Between Life and Death

The Gift of Life

●DEATH●

Everything hurt. He didn't want to move, he didn't want to speak, he didn't want to breathe. Every little movement caused tendrils of pain to shoot all over his body, feeling like hot sparks racing through every nerve. Death groaned. He was so tired of being so helpless, of having to rely on others. If he was being completely honest with himself, he didn't mind being coddled by Life, but he would much rather have his powers back than stay neutralized forever.

"Death, are you okay?" Life asked when he moaned again.

He tried opening his mouth to speak, but doing that made everything hurt more. Wincing, he closed his mouth.

Life saw the movement and the wince, and her expression grew more concerned. "Death, how much does it hurt?"

Death knew he couldn't talk, so he grunted and shrugged. Even that little movement hurt, and he clenched his teeth to stop from crying out. Life looked like she was going to cry, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at him with what could only be described as guilt.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed as the tears began falling freely. "I should be the one in your position - I should be the one who got neutralized. You don't deserve any of this," she said, her last words trailing off in a whisper.

"No," Death breathed as he tried to reach for Life's face. Life saw the movement and gently brought the hand to her cheek as she clutched it in her own.

"It should have been me, Death, not you. It was I who was at fault - why did you get punished for my mistakes? For my... my idiocy!" Life cried, her heaving sobs racking her chest. "I never wanted this for you," she whispered into his hand. "I never wanted any of this. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry..."

"It... okay," Death croaked, his throat parched and lips dry. He wished that Karma hadn't neutralized him, and that he wasn't so weak. Never had he ever thought that he would be rendered helpless. Bitterness rose in his chest as he choked out a laugh, though it sounded more like a strangled cough. Silence blanketed them until Life cleared her throat nervously.

"Death?" she asked, and when he grunted, she continued. "Do you think, when all of this -" she waved her arms around dramatically, "- is over, that we could get some time to sort things out? I mean, as soon as I got my memories back, I left, and I have a lot of questions now that I've been able to grasp everything that... happened. I know that now isn't the right time, but we really need to talk."

Death barely managed to nod. "Of course," he said quietly.

Their conversation died, and the silence hung out for minutes. It wasn't long until his eyes began to droop, and before long, sleep devoured him.

When he woke up, he didn't feel any pain - in fact, he hadn't felt so good in weeks. Though the absence of his powers was obvious, he wasn't weak or drained, and when he muttered to himself, nothing hurt. There were no sparks of pain when he lifted his arm, nor when he sat himself up. In fact, he found himself pinching his arm to make sure it wasn't a dream. He was going to tell Life of the good news when he noticed that she was out cold. Her breathing was shallow, and her face was pallid. Bags were under her eyes, and she was sleeping restlessly. Judging her condition, Death was able to figure out what she had done, and gently cradled Life's hand.

"Oh, Life," Death whispered to no one but himself, "you didn't have to do that. You're so drained - I'm not worth that much energy."

Life muttered something in her sleep and rolled over. Despite her pale complexion and the bags under her eyes, Life looked peaceful in her sleep, almost angelic. Beautiful. "We'll get out of this hellhole," he said, planting a quick kiss on her forehead. "I promise."