“Why are you still here?”
“Come on, you can do it honey, just one more push,” a man desperately begged as his red ethereal hands clutched the railing of the hospital bed.
In front of him lay a woman with green hair and orange skin, currently prone in the bed and surrounded by doctors who were working full time to keep her alive through her delivery. The woman was sweating profusely, clearly weakened by both the strain of bringing a new life into the world, and the two large wounds right below her left shoulder the doctors were working on.
To the dead man’s surprise, his wife turned her head in his direction, and seemed to look him in the eyes. “Can she see me?” he asked desperately to the green-haired girl at his side.
“She can sense that you’re here at her side. She knows that you’re still watching over her,” the girl, Wallflower, explained with a small smile as she waited patiently.
“You’re not here for her too, are you?” the man asked, his hands clutching the railing even tighter.
The young reaper shook her head. “She’s close, but still has a chance. And you’re helping her pull through it.”
The man looked back at his wife, watching her struggle with the pain and exhaustion, slowly closing her eyes, looking like she was about to give up. He moved over to her and, placing his hands on her cheeks, gave her a soft kiss on her lips.
The woman’s eyes shot open, an image of her husband appearing on her mind, begging her to not give up. He pulled back, and his wife clenched her teeth and screamed as she gave one more push with all her will and her husband’s.
“Good job! Your baby is okay!” one of the doctors called out, filling the new parents with joy as they heard the wails of their newborn.
The woman rested her head on the bed, trying to regain strength. She was a mother now; she couldn’t give up.
Her husband would be in tears were it not for his condition, but his smile had never been brighter.
“We can wait a bit longer if you want,” Wallflower offered kindly.
The man looked at her, his previous fears of the black-caped teenager now replaced with gratitude. “Thank you.”
They both stood near the bed as the medics finished with the process of the delivery so the mother could rest and recuperate. Eventually, a doctor came back after examining the baby. “Congratulations, it’s a girl,” he told her as he showed the new life she had brought to the world, swaddled in a white towel. Tears ran down the mother’s face as she looked at her beautiful daughter, and without knowing, her husband kissed her on the cheek one last time.
“Will I be able to see them from the afterlife?” the man asked.
Wallflower smiled. “You will be able to see her grow up into a beautiful person.”
The man closed his eyes. “Okay. I’m ready.” The reaper put her hand against his chest, and the ethereal figure shined brightly before dissipating, moving on to the afterlife.
“You did great,” a voice praised her from behind, and Wallflower turned to see her old friend and fellow reaper, sitting on her scythe like it was a witch’s broom.
“Thanks Sunset,” she responded with a small blush. “You always make this punishment feel lighter on my shoulders.” she sighed in her mind.
“Come, we may still be able to watch the sunset,” the redhead said with a smile before flying through the ceiling.
Wallflower followed her with one question in her mind. “Why are you still here?”
They flew together over the city, Sunset talking about what they could do tomorrow, and Wallflower just listening and nodding, her mind occupied by her question.
Suddenly, they both heard a caw in their heads, calling them to a nearby location.
“I will handle this one,” Sunset said before diving into the streets, her friend following closely. They flew through buildings, reaching the spot where the passing had occurred moments before.
Sunset froze in place when she saw what had happened. A student from CHS had been stabbed on his way to the school, likely in a violent robbery.
Sunset started to tremble. One hand went to her chest, feeling her wound burning, and heard a gunshot in her mind.
She then felt Wallflower’s hand grab her shoulder, snapping her away from the painful memory. “It’s okay, I'll handle it. Wait for me on the roof,” her fellow reaper said with a small comforting smile.
Sunset did her best to calm herself and nodded. “Thank you.”
Wallflower waited until her friend was out of sight and flew to the recently deceased. The young teenager was hugging his legs, looking at his corpse while he sobbed, even if he couldn’t shed any tears. She slowly sat down at his side, waiting for him to notice her.
“Are you here to take me away?” he asked with fear in his voice.
“I’m here to help you move on to the afterlife,” Wallflower responded calmly, showing no ill intentions.
“Am I going to hell?” the student asked as he trembled, terrified at the idea of eternal suffering.
“You’re not a bad person. There is no reason for you to suffer anymore.”
He closed his eyes tightly. “But I-”
“I know,” the reaper interrupted, her voice soft and comforting. “There are many that doubt their value. But the truth is; Only at the end of your life you can be sure if your sins are going to condemn you or not. And in your case, it was decided that you are a good person.”
The boy looked calmer after her words, but he still seemed unsure. “You’re not just saying this to make me feel better, are you?”
Wallflower shook her head. “I would never do that.”
He took a deep breath and slowly stood up, giving one last look at his bleeding body before turning towards the girl. The young reaper put her hand on the boy’s chest, and he started to shine brightly.
“Thanks Wallflower.” The girl’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry for what happened to you.” He finally moved on to the afterlife, and Wallflower was left trembling in place. She grabbed her left wrist, feeling her wound burning.
It took a couple of minutes of deep breathing until she finally calmed down. It had been a long time since she had heard her name uttered by someone other than Sunset. Remembering her friend was waiting for her, Wallflower flew to the roof, finding Sunset sitting on her scythe.
The redhead looked at her with a small smile. “Sorry for that. It has been almost three years already, but it hurts just like the first time,” she said, putting her hand on her chest.
“Don’t worry. I feel it too,” Wallflower said, walking closer to her friend.
“Good thing we have each other.” Sunset smiled, but Wallflower was staring at the ground, seemingly ignoring her. “Is something wrong?”
“Why are you still doing this?”
The question took Sunset by surprise. “What do you mean?”
Wallflower kept her head down, letting her long hair cover her face as she talked. “If it still hurts you so much, why don’t you stop?”
Sunset tried to smile. “You know we have a job to do.”
“It’s not a job!” Wallflower screamed, finally showing her face, and the pain in her eyes. “This is a punishment!” She clutched her wrist with her hand. “But you didn’t commit The Sin.” Her wound burned even harder than before. “You got screwed over because you were a demon for a few minutes. You shouldn’t have to be put through this!”
Sunset got off her scythe and walked over to her friend. “Wally calm down. My punishment is just like yours. I just need to do service until I earn my right to pass to the afterlife.”
Wallflower clenched her left hand into a fist. “I didn’t know that before.” She looked at her straight in the eyes. “That’s why I went to Suok and asked him to let you move on to the afterlife.” Sunset’s eyes widened. “And he told me that you had already earned your right to pass, but you rejected it!” Tears started to run down Wallflower’s eyes. “Because of me…”
Sunset moved her hand towards her friend. “Wally, I-”
“Why?! Why are you condemning yourself to this for me? It hurts you just like it hurts me!” Wallflower clenched her wrist even tighter, feeling like it was on fire. “Do you blame yourself for what I did after you died? Are you staying at my side because I was too weak to continue on without you? Is the guilt preventing you from moving on to a better life? Why-”
“Wallflower Stop!” Sunset shouted, trying to stop her friend from falling too deep into that dark corner of her mind.
“I need you to tell me the truth!” Wallflower screamed, her arms shaking.
Sunset put her hands up. “Fine, I will tell you.”
Wallflower calmed down, but neither the tears nor the shaking stopped.
Sunset took a deep breath. “Yes, I earned my right to pass on long ago.”
Wallflower closed her eyes, feeling a sharp spike pierce her heart. “Then you-”
“A year after I died. Long before you did.”
Wallflower opened her eyes. “What?”
Sunset sighed. “As you said, my judgement was unfair. Even Suok agreed that it was, but told me that it would be better if I just served my sentence than try to fight his rules. So, I worked tirelessly to fulfill it, and when I finally earned my right to pass, I asked Suok a question.”
Wallflower put a hand over her mouth. “You asked about me.”
Sunset closed her eyes. “Yes. I asked if I could be the one to help your soul move on to the afterlife.”
Wallflower shook her head. “Why? Why would you do that?”
“Because, after experiencing death, I wanted to be there for you, since I couldn’t be with you in life.” Sunset took a few steps towards her friend. “It did break my heart watching you commit The Sin, and knowing that you would suffer the punishment. But what makes me want to stay with you isn’t guilt.” She grabbed both of Wallflowers hands, intertwining her fingers with hers. “I want to be with you. Because life cheated us both out of being together. So, even if I need to keep being a reaper until you gain your right to pass on, I want to stay with you. To have in death what we couldn’t have in life.”
Wallflower was crying even more than before, but her wound wasn’t burning anymore. “Are you really choosing me over the afterlife?”
Sunset gently lifted her friend’s chin until their eyes met. “If you’re not there with me, the afterlife would be empty.”
Wallflower hugged Sunset with all her strength as she cried, letting out all the emotions she had still locked up inside since the death of her friend. All the grief she hadn’t been able to process, all the hours she spent wondering what their lives could’ve been if she was still with her, all the crushed dreams of them living together, all of her regret for not being able to tell her how much she meant to her. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t live without you.”
Sunset brushed her hair softly with her hand. “It’s okay. I’m with you now, and I will never leave you again. That’s a promise even death won’t be able to break.”
They stood close together for a long time as Wallflower drained her emotions through her tears, until she didn’t have more to shed. She took a step back, and Sunset sighed as she noticed that the night had already fallen over the city. “Well, I guess we missed the sunset.”
The redhead was surprised as Wallflower drew her into a soft kiss, filled with the emotions that the girl's tears could never wash away. Wallflower then pulled back and smiled at the blush on her friend’s cheeks. “You are the sunset I want to see every day.”
Sunset chuckled and smiled, putting her arms over her friend’s shoulders. “I love you.”
Wallflower moved closer to her. “I love you too.”
They kissed once again, glad to finally truly be together.
And even death could not keep them part.
Author's Note
This is my first try at writing romance, I hope I did decent at least.
There is a much better story written by Scampy: Premarital Smooching. Go read it.
Have a nice existence!
