Death is a Girl

Chapter 23: Mice and Gods

After reaping the last of their souls for the day, they visited a phone store. Morrigan selected a cheap smart phone and a basic plan. Whether Death had basically endless money or not, she didn’t feel comfortable spending it unnecessarily. After that, Death brought her to a grocery store and told her to grab food for a few days.

By the time they returned to his cabin in the woods, the sun was just barely starting to set. “Sooo,” Morrigan began, carrying two plastic grocery bags. “Do you think Noir found anything out? About the demon?”

“We should hear back from him shortly,” Death said, walking through the front door. “For now, you should rest and take some time for yourself.”

Morrigan nodded, following Death inside to the now oddly familiar maze of books stacked floor to ceiling. She placed the grocery bags on the kitchen counter, unpacking the few items she had chosen, dried goods, as Death warned her he did not own a refrigerator. At least the kitchen was spared the literary clutter but Morrigan wondered why he had kept it clean up until now. He didn’t need food, and therefore, the kitchen was just wasted space.

Morrigan’s curiosity about the unused kitchen lingered, and as she opened the pantry, she saw how dusty and bare the shelves were. She frowned, not really wanting to store her food in such a space. She began looking around and opening drawers until finding a rag. She reached for the sink, half expecting it to not turn on, but with a twist of the handle a stream of water came out and she wetted the rag then began wiping down the pantry.

Death appeared in the doorway and watched her. “Ah, my apologies, this space has gone unused for quite some time.”

“How long have you lived here?” Morrigan asked. The cabin seemed relatively modern, at least when compared to its eons-old resident.

“Lets see… about two hundred years. I made a few improvements over time, mind you, and kept up with modern technology.”

Morrigan nodded thoughtfully as she finished cleaning the shelves then tossed the dirtied rag into the sink and proceeded to store her food. She wasn’t hungry yet so shut the door.

“Yeah, doesn’t feel two hundred years old.”

“The world has changed rapidly in recent centuries. I’ve seen humanity experience periods of advancement many times throughout my existence, but nothing compared to the new modern era. And, I see it only continuing on this trend, likely for quite some time, barring any major global disasters.”

“Random question. If humans end up colonizing Mars, think you could end up there one day?”

Death seemed to consider this for a moment. “Yes, I suppose if Mars were to be colonized, reapers would be required… but I honestly hope humanity gives up on their space exploration.”

“Whys that?”

“I imagine if ships start regularly traveling into space, over the course of time, a number of them may miss their mark... Morrigan, what do you think will happen to the souls upon a ship that is lost in space?”

She thought about this for a moment. “So… wandering spirits always eventually become hollow, right?”

“Indeed.”

“Then… whoever’s on the ship would turn hollow.”

“Yes, that is correct. Now, there have been a few rare cases of hollows being left to linger for thousands of years, particularly ancient rulers who foolishly thought they could cheat death by locking away their souls in grand structures. Though, these efforts accomplished nothing but subjecting themselves to horribly isolating torture. Then, upon being disturbed they unleashed terrible curses over the land. That is, until a reaper finally managed to set them free…

“Now… souls lost to the vastness of space? I do wonder what would happen to a soul left to linger inside such a vessel for millions of years? Furthermore, what if they eventually arrive on a new world? With all of that chaos and darkness that was left to fester, if it was suddenly unleashed on an unsuspecting world? I shudder to think of it.”

“Damn… creepy,” Morrigan mused, looking up and pondering this. She wondered if any alien species out there had this exact scenario happen. “Wait, are there reapers on other planets? Like, I guess if there are some aliens out there they would have a similar system to ours, right?”

Death chuckled. “I don’t see why not, but who knows? Their worlds may have been set up completely differently. Perhaps on those planets, the inhabitants don’t have a heaven or hell, or perhaps chaos rules, or even the concept of order and chaos is nonexistent.”

Morrigan leaned back, absorbing this new perspective. “So, our understanding of life, death, and the afterlife might just be one way that things could work. Somewhere else it might be completely different?”

“Exactly. This world developed based on a long and complex history that preceeds humanity or even proper life. I imagine in other worlds the nature of their existence could be completely different and therefore their rules and systems would develop differently.”

“Okay… another random question. Is god real?”

“When you say god do you mean one who watches solely over this planet or over the entirety of the universe?”

“Hm, lets go with the universe one.”

Death chuckled. “I don’t know. But I suppose its not impossible. As for this planet, there have been many what humans would call gods throughout the years. Though, i nthe modern day the gratest of gods have retired to the heavens. Only some small gods remain here on earth.”

“Why’s that?”

“They only had reason to interact directly with the planet when the balance of order and chaos was shifting.” Death explained. “Now that those ancient wars are over and order has firmly taken hold, I suppose they realize their interference can only be harmful. Lets say you have a plate balanced on a pole with porcelain figures all over it. You could reaarange those figures with the best of intentions but end up throwing off the balance. That is why the great gods no longer interfere.”

“But smaller gods do? Think I’ll ever meet one?”

“Chances are you already have,” Death chuckled. “Just as it is not unlikely you’ve crossed paths with a reaper at some time in your life without knowing it.”

Morrigan’s eyes widened at the thought. “Really? I could’ve met a god and not even known it?”

“Yes,” Death replied, his tone tinged with amusement. “The lesser gods can walk among humans without being recognized. They might appear as ordinary people, or they could be influencing events subtly from behind the scenes.”

The idea fascinated Morrigan. She had always thought of gods as distant, unapproachable beings, not entities that could be encountered in everyday life. “So they’re just... around? Like, living a normal life among us?”

“In a way, yes,” Death said. “Some might choose to live among humans, to understand them better or to fulfill some personal desire. Others might have tasks or roles they still attend to, influencing certain aspects of nature or human affairs.”

Running short on questions, Morrigan thought of going back to her bedroom. Something about the thought caused a knot of anxiety to pull her stomach. Perhaps she knew there would be less distractions there.

Whether Death sensed this thought, or it was just a coincidence, he asked, “Would you like to join me in the living room?”

The suggestion gave the knot in her heart a bit of relief, so she said, “Sure, want to show me your games?” it felt so strange to ask Death, the frikken Grim Reaper, that question like he was just a normal person. But then, in the cozy confines of his cabin, that’s exactly what he seemed to be—just another being, albeit with extraordinary responsibilities.

“So have you played many video games?” Death asked as she followed him to the livingroom and sat on the couch.

“A little, usually only at friends houses. Never had a console for myself.” She thought and added, “Usually party games, like mario cart and such.”

“Ah, that’s perfect he said, rummaging through his stacks of console and disorganized games that were stacked up around the television set. He held up a fake plastic steering wheel. “Wheel or controller?”

Morrigan snorted, once again this was feeling just way too bizarre. “Lets go with the steering wheel.”

***

The evening progressed with an unexpected lightness as Morrigan and Death engaged in a friendly competition. The atmosphere in the living room was surprisingly normal. Morrigan found herself laughing and joking, momentarily forgetting the weight of her new existence.

Death, for his part, showed a surprisingly competitive side. He clearly spent plenty of time with these games and didn’t let up and allow her to win even once. She didn’t mind, though. It was a good distraction either way. She found herself not thinking about her duties as a reaper, or the life that she had lost, allowing some peace in distancing her mind from it all.

Later into the night, the fatigue of the day began to set in and Morrigan excused herself. Once in her room, she found herself once again alone with her thoughts. The knot of anxiety that had formed earlier seemed to be poking at her again. Not as intense as normal, but enough to remind her that it was there.

She pulled out the receipt with Emma’s number and considered calling. The desire to reach out was strong, yet so was the hesitation. She knew that making that call would bridge two very different parts of her life, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to confront that just yet. After a few minutes of contemplation, Morrigan decided to wait. It wasn’t the right time, not yet. She needed more space to understand her new role and what it meant for her past connections.

With a sigh, Morrigan set the number aside, deciding she would call another day. Not now because she was tired and still adjusting to everything. Maybe in a few days… Even if she couldn’t go and hang out with her friends anymore, just hearing a familiar voice would be so nice.