CHAPTER 2

Chapter 2

“PRINCESS Maria Isabelle De Lata, wake up there. I still have an appointment. I have many more souls to fetch today.” A baritone voice shouted right on my left ear. I immediately woke up, catching up my breath.

Who the hell mentioned my full name? It’s really cringey on my end hearing that name of mine. I’m a lesbian and yet my name is so girly in nature. It always made me shiver upon hearing someone calling me that way. And I don't even know about my ancestors and why they chose “De Lata” as our last name. Maybe... my bloodline were fond of eating canned foods long ago. (De Lata is a Filipino slang term for canned foods)

Anyway, back to reality. Who called me earlier? Where’s that voice came from? Am I already dead? Hmmm... it looks like the answer is yes. I can’t feel my body anymore—whether I’m in pain or not. To confirm whether I was dead or not, I slowly opened my eyes. I was shocked of what had greeted me—it was a complete nothingness. I quickly crawled around and it felt like I was suspended on the air. I am not in the burning hospital building anymore. The place where I am now is covered with endless darkness. Is it black out here or what? I can’t see any light. And the whole area is so peaceful, too.

Moments later I suddenly grabbed two long hard objects standing in front of me. Just wait, long and hard... and standing, too?

Oh, Princess, here we are again. Stop imagining things. I reprimanded my self mentally. I'm sorry, I really hate my imagination. But, wait… wait… don’t get me wrong. I was just wondering what are these two long, hard and standing objects in front of me.

Long and hard? Maybe, they were just protruding pipes. Is there any pipeline here in this void? I don’t think so. But anyway, don’t be grin-minded there.

Back to reality, where am I again? Why is it so dark here?

I just kept groping to find out what exactly the two things were standing next to me. On closer inspection, they can be compared to human legs.

I sat down on the suspended air and continued what I was doing but I immediately removed my hands from the things I have been touching since earlier when again a manly voice spoke.

“Stop right there. You might grope my birdie and my eggs if you continue what you are doing,” a baritone voice whispered to me and suddenly there was a blue light around. Hairs all over my body suddenly stood up because of complete shock. It startled me.

Son of a rotten egg! I was startled when a tall man wearing a black hood and holding a long scythe appeared before me. I pushed myself backwards with my feet and hands when I realized what kind of creature it was.

"D-Death? Is that you? The one who fetch souls on Earth?” I stammered, and it made him laugh out loud because I couldn't finish what I was going to say because I was so shocked and scared.

“Everyone really stutters every time they see my handsome face!” he exclaimed.

Huh?!? Who told you? This one is a self-proclaimed narcissistic creature. I can't even see what he really looks like, how could I believe him?

Everyone on Earth fears Death because of his frightening appearance. But why is he so different from what is shown on television and read in stories? Actually, he's not scary at all. At first I was scared because who wouldn’t be scared when Death picks you up, right? But when he laughed out loud at me, all my fear of him was replaced by amazement and astonishment. And a little annoyed because of his airiness.

“I just want to ask, are you really Death?” I wonder.

“Yes, I am Death! The mighty and only one Death who collects souls and guide them to heaven, also known as Astrum, and will offer these souls to Auctrus, the Maker of all,” he introduced himself to me, adding some information about his job. And then stretched out his hand to help me stand up.

Auctrus? Who’s that? I haven’t heard of that name before. But anyway, he is friendly, huh. Imagine Death assisting you to stand up and giving you a handshake—that was gentleman of him.

When I finally got up with his help, a cold wind suddenly blew where we were and it dramatically removed the veil off his head. I just don’t know if he meant to brag about his handsome face earlier but I won't deny it, he really looks handsome despite of his fearsome name. If maybe he was an ordinary person who studied at the university I used to attend, he would be an instant heartthrob in the whole campus.

His nose is tall and proud. He has glowing blue eyes with lush eyelashes. His face is handsome as hell and I’m not lying ... and wait ... he has an exceptional strong jawline. Is this really Death? He’s too good to be true. But don’t get me wrong. I'm not thrilled. I will never be thrilled with a man. I even get jealous, when I see handsome men. How I wish I became a real man before I died but it was too late already. I can’t fulfill that dream of mine to become a transman anymore. I snapped my thoughts when I remembered something.

“By the way, didn’t you say earlier that you still have an appointment? You still have a lot of souls to fetch, don’t you? Why aren't you leaving yet?” I asked, bombarding him with questions. He stopped for a moment and then returned to his senses after a while.

“Oh yes, by the way. All right! Time to get back to work. Gotta go now. Be careful when you go home.” He slowly turned his back on me. he said goodbye to me and then started to step his feet away from me. Yes, I’m safe. Maybe, there’s a chance for me to escape here and go back to Earth.

I wanna return to my body. But how to return to Earth? And what if my body was already cremated and engulfed by that raging fire? Maybe I’ll have to problem that later. I need to escape Death first. But where to go in this void of emptiness? Maybe, there was a door here. I just need to find it. I slowly moved my body and turned my back without making a noise.

I was about to walk away from my standpoint but I came into halt when Death suddenly realized that I was fooling him.

“Wait, aren’t you a soul too? You have to come with me. What a brilliant of you to divert my thoughts so that you can fool me. Too bad for you, but it didn’t successfully work on me. No one can escape my charm,” he haughtily said and then returned to where we were a while back.

“I’m sorry. I forgot. I died in a fire in the hospital because of my own stupidity.” I smiled at him hesitantly and then made a peace sign. I let out a deep breath. No one can really escape death.

“Just come on. You have wasted a lot of my time,” Death said irritably then he grabbed my hand, pulling me towards him. Oh, he can touch me. How can he do it? Well, he’s the avatar of death after all. Of course he has the ability to touch souls.

We were about to leave this void of nothingness but we stopped walking when suddenly someone interrupted us and grabbed my free hand, too.

“She will not come with you. He will come with me so let go of her hand and give her to me,” a very beautiful woman, with long curls and blonde hair who suddenly emerged from nowhere, demanded. She is d*mn stunning—a goddess. Indeed!

Wait… wait. What on afterlife is happening?