Death's Lullaby

Chapter 15

Death woke up to the sound of a light knock on his door. He crawled out of bed and opened his door to see Fred on the other side rubbing his eyes.

"I was s-supposed to w-wake you up," Fred stuttered.

"Thanks for waking me," Death said. He walked past the small boy and ruffled his hair. Fred didn't like this at all. He fanned Death away from his head and he laughed at the boy. The two walked into the living room and saw that the other kids were eating their breakfast and watching some kind of cartoon on television. None of them payed attention to Death joining the group with his own breakfast. He sat down on the couch and ate his bacon and eggs.

"Morning Cain," Joe said.

"Morning,"

Fred sat next to Death on the couch and picked at his food. He didn't seem all that interested in eating. Death cleared his throat and got Fred's attention.

"You need to eat Fred," he said in a calm tone. Fred looked back at his plate and then back to Death.

"I'm n-not hungry," Fred replied.

"Just take a few bites Fred,"

"Okay,"

Fred ended up eating all his food. He put his plate on the counter and then smiled at Death. He smiled back at him and Fred walked out of the kitchen. Joe walked in with a handful of plates and placed them in the sink.

"I see you got Fred to eat his food," Joe stated, gesturing at the plate.

"Yea, I told him to eat a few bites but he ended up eating everything on his plate,"

"Well, I'm glad he'll listen to someone around here. He's been different ever since my wife passed away. Those two were attached at the hip whenever he came over...," Joe trailed off and went quiet. Death didn't press anymore about the subject. He gave Death a small smile and went back to the living room. Death leaned against the counter and took a deep breath. Was his job really worth losing all of this? The new life he had started was the best thing he had ever had. Death pinched the bridge of his nose. He was so confused. He wanted his job back but he didn't want to give up his new family. Death walked out of the kitchen and retreated to his room. Joe wanted him to wear nicer clothes then usual. He saw that Joe had laid clothes on his bed for him. There were a black pair of dress pants, a cream colored shirt with a black tie. He quickly put on the clothes and looked in the mirror. He hadn't put the tie on yet. Did he really have to wear this? Death heard his door creak open and saw Fred had walked in. He looked at Death with eyes that looked like a startled baby deer.

"You can come in. It's okay," Death said. Fred shuffled over to Death and looked at the tie in his hand.

"You h-have to wear a t-tie too?" Fred asked pulling on his tie.

"Did Joe help with yours?" Death asked curiously. Fred shook his head.

"N-no, I put m-mine on. D-Dad taught me h-how to put it on,"

"Could you help with mine? I've never worn one,"

Fred nodded in response. Death got on his knees and gave Fred his tie. Fred expertly tied his tie and was done in about a minute.

"Thanks,"

"Y-your welcome,"

The two exited Death's room and walked out to the living room where everyone was already dressed in their Sunday best. Everyone got their shoes on and was herded out the door. The church wasn't very far from Joe's house so they walked to the church. It was a good thing the church was only a couple of streets down the road. Death didn't think that all of them would fit in Joe's truck. Fred held Death's hand the whole way to the church and Death didn't really mind the small child.