathing in the scent of flowers and warmth of the sun, everything felt different with him. But when she looked at him, he was staring at the ground. Where he stood, flowers were slowly withering and a pang of hurt went through her heart and it was clear to her.

He didn’t belong where she did.

So, she grabbed him by the wrist and brought him to the forest. It was quieter than usual, not even the sound of crickets was heard. Their footsteps crunched the decomposing leaves underfoot as they delved deeper into the woods. They were safe here.

Finally, they reached a large clearing where a river stretched beyond where they stood. Her eyes caught a movement of the wolf who kept its distance and she waved, it stood still and after a moment it bowed low before trotting towards them. The family of rabbits remained at a distant.

“Shhh… it’s okay. He is a friend.” They curled in her hands as she soothed them.

All the while he stood by the side and watched their interaction. How she laughed and nuzzled the creatures. He looked at his own hands, rough from use and sighed lightly. He stopped when he noticed her gaze and she stared for a moment before softly whispering to her family and pointing to him.

She left her family who made themselves comfortable along the bank of the river. They bowed to him before looking at their mother.

She had entered the cold water of the river and shivered once it made contact with her skin. But she put on a smile and turned to look at him. She beckoned for him and her family to join, but he stayed put by her family. She pursed her lips and turned back before she floated in the middle of the river.

Memories flooded through her as she thought back to the last time she saw him, the last time they were ever around civilisation before they were placed here.

“Why does everyone love you, respect you? I have done nothing to them, yet they hate me, run away from me, and curse me?” He screamed to her, as they stood unmoving under the thundering rain.

They were both soaked to the bone, tears and rainwater mixed, there was no beginning or end. He choked on a sob as he punched the ground, his hands bled and stained the ground silver before it washed away with the rain.

She grabbed them to stop him. Rain dripped off his long fringe and onto the ground as she caught his chin and brought his face up to meet her gaze.

“I am Life, and that is why people celebrate me. But all I am is a beautiful lie. You’re Death, you are a painful being that everyone hopes never appears, but you are still the truth.” She whispered. She held his hands close to her chest as she urged him to stop.

He looked at her, wanting to lap up every word that spilt from her lips. He pulled her into his embrace, hoping to absorb all the optimism she had.

But everything split when the thunder erupted between them.

A splash at the edge of the river brought her back to the present day and Life knew that he could see her thoughts, that he saw what she remembered.

Death came up to her floating figure and looked down at the beautiful face being was contorted with sadness that he felt responsible for. All because of the tantrum he threw aeons ago. They should accept their fates but he couldn’t.

He leaned down and placed his forehead against hers, his eyes closing as he let out a heavy sigh. The fate of the world weighed on his shoulders and he was tired of wearing the crown alone.

“I don’t want to be alone any longer. Stay with me please?” He whispered, then opened his eyes to watch her reaction.

He watched as tears streamed down her face. Waiting for rejection, his heart tighten while awaiting her answer. He gave her a hand to stand and watched as she places a cool hand against his cheek.

“Yes, I will. Until we part.” Life whispered and leaned into his embrace.

There they stood in the middle of the shallow river, and everything melted away. Leaving behind a field of flowers and yet nothing withered in his surroundings.

Life’s family trotted towards them and nudged her legs. The pair separated from their embrace and looked at them.

“Go ahead, pet them. They’ll be fine.” She spoke, bending down to the rabbits who curled up in her lap as she sat.

Death looked at her, slightly unsure of what she meant but as he sat opposite her. The wolf ambled towards them and lowered its heads in a bow towards her.

“My dear, you won’t be harmed. He is a friend, a very close and dear friend of mine.” She spoke to the wolf.

Then turning to him, she spoke, “Go ahead, pet him. He is a harmless creature. Do not fear. I’m sure that word isn’t in your dictionary?” She teased and he chuckled, even if it was slightly strained.

The wolf turned to him, it’s eyes all-seeing as they searched his face, seconds passed but it felt like an eternity before it finally bowed its head. Death hesitantly put a hand out, he could feel the tremble in his hand as he placed it on the wolf’s head.

The softness of fur, a texture he had not felt in aeons came as a shock and he turned abruptly towards Life who watched with happiness. The wolf had remained fully in his sight, not crumbling like the flowers he had stood surrounded by. He ruffled the head of the wolf before letting go and looking down at his hands.

The wolf bent down to the ground and laid it’s head on his thighs, making itself comfortable. Death's eyes widened at the contact before looking back at Life to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

“Just like I had said, I’ll be with you. Until we part.” Life whispered with a smile. She reached forward and kissed Death’s cheek.

“We will get through this together.”