The god of death went home that night with a happy skip in his step. What was once a basic walk was now a jazzy stride. He tipped his hat to nearby shaydes as he strutted through the Underwhere and whistled to the rhythm of his steps.

He continued walking, feeling high on the feeling he felt when he passed by the hags' house. After seeming so burnt out for so long, having seen Death suddenly acting energetically once again was definitely concerning. So, they did what they always did, and followed behind him.

"Uh oh..." They all hummed simultaneously. "We've seen that face before..."

He did his best to ignore them, but as they spoke he slowly lost energy in his steps. As if their voices were weighing him down. 

"Death is in love..." One fate teased. 

"And with a mortal," Another added.

"How sad...."

"Say what you want," Death shrugged. "I'm not gonna let y'all ruin this for me."

"Alright..." They all cooed, but their voices sounded less understanding and more teasing.

"Just know..." One of them started.

"That mortals are like flames...." Another added.

"You never know when they'll go out..."

Death froze up as if the realization just hit him, but shrugged it off after a moment as if this simply didn't matter. "Relax," He smirked. "She's young. She's got years to live. And I doubt that my feelings would last her that long."

He told himself that. He told himself that their bond could only be temporary. That she wouldn't last long and that this was just something he wanted to explore. Besides, he knew that she didn't return his feelings. In fact, he was probably just shocked that she wasn't afraid of him and had mistaken it for love.

But... as time went on, he kept going to see her. She kept smiling and showing him the wonders of life.  Showing him mortal traditions, celebrations, and simple things that they cherished in life.

Evette liked the forest and the water. When she spoke of elements she could never choose which one she loved more. Each day her answer would change. She loved the life and all the greenery that earth offered, but the natural flow and the life that grew within and from water also inspired her. Death personally thought she looked the part of someone closer to the earth element, but her personality was more water-like. Gentle and flowing.

She said that he reminded her of air, truthfully. Which was odd, because everyone else seemed to think him fire. They thought of him as wild and destructive. And who could blame them? He was Death, after all. He sent nearly everyone down to the Underwhere. Yet... Evette thought him air. She said that to her... air was often overlooked, but just as important. It was spontaneous. The wind would change, just like him. 

And just like that, things continued. He kept going down to see her whenever he had time. She kept smiling. With each day that had passed, he noticed that she would seem to grow more and more beautiful. But he couldn't tell if this was just his mind telling him that he was loving her more and more or the fact that as her age grew, so did her beauty.

"Evette...?" He asked one particular dawn as the sunset, making the sky a beautiful pink color. The two of them were lying down in the tall grass, feeling the soft earth below them. The air was warm and comforting, like a safe hug.

"Yes...?" She asked, still looking up at the sky with those big green eyes.

"What... what are we?" He asked, almost fearing the answer. 

"Ah. This conversation," She giggled, sitting up and looking over him. 

"What?" He asked with a small chuckle, smiling up at her as she leaned over him. "I'm serious. What are we?"

"... Well... I am a mortal," Evette pointed out.

"And I am the god of death," Death continued, sitting up as well so they were at eye level. "But I didn't ask what you and I were. I asked what we were."

She paused, which made Death nervous. He immediately started wishing he didn't ask that question. Why did he have to go ahead and ruin what they had-

"I think..." She started, interrupting his thoughts, "that you are the only person who's ever taken the time out of their busy schedule to enjoy life with me."

Death frowned. "What do you mean...?"

"People nowadays are too busy to enjoy the little things in life. I thought that I would never find anyone... who would want to see the little things. But then... I found you," She smiled. "Or, you found me. And... even if no one else can see you... even if you're a god and I'm a mortal... I suppose I just can't help wanting to see you."

She then nudged herself closer to him and rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes and listening to his heartbeat. It was funny... him being the god of death, he wasn't sure if he'd have one. But sure enough, he did. Because he too was living. Even if it was in a different kind of way. He was still living.

You can probably tell how the story is going to go. The two continue to see one another, they fall in love, and they live happily ever after for many, many years.

But... the thing about mortals is... they don't last forever. 

Death had gotten busier and busier as time went on. As the population grew, so did the number of deaths, so he found himself having less and less free time to see his love. But still, he managed to see her whenever possible. Yes, she had aged and he had not, since he was a god and she was a mortal, but his love for her never wavered. It seemed with her years she had only grown more and more beautiful, not just physically, but in her personality too. He loved her kind spirit and the amount of life in her.

This was an extra busy day for Death. It had been wintertime, so he was a little more busy than usual, but spring was nearing soon. Jaydes and her new situation with her daughter had not made matters much easier. In fact, the queen herself was starting to change with all the extra stress and pressures of the ruling. She hardly saw Grambi at all anymore, and only could see her daughter for half of the year on account of Grambi's position as King of the Overthere.

But there was just one more soul on his list for the day. One more soul and he could finally go and see Evette. He waved his hand and teleported himself to where he knew the soul would be. In a small home, in the comfort of a bedroom, with the sun setting outside. Dusk was upon the village. The night was falling.

But.... wait a minute. He recognized this room. He recognized this time zone. This home, this place. 

It was...

Oh no...

"It's time... isn't it," She said, lying down in bed, looking up at the ceiling. She didn't sound upset or devastated. Just... accepting.

She had aged beautifully. Yes, her hair was silver now and her skin held a few wrinkles, but her eyes were still the beautiful lively green and her hair still bounced and curled.

"W... Evette?" Death whispered, dropping his cane and wincing upon hearing it clatter against the ground. "No... that can't be..."

"I knew it was coming soon," She admitted, weakly holding her hand out to him and softly smiling. "We both knew it was coming soon."

Death didn't take her hand. Instead, he shied away, shaking his head. His hands began to tremble. His lip began to quiver. Yes, he always knew this day would come. He always knew that this story would have to end, but why? He didn't want it to. He didn't want this to be over.

"N...No. Evette-" He squeaked, already feeling tears form in his eyes. "Not... not yet. W-We can get you to a hospital. We can-"

"I don't want to go to a hospital," She interrupted, coughing softly in between her words. Her speech was slow and weak. The winter had appeared to take quite a toll on her. "I'm tired... my love. I want to rest."

"N-no!" Death begged. "No! I-I won't let you!"

"Death..." She whispered.

"Please, d-don't make me. We can... I can... I'll figure something out. I-"

"Hey. Shhh..." She hushed.

He shook his head, biting his lip, then rushed over to her and hugged her tightly. Hugged her tightly, because he had always known that this had to end. He always knew that this couldn't last. But still... he continued to see her, somehow convincing himself that it would work out.

"Death...?" She whispered, her voice so soft that he could barely hear.

"Evette..." He whispered back, allowing his cold tears to fall onto her chest.

"Don't... let... this... break... your...spirit," She breathed, speech getting slower and slower. "You... you have a job... and it's... hard... but it's up to you to... to make the best of it..."

"Evette,"

"You're a good storyteller... Death. Please... continue to tell stories. Even... even if they're sad ones. Even if you know how it ends... still tell them... because even if our story ends sadly... there was still so much good that came from it."

"Evette, please-" Death sobbed when she sighed and reached into his pocket. Reached for the ticket he kept from her. She grabbed ahold of it, and the whole room seemed to turn to nothing but pure white. The land between life and death.

She then smiled, feeling the pain wash away. Death froze as she sat up, reached for his face, and gently kissed his forehead, brushing away his tears. Then, they both heard the whistle of the train, arriving to take her away. On her ticket, Jaydestown was marked.

"Thank you... for making my story so wonderful," She breathed, softly smiling, then walking off. And he watched, as the train pulled her away.

...Then he followed. He followed her to Jaydestown because they could still be together, right? This wouldn't stop them, right?

Well... Jaydestown was being built up from the ground. There wasn't much yet, but there Queen Jaydes had started putting the shaydes to work, mining from the earth to get raw materials to build a place as bright and warm as the Overthere.

And the thing about shaydes... they didn't remember. They forgot themselves. Their minds were like blank slates. Their memories of life were erased because they simply no longer mattered.

Everyday Death would walk by her. He'd see her wearing the classic shayde attire. See her hold a pickaxe and mine into the earth, occasionally brushing her curly hair behind her ear as she did. 

But what hurt.... what broke him the most, is when he spoke to her, and she didn't hear. When she looked at him, it was like she didn't see anything.

They say it takes a lot to break a god. Well, this broke him. He cried for centuries, watching her every day, but living with the fact that she would never remember him. The Hags noticed. Jaydes noticed. Everyone noticed.

But no one did anything. No one comforted him. No one held him close and told him that it would get better. Nope. All he had to get through this... were his memories of her and her words.

You're a good storyteller... Death. Please... continue to tell stories. Even... even if they're sad ones. Even if you know how it ends... still tell them... because even if our story ends sadly... there was still so much good that came from it.

So... that's what he did. He did his best to make light of his work. To put a smile on and to dance. He chose to sing to the rhythm of life, doing his best to truly live, even though he was the god of Death. And, instead of emptily sending souls away, he decided to get invested in their stories, because even if their ends were sad, it was better to feel sad than to not feel at all.

Even if he knew how their stories would end, he would pay attention. Not for the end, but for the journey.