(Untitled)

[no_justice]

There is a litter of kittens on a table, most of which are so tiny that their eyes haven't opened yet. They're forming a soft, mewing pile of fur, looking for the warmth of a mother that isn't there

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[monthly_gift]

"Well."

Mother Nature looks down at the kittens from beside the table.

"There's something you don't see every day. But then, you don't see Mother Nature and Death together everyday, either, do you? We sort of work at different ends of the same line."

[monthly_gift]

"But without you to help them along their way, all of those pour souls would be in a terrible fix, wouldn't they?"

[no_justice]

It's never worked out well in the past, he concedes.

[monthly_gift]

She nods.

"I get a mixed bag; some are overjoyed when I make and appearance, and others are angry or upset. I would guess that that sometimes to get the same reactions."

[no_justice]

Yes, Death agrees. I like the ones who are neither.

[monthly_gift]

"Do many of them simply accept what is? Do you think they fare any better on their trip through the desert than those who are still weighed down by their mortal emotions?"

It's a side of things she never really gets a chance to observe. It would be interesting if they could switch jobs for a day, and walk the proverbial mile in the other's shoes.

[no_justice]

Not many, but some, Death says.

Which desert?

[monthly_gift]

"Isn't that the belief? Death, and then the desert they have to traverse to get to what comes next? Or is it a tunnel of light, or a descent into an underworld...perhaps it's different for each person? Mortals tend to have all manner of idea of what it takes to get from one point to the next, but it's almost never an instantaneous translation."

[no_justice]

That's none of my concern, Death admits.

You'll find out when your turn comes.

As it always does.

[monthly_gift]

"Eventually, I suppose. Being immortal makes that a longer way off than most. What about you? Will you eventually find out, too?"

[no_justice]

Of course.

[monthly_gift]

"Has there been one before you, or have you been Death since the beginning you in it until you're no longer needed?"

She can imagine that day ever coming, but some things are inevitable.

[no_justice]

The latter, Death says. But a new one turned up when I retired.

[monthly_gift]

"I didn't know you could retire. I suppose they would have to send someone to take my place if I didn't want the job anymore..."

The thought never really occurred to her.

"What do you do, now that you're retired?"

Maybe he's a kitten breeder? She eyes the basket again.

[no_justice]

Oh I didn't stay retired for long, he says. Either time.

[monthly_gift]

"It's happened more than once? Do you find that you just can stay away, or does something conspire to pull you out of retirement?"