Rain Or Shine

Trigger warning: depictions of suicide

“...Care to fucking explain?”

It’s a quiet, foggy afternoon. Most of the neighbors had already gone off to work or school or whatever other obligations they had. Henry had been sitting on his porch, sipping his third cup of coffee and arguing with his editor over email. It had been a perfectly normal day, which was to say, a tedious and miserable day. That was until some bastard Henry thought he’d never see again showed up on his street, just as young as the day he had died and smiling like he didn’t have a care in the world. 

“Hello to you too.”

“Oh, don’t pull that shit. What is this?”

Henry shut his laptop and gave his full attention to Rainer, who just stared back at him with that grin. It had been twenty years, and still Henry remembered that grin. 

“I thought you’d be happy to see me. Didn’t you miss me?”

Henry didn’t respond. Instead, he stood up, grabbing his cane and making his way down his lawn. Rainer didn’t move from his spot, despite his perfectly functional legs, which only made Henry even more bitter. 

“Oh, I wouldn’t get too close. This form isn’t exactly stable, and I’d hate to leave already. You just stay back there, alright?” 

It was strange. Rainer didn’t speak like how Henry remembered. He was a bit too calm, a bit too formal, a bit too distant. It was the same voice and the same body, but something deep within Henry knew that it wasn’t the same man. 

“What are you? Some kinda ghost? Spirit? I know y’ain’t Rainer, that’s for damn sure.”

That was the first thing to break through Rainer’s frozen grin. His eyebrows rose, and the corners of his lips fell just a bit. 

“...Odd. Usually it takes a while longer for people to realize. Guess you’re a sharp one, even in your old age, huh?”

“Don’t patronize me.”

Rainer laughed, small and polite. 

“Sorry, sorry, I don’t mean to be rude. I suppose I just wasn’t prepared for this, you know?”

Henry saw no humor in the situation. 

“I’ll ask again; what is this? What are you? You show up, pretending to be my husband, for what? A laugh? Is this some sick joke?”

“No, nothing like that. I’m...well, how do I put this?”

Rainer took a step forward, though his body didn’t follow him. The body of Rainer disintegrated and dissipated into the surrounding fog, leaving this being in a new body. Though, Henry soon realized, it wasn’t just a new body. There were several. Each movement, however small, caused this being to transform into a new person. A tall woman, a small child, a famous actor, an ancient queen, each new face leaving just as quickly as it arrived. Henry could barely stand to look at it. 

“I guess I’m Death? Is that the name you use?”

It’s voice was just as bad as it’s appearance. Constantly changing pitches and tones, all echoing those who’ve already passed.

“You’re...So, what, have you come to kill me?”

Death shrugged. 

“Maybe! That will depend on the choices you make here.”

Henry couldn’t process what was happening. Nothing about this made sense to him, it was just so alien to him. His heart raced and his hands shook. Though, throughout this, his mind was oddly calm.

“If you’re...isn’t Death some kinda weird skeleton? Where’s your cloak and scythe?”

Death rolled it’s eyes, letting out an over exaggerated sigh. 

“Oh, that. No, that’s Grim. She’s been trying to build up our “brand” or whatever for a while now. It’s so unnecessary, if you’re asking me. I mean, if she wants to prance around in a big black cloak and remove all her skin, fine. But I don’t think it should become the company image, y'know?”

“Company? You work for a company?”

“Sort of? It’s like...Gods, where do I begin. You mortals know nothing about this kind of thing, right? What- What do you know about this? You know Grim, obviously, but what about, say, Anubis? Or Iku? Freya? Tell me you at least know Vanth, everybody loves Vanth.”

“I...some of those sound familiar? Are they, what, your co-workers?”

“Yeah, they’re all-”

Death cuts itself off. It scowls to itself, shaking its head. 

“No, what is wrong with me? Ugh, Gods, I’m all over the place today, sorry. We need to focus on you right now, not my...job.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. If he could keep Death talking, maybe, just maybe, he could find a way to survive this encounter. 

“You don’t like your job? What’s so bad about it?”

“Well-”

Once again, Death stops itself. It debates for a moment, wanting to stay on track and finish its work, but also really wanting to complain some more. It checked its watch before figuring that it could go on a bit longer. 

“...Okay, don’t tell anyone, but it sucks working there. Like, honestly, it’s a mess. No one can decide what the afterlife looks like, so we just have, like, hundreds of different versions down there that we have to manage. And they’re not organized or anything, they’re just scattered around all willy-nilly.”

“Sounds Hellish.”

Death lets out a laugh, loud and dry.

“Oh, buddy, you don’t know Hell. It’s actually one of the easier ones to deal with, if I’m being honest. Try Folkvangr and Valhalla if you want a real challenge. Trying to divvy up the people who specifically die in battle into two different afterlives is such a pain.”

“I’d bet. I’ve worked some pretty shitty jobs myself, so I understand the frustration.”

“Right? If I had it my way, I’d just walk out right now. But…”

Death trailed off, scowling to itself. 

“...But what?” Henry asked. “If you wanna leave, then leave.”

Death looked back at Henry. An odd smile began to grow over its face, a mix of pity and bewilderment. 

“...Oh, wow. Mortals really don’t know anything, huh? You think I can just leave. Ha!”

Light chuckles began to leave its throat, steadily growing into uncontrollable laughter.

“Just leave. Just leave! Gods, why don’t I just leave? The one thing I was put into this universe to do, the thing I have been doing since time began, why not just leave it all? Sure, the Gods would smite me down, but Henry the mortal says I should just leave, so why not?” Death ranted. It’s eyes were unfocused and its head shook as millenias worth of stress began to bubble to the surface. 

“Ain’t you some kinda god too? What do you have to worry about?” 

“No, no, I’m no god. A minor deity, yes. A servant, yes. But that’s nothing. I’m nothing compared to the bosses up top. Destroying me would be nothing to them.”

“So does that make it worth it?”

Death refocuses for a moment, confused by Henry’s response. 

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Is existing worth the suffering? You say you were made for all this, but it’s clear that you hate it. Is it worth it?”

“Are...Henry, are you saying that I should end my own existence? That’s a dark, dark thing to say, y’know.”

“What? No, no! That’s not what I meant. All I mean is that...You said that destroying you would be nothing to the Gods, right? So, why would they even bother? If you’re so minor, so unimportant, then who cares if you leave?”

Death stared at Henry. Henry couldn’t read its expression as it tried to respond, but couldn’t. Death buried its head in its hands. 

“Oh Gods, Henry. I know you’re not very well read, but even you must know that gods are vengefully types. I can’t just walk out and hope they don’t notice. They notice everything Henry, they’re gods!”

“Then why don’t you just tell them that you want out? Instead of just running off, you could just ask to be excused.”

“I was created for this purpose, Henry. If I renounced it, it would mean that there is no longer a reason for me to exist. No matter what, it’s either do my duty, or die. This isn’t something I can just leave.”

A beeping noise comes from Death’s watch. It looks down at it, getting a bit surprised.

“Oh, shoot, I’m falling behind. Well, it’s been fun, but it’s time for us to get back to my reason for being here. Henry…”

Death tried to continue with its job, but it was clear that all energy and motivation had escaped it. It stared at Henry for a moment, contemplating its options.

“...Y’know what? You’re fine. I’ll circle back in a couple weeks, how does that sound?”

Henry went to respond, but it was too late. In a gust of wind, the fog rolled down the street, taking Death with it.