by G Dean Manuel
I walked into the diner, it certainly wasn't what I was expecting. It had all the hallmarks of a fifties diner. Jukebox. Waitresses in poodle skirts and bobby socks. Even that powder blue and white coloring. It really wasn't his style. He chose this place for my benefit then. I can't really argue with his choice but I'm more than a little put off that he knows me so well. It isn't like we run in the same circles.
I went to the table he had chosen for us. We might have been siblings but we couldn't be more different. He was dressed in all black and not like cool black. Somber black. Everything about him, from the cut of his jacket to the contours of his face, was severe. Like, he didn't just look at you, he bore a hole into you with his eyes. I was definitely not a fan. I didn't like the guy even if we were related.
I, on the other hand, was the epitome of edgy cool, if I do say so myself. I was wearing a t-shirt that had the 'No Drama Llama' on it that was tucked into a black skirt. I complimented my outfit with black hose and combat boots. Finally, the piece de resistance was the hat on top of my head. I was the cool chick on this block... ;)
He looked up at me and our eyes met for an instant. I had to look away. You know how eyes are the windows to the soul? All I saw in his was more black.
"You're early," he said.
"Hey, I know, D, but I wanted to be the only person in history that was early to meet Death!" I laughed at my own joke.
"You know, Pleasure, I do not like being called D," he said impassively.
"Ugh, whatever," I said, throwing him a scathing glance.
"As fun as these little family get-togethers are, maybe we should get down to business."
I sighed. "There's a guy... I just want to know when he's going to die."
Death cocked his head at me and said simply, "Why?"
"He's suffered so much during his life, I want to make his last moments... fun," I said, holding out a small hope that my big brother would understand. His eyes narrowed. "Why has he endured so much hardship?"
"Just had a hard..."
"Don't presume to lie to me. I'm Death, the end of all things. Who is this man?" Death said, his eyes blazing with a black flame.
"Hey, calm down! You are going to upset the lessers!" I said.
Death and I were part of an extended family of sorts. It was huge. Not all of us got along all the time either. Death and I were not at odds, so we were cordial with each other. But there were others that did not get along with each other. Like I didn't understand Sadness and she didn't get me. We weren't enemies per se but we also didn't associate. Not like Death and Life. They hated each other. There was only one of us that I couldn't stand. Suffering. "The name," Death said, leveling his gaze at me like a loaded weapon. It was effective. He was one of the elder six and not someone to mess with.
"Trevor Mendel," I squeaked.
Death sat back and froze in place. I knew he was sifting through his mystical storage box of a mind to see what he had on the kid. In a moment, his eyes refocused on me and he said, "He's one of Suffering's dolls."
"I know."
"Maybe, but do you understand?"
"Yes."
"I don't think you do. You don't understand that if those dolls weren't in place, Suffering would drown the humans. There would be no balance. That is why we set up dolls, people whose whole lives are given over to Suffering. We sacrifice a few to make sure that the many are not overrun. This cannot be tampered with for even a moment. You need to understand this, Pleasure."
"Okay, I get it."
Death sighed. He was having a hard time dealing with me. I was younger, I came much later to our family. Not as young as some, I was still young compared to someone like Death. He was practically here from the start. "Have you read man's Bible?" Death asked.
"Not really. Not my style."
Death nodded having assumed that would be my answer. "Have you at least heard about Noah and the flood?"
"Everyone's heard about that... they even made it into a movie."
"That story is based on the birth of Suffering. During his birth, his powers ran rampant and unfocused. Wave after wave of suffering covered the world. It was a figurative flood. We, the elder Constants, were only able to shield a few humans from the damage. The rest died. We were able to finally constrain him. But he always manages to break loose and then spreads suffering across the globe.
The dolls became our solution. Focus him on a few individuals. Suffering doesn't stop but it is manageable. The dolls lead horrific lives. They are tortured at every turn. But their sacrifice keeps the world safe. Suffering is focused on them. From birth to death. You give them any sort of release, you could cause him to become unfocused. Unfocused is bad for the world. He has the kind of power that is very hard to fight," Death finished. I was astounded. That was the longest thing I'd ever heard Death say at once.
I took a few moments to absorb what I was being told. I hadn't been around for Suffering's birth. I hadn't ever been told or seen any of us do anything like that. Death didn't joke around and he didn't lie. He didn't need to, he was Death. I sighed. I was going to have to leave Suffering alone from now on. "Why didn't anyone tell me that messing with him could result in a cataclysm?" I asked, slightly peeved. I was never told the important things until later. "Because you never did anything that would cause that until now. In fact, you helped by opposing him. While a majority of his psyche is focused on the dolls, you engage the portion that isn't and that is good," Death answered.
"You mean, knowing what I now know, I'm supposed to go about my business as usual?"
Death nodded his head in a 'that's exactly what the hell you are going to do' way. "That is the reason for your existence. You were created with the purpose of opposing Suffering."
"I was created to oppose Suffering?" I huffed.
"Oh, don't get all up in arms. We were all created with diametric opposites. I was created to oppose Life. She was created to oppose me. We are balances that hold the other in check. You are Suffering's balance."
"So, I'm just supposed to go around opposing him?"
"What? No, you do what you are meant to do. Promote pleasure. You oppose him by existing, just as he opposes you by existing. Just look around you."
I looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. People were laughing and carrying on like they always did. Eating and smiling. "What am I supposed to see?" I asked.
"Do you really think that this is how humans normally act around Death?"
I looked around again. "They are happy because of me?"
"Well, the short answer is yes. The long answer is involved and debatable."
"You don't smile much, do you? Or see others smile?" I asked. I started pushing... myself towards Death. I wanted him to smile.
"Stop it."
I put on an innocent face and said, "What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything..."
He leveled his gaze at me like a lance and reiterated once more, "Stop it."
"Why? What's so wrong about wanting to see you smile."
"Because the world isn't ready for me to find Pleasure in what I do..."
I left with a quickness after that.
I went to the table he had chosen for us. We might have been siblings but we couldn't be more different. He was dressed in all black and not like cool black. Somber black. Everything about him, from the cut of his jacket to the contours of his face, was severe. Like, he didn't just look at you, he bore a hole into you with his eyes. I was definitely not a fan. I didn't like the guy even if we were related.
I, on the other hand, was the epitome of edgy cool, if I do say so myself. I was wearing a t-shirt that had the 'No Drama Llama' on it that was tucked into a black skirt. I complimented my outfit with black hose and combat boots. Finally, the piece de resistance was the hat on top of my head. I was the cool chick on this block... ;)
He looked up at me and our eyes met for an instant. I had to look away. You know how eyes are the windows to the soul? All I saw in his was more black.
"You're early," he said.
"Hey, I know, D, but I wanted to be the only person in history that was early to meet Death!" I laughed at my own joke.
"You know, Pleasure, I do not like being called D," he said impassively.
"Ugh, whatever," I said, throwing him a scathing glance.
"As fun as these little family get-togethers are, maybe we should get down to business."
I sighed. "There's a guy... I just want to know when he's going to die."
Death cocked his head at me and said simply, "Why?"
"He's suffered so much during his life, I want to make his last moments... fun," I said, holding out a small hope that my big brother would understand. His eyes narrowed. "Why has he endured so much hardship?"
"Just had a hard..."
"Don't presume to lie to me. I'm Death, the end of all things. Who is this man?" Death said, his eyes blazing with a black flame.
"Hey, calm down! You are going to upset the lessers!" I said.
Death and I were part of an extended family of sorts. It was huge. Not all of us got along all the time either. Death and I were not at odds, so we were cordial with each other. But there were others that did not get along with each other. Like I didn't understand Sadness and she didn't get me. We weren't enemies per se but we also didn't associate. Not like Death and Life. They hated each other. There was only one of us that I couldn't stand. Suffering. "The name," Death said, leveling his gaze at me like a loaded weapon. It was effective. He was one of the elder six and not someone to mess with.
"Trevor Mendel," I squeaked.
Death sat back and froze in place. I knew he was sifting through his mystical storage box of a mind to see what he had on the kid. In a moment, his eyes refocused on me and he said, "He's one of Suffering's dolls."
"I know."
"Maybe, but do you understand?"
"Yes."
"I don't think you do. You don't understand that if those dolls weren't in place, Suffering would drown the humans. There would be no balance. That is why we set up dolls, people whose whole lives are given over to Suffering. We sacrifice a few to make sure that the many are not overrun. This cannot be tampered with for even a moment. You need to understand this, Pleasure."
"Okay, I get it."
Death sighed. He was having a hard time dealing with me. I was younger, I came much later to our family. Not as young as some, I was still young compared to someone like Death. He was practically here from the start. "Have you read man's Bible?" Death asked.
"Not really. Not my style."
Death nodded having assumed that would be my answer. "Have you at least heard about Noah and the flood?"
"Everyone's heard about that... they even made it into a movie."
"That story is based on the birth of Suffering. During his birth, his powers ran rampant and unfocused. Wave after wave of suffering covered the world. It was a figurative flood. We, the elder Constants, were only able to shield a few humans from the damage. The rest died. We were able to finally constrain him. But he always manages to break loose and then spreads suffering across the globe.
The dolls became our solution. Focus him on a few individuals. Suffering doesn't stop but it is manageable. The dolls lead horrific lives. They are tortured at every turn. But their sacrifice keeps the world safe. Suffering is focused on them. From birth to death. You give them any sort of release, you could cause him to become unfocused. Unfocused is bad for the world. He has the kind of power that is very hard to fight," Death finished. I was astounded. That was the longest thing I'd ever heard Death say at once.
I took a few moments to absorb what I was being told. I hadn't been around for Suffering's birth. I hadn't ever been told or seen any of us do anything like that. Death didn't joke around and he didn't lie. He didn't need to, he was Death. I sighed. I was going to have to leave Suffering alone from now on. "Why didn't anyone tell me that messing with him could result in a cataclysm?" I asked, slightly peeved. I was never told the important things until later. "Because you never did anything that would cause that until now. In fact, you helped by opposing him. While a majority of his psyche is focused on the dolls, you engage the portion that isn't and that is good," Death answered.
"You mean, knowing what I now know, I'm supposed to go about my business as usual?"
Death nodded his head in a 'that's exactly what the hell you are going to do' way. "That is the reason for your existence. You were created with the purpose of opposing Suffering."
"I was created to oppose Suffering?" I huffed.
"Oh, don't get all up in arms. We were all created with diametric opposites. I was created to oppose Life. She was created to oppose me. We are balances that hold the other in check. You are Suffering's balance."
"So, I'm just supposed to go around opposing him?"
"What? No, you do what you are meant to do. Promote pleasure. You oppose him by existing, just as he opposes you by existing. Just look around you."
I looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. People were laughing and carrying on like they always did. Eating and smiling. "What am I supposed to see?" I asked.
"Do you really think that this is how humans normally act around Death?"
I looked around again. "They are happy because of me?"
"Well, the short answer is yes. The long answer is involved and debatable."
"You don't smile much, do you? Or see others smile?" I asked. I started pushing... myself towards Death. I wanted him to smile.
"Stop it."
I put on an innocent face and said, "What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything..."
He leveled his gaze at me like a lance and reiterated once more, "Stop it."
"Why? What's so wrong about wanting to see you smile."
"Because the world isn't ready for me to find Pleasure in what I do..."
I left with a quickness after that.
No comments:
Post a Comment