IF: Life and Death

Chapter 7: Death and His Supervisors

Death and His Supervisors

That day it smelled like the ocean.

It's just so vast and though people walk back and forth with those black dresses and coats sprayed with fancy perfumes, the air is still dense with mourning.

The wind blows strong but at the same time calming. It disturbs the thick layers of green from tall trees and as it goes nearer to the ground it just whispers and caresses the fallen leaves. It was never autumn. The season never felt that sad. That day it did.

Eyrin stands farthest from where the priest stands. Jeff, Adrian, and Leo's parents have their heads lowered. They also wear glasses but even so, even if their faces seem to be void of any emotion, their trembling still reveals the weakness of their current state.

The priest utters the blessing that's supposed to guide his soul to the after life. After that, those who have something to say speak and voice their feelings. That day, Leo is beside Eyrin, in his ever casual stature, but without his usual cheeky smile.

Leo never has imagined that he would be able to hear what other people have to say about him. That day he knows, there are no more feelings kept, no more promises to be made or broken, and no more words left unsaid.

Except his.

That day he's buried to the ground, to lay down six feet under the stars, to forever look up and eventually be part of the sky.

In that hole his memories will be covered in dirt and as people go by time and forget, one after another it will be there even if no one remembers.

That day, Eyrin thinks, it strongly smells like the ocean. She doesn't think she can forget.

As the crowd gradually disperses and goes back to their usual lives, Leo keeps standing still, in front of his tomb, feet on the fresh soil that covers his body. Eyrin stands beside him, looking at the tomb as she tries to speak and get a word from him.

"I should claim to be the one who feels strongly about your..." she can't find the right word to say at first, "...demise."

"Demise?" Leo finally speaks with a scoff, "that's too grand. But why?" he asks without making eye contact.

"I never really knew you until yesterday when you mysteriously brought me into your house," she starts explaining, "I was shocked but that's just one word to put it."

She crouches and picks up the candle to light up another one with flames blown away by the wind. "Then this morning I remembered how you died and I saw it on tape. I was angry, weakened, and then I was just horrified."

She doesn't stand up right away and just stares at the name engraved on the cobblestone.

LEONARD V. HERNANDEZ

2002-2021

"Then today is where I see people mourn for you and I couldn't cry knowing that you're beside me, seemingly alive," she continues, "I just can't explain how I feel. They're all strong and I can't just choose one."

"You don't really have to feel anything for me," Leo speaks half-jokingly. "But if you feel like comforting me, a hug from a friend will do," he continued, pertaining to her.

Eyrin lets out a bitter chuckle and secretly wipes the lone tear from her left eye. "Yeah," she stands up, still refusing to avert her gaze from the tomb, "I wish I could just give you a hug right now."

"Were you his friend?" someone asks from behind and that's the time that Eyrin looks back.

Her gaze is welcomed by the same brown eyes she just met yesterday, but that time, it's from a different person.

"I never knew he had other friends apart from us," the guy adds but Eyrin can hardly speak.

"I'm just a passerby," she reasons, getting ready to leave.

"A stranger doesn't casually offer a hug to a lonely body buried under that ground." The guy speaks but his tone is too flat Eyrin can't really feel what emotion he's trying to show. Is he driving her away? Or is he curious?

"I'm sorry," she says before taking a step back and is supposed to walk away until he speaks.

"Madaya." Eyrin stops on her tracks. She's not sure if he's still talking to her but whatever it is, she wants to listen.

His next words confirm that he's indeed talking to her. "Don't you think so, too?" he asks her, this time looking back to meet her gaze.

Then again, she’s staring at a pair of brown orbs, lost for words. "W-what?" she says out of confusion, still staring at him.

"Life is unfair," he clarifies before he sits on the fresh ground, seemingly planning to stay longer.

Eyrin senses a pang of pain when he says those words. She doesn't want to leave him but at the same time hesitant because she might break another rule yet again. Rule number three****** have a small talk with strangers. She can't even stop staring at his eyes which already broke rule number one, but she can't help it so with a sigh she offers help.

"Do you want to talk about it, Adrian?" She's about to sit beside a stranger and comfort him but the wind blows and it has her hair cover her face.

The wind blows but it's not just a usual one for her. It gives her the kind of feeling she felt yesterday when a ghost stared at her, but this time it's more intense. It's like her own soul is seeping out as she feels pain all over her body.

"We need to go," Leo says in urgency. Eyrin forgets he's still there listening but that warning tone in his voice retells her about his existence.

"What's happening?" Eyrin asks, which gets Adrian confused.

"Are you okay?" Adrian asks, standing up to offer help. He obviously sees Eyrin is struggling for whatever reason.

"Give me your phone****" The pain all over her body seems to flow all through her head and she almost can't take it anymore. "Y-your phone*"

Adrian hurriedly snatches his phone for his back pocket and gives it to Eyrin. He wants to ask why but that few minutes he's spent with her is just overwhelming. It gets him silenced.

"Here," she hands him the phone before turning her back and starts walking away as fast as she can, "call me!" It doesn't sound right but she thinks Adrian gets the point.

"What in the world is happening?" she asks once they got out of the cemetery.

"They're here," Leo answers. His face is so serious Eyrin almost missed that flash of emotion.

He's afraid.

"They?" she looks back, not stopping her pace, "who?" she asks again.

Heavy clouds loom over the vicinity but it's weird because it's just the cemetery that's experiencing unusual weather disturbance. Thunder roars, a lightning flashes, after that it gets quiet.

Screaming follows.

"HELP US!"

These are the only words she can make out of the screaming. She falls into her knees as she covers her ears to try to muffle the overwhelming voices coming from where they were.

"Don't stop." Leo comes back for her, extends his hands to help her get up.

"Can't you hear them?" Eyrin asks.

"I can but there's no time to stop. We have to go."

Eyrin's supposed to ask another question when dark smoke looms over them. She's still on her knees looking up and trying to follow the swift movement of those things she's yet to identify. Leo put up a stance to protect her and she can't understand why. She can't understand everything that's happening.

Soon enough the black smoke materializes around them. The next thing they know they are surrounded by men in black trench-coats with metal accents and a razor-rimmed hat that overshadows their faces. But Eyrin is certain that they have bandages wrapped around their face just like what they have wrapped around their arms.

Leo is agitated by their presence but it seems like they're not planning to do anything... yet. They just stand still and it's obvious that they don't want the both of them to go anywhere except inside the circle they casually made.

"What do you want?" Leo asks, a bit calmer. His movements aren't too stiff like how it was earlier. Maybe he's trying to compose himself, not wanting to look scared.

The men do not speak but someone coming from behind does. "Greetings!"

Eyrin has finally managed to get herself up to see who's coming.

It's another mysterious man wearing a white button down shirt and a textured tie, tucked in a pair of black pinstripe trousers. He's holding his black coat that's also hanging from his left shoulder. He's smiling at them, his eyes bloodshot and to add accent to his intimidating appearance, he wears a skull mask titled to the right side to reveal his pale white complexion.

If Eyrin could not see ghosts, she would think he's just a random psycho who failed his first job interview. But no. The way his voice sounded when he spoke a single word can make even the tree roots shiver.

"W-who are you?" she asks, out of fear.

The guy chuckles and gestures his hand as if Eyrin asks a stupid question. "It's just me, Death, and these," he motions his hand to get them to look at the other men surrounding them, "they are my supervisors."

Death looks at Leo intently and continues, his tone swings to a completely different one. "And we need to talk," he speaks.

"About what," Leo asks but Death dismisses him with another hand gesture. It's quite annoying.

"No, not you," Death clarifies and then averts his gaze to Eyrin, "You," he confirms.

"You're already dead."

At that moment, everything stopped for Eyrin.