September Surprise Story Week: Richard continued: Afterlife collection: 508 words

[k_a_webb]

See the beginning of this story here (LJ link).

“You did well,” Death said as the spirit guide and Justin left the room. The moment they were alone she reverted back to being Charis. “It won't be long until you're ready to take over from me and then I can move on.”

Richard shook his head. “I don't know, Charis. Bringing Justin back was easier than I thought it would be but that doesn't mean that I'm ready for everything that you do.”

“Stop doubting yourself. I know that you can do this job know, better than I could when I started, but if you don't believe that you can do it then we're in big trouble.” She sighed. “There's a poltergeist I want you to bring in. It won't be for a little while because the family it's connected to are looking for a exorcist so you have time to get yourself ready.”

“Do you really think I'm capable of safely bringing back a poltergeist?”

“Yes, Richard, I do. You've been ready for a long time. I think you're just scared of doing this job by yourself.”

“Of course I'm scared. Being Death is a huge responsibilty.”

“Now that you've admitted it you can work on dealing with it.” Charis reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “I hate to say this but my grip on the power of Death had been getting weaker. It's ready to move on to you. I'll keep it in check for as long as I can but one day you may just end up with the full power of the position even it you're not ready.”

He nodded. “I understand.”

“I'm surprised I've kept hold of it this long. It likes you.”

“What do you mean 'it likes me'?”

“It's hard to explain. When I lend you the power of Death it doesn't want to come back to me. The power doesn't dislike me as such but it would much rather stay with you.” She smiled. “I don't think it's used to on-the-job training.”

“How do I deal with it if the power does come to me without warning?”

“The same way everyone did before I choose to train you. Just go with it. It's really the only thing you can do. When that happens I'll probably have to work on my next life so I'm not sure if I'll be able to help you any longer.”

“I'm grateful that you took the time to train me.”

“I've enjoyed it.” She looked sad. “Now that I'm thinking about moving on I kind of wish I wasn't. Being Death has been such an interesting experience and having two of us working together has made it even better.” She sighed. “It would be much nicer if two people could take on the job of being Death. The job would be less lonely.”

“Why didn't you mention it to the council?”

“It's got nothing to do with the council really. The power of Death makes all the choices and I have no idea if it would listen if someone tried to talk to it.”

© K A Jones 2011

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I like this story. It's fascinating to see the two Death messengers interacting, and to learn more about how the job works.

>>“I hate to say this but my grip on the power of Death had been getting weaker.<<

I think that should say "has been" rather than "had been" above.

>>even it you're not ready.”<<

That should say "even if" above.

>>The power of Death makes all the choices and I have no idea if it would listen if someone tried to talk to it.”<<

Well, the obvious thing to do then is try it and see what happens. I'm intrigued to discover whether the power of Death is aware or could be otherwise influenced, or if it's just a mindless force.