It Hurts, But It's Worth It

"This is important. We will have to relocate Shiuli. She cannot live in that house, it's unsafe!"

Time was trying his best to persuade Death. Time had met up with the Moon and Life. They had already started reaching out to other creatures and it looked like it was getting really dense. The whole situation was going out of control. Life and the Moon were trying to gather forces and were planning something big! Time still wasn't sure what it was because it looked like Life couldn't trust him. He knew only bits and pieces of the entire plan and that was enough for him to understand that Shiuli was unsafe where she currently lived.

"I cannot ask her to just shift like that! I will protect her, Time. I love her and I can protect her from Life and his forces."

"Are you serious?" Time was frustrated, "The Moon is on their side and so are all the other creatures who will blindly follow her. If you really love your girl, you will know that relocating her is the best thing we can do right now."

It took a little more talking and verbal dispute to persuade Death. When Time suddenly showed up at Death's abode, Death was scared. He knew that things had gotten worse and he was in trouble. But the worst part was, he knew Shiuli was in trouble too, probably more so. He would do anything for her, even if it meant relocating her against her wishes.

"How many creatures are on our side?" Death sighed, "We need support. This whole situation is going out of hand really quick."

"For now, it's just Love, Faith, and me."

"We will all have to block our bonds so the other creatures can't find us. Also, you said Love is MIA. How do we locate her?"

"Don't worry about that, Death. Faith is looking for Love." Time put his hands on Death's shoulder reassuringly, "Also, Love will not abandon us. I can guarantee you that. I think she needed to think and once she has stuff figured, she will come back to us."

"But how will she find us? We've all blocked our bonds."

"Leave that for Faith and I to worry. You find a place to take Shiuli. A safe place where they will never find her."

"The earth is too small to hide from them forever, Time. But I will do my best."

"Find me in Australia once you've located a safe place for the two of you. Let me know about it and I will make sure that it remains safe."

***

Amisha was in Shiuli's room. She was reading one of the many novels that her best friend loved reading. Shiuli was still in school due to an assignment she was working on and Amisha was bored, so she decided to come down to her sister's room and read some book for entertainment. Shiuli and Amisha were pretty close and they kept no secrets from each other, so it really wasn't a big deal that she was in Shiuli's room, going through her stuff when she was away.

When Amisha turned towards Shiuli's study desk, she found Shiuli's notebook there. It wasn't a diary and it wasn't anything private. Amisha had read Shiuli's notebook on various occasions, sometimes even in front of Shiuli. So it was cool. The notebook had some academic notes and also her plot development points for her upcoming novels. Yawning, Amisha reached out to it and flipped through the pages when something caught her eyes.

I work with Death and I hate it sometimes, but he makes me so happy.

It was weird, but maybe it had to do with Shiuli's new novel, who knows? As a frown placed itself on Amisha's forehead, she heard a knock on the window adjacent to the bed. Fear filled her heart, but calming herself, she slowly pulled the curtains and peeped. She saw a young man standing outside with a briefcase in his hands, he was wearing an all-black business suit and he was staring distractedly at his shoes. At first, Amisha wanted to scream and call the police, but then she remembered what Shiuli had confessed to her the other day. This might be the new boyfriend!

She quickly opened the window. Sensing that the window was opened for him, "the boyfriend" slowly looked up with a smile, but when he saw Amisha, all color left his face and panic and surprise decorated his features.

"Don't scream!" Amisha laughed at his state, "I know who you are so it's chill."

"What?" panic left, but confusion took over his face, "Shiuli told you?"

"I'm her best friend! She had to!"

"Wait, what exactly do you know about Shiuli and me? In fact, what exactly do you know about me, Amisha?"

"Woah! She told you about me! You know my name!" Amisha giggled, "Damn she is whipped!"

"Answer my question?"

"Relax dude. I know your name is Dean and that you met my girl at Starbucks and stole her from me, but as long as you keep her happy, I won't murder you."

"She told you all this?" Death almost laughed at Shiuli's creativity. The way she had weaved a story to make Amisha believe that there was nothing supernatural going on between them was amazing, "Anyways, I finally get to meet you, Amisha. Hello!"

"She must have pestered you by continuously talking about me. I can't blame her though. I'm her first love, after all."

"Aren't you her sister now? Won't it be incest?"

Just as Amisha was about to answer, the door burst open and a smiling Shiuli entered the bedroom, but that smile wasn't long-lived. She registered the scene before her eyes… her boyfriend was by the window, smiling and talking to her best friend. Amisha was smiling from ear to ear and Death was smirking. God, why does he have to be so handsome?

Shiuli's face contorted into one of shock and she almost fell to her knees. She then took a deep breath and walked toward her two most favorite people in the world.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shiuli looked at Death, "I told you not to come by the window like that!"

"No, you didn't. This is how we meet every day."

Shiuli wanted to hit Death in the head and put some sense into the stupid immortal creature. She was acting and trying to make this seem not so embarrassing for her, but he had to act like an idiot!

"It's okay, sis. You don't have to hide anything from me anymore. Also, don't be embarrassed, I won't tease you regarding this, I promise."

Shiuli slowly sat on the bed and was internally freaking out. It was bound to happen. Amisha was not only her best friend, but she was also family now. Amisha had to meet Death sometime in the near future, but she never thought that the future was now. She didn't want to tangle Amisha in her crazy immortal life yet and she didn't want to keep it from her anymore. Lying to Amisha felt so wrong after all the love she had shown Shiuli after her life almost crumbled into pieces.

"Are you okay?" Death's concerned voice pulled her out of her thoughts, "You look sick."

"I'm okay… it's just that…" Shiuli sighed.

Amisha looked at her best friend and concern clawed at her heart. She knew that something was bothering Shiuli and she needed to share it with someone. For some reason, Amisha felt like it should be Dean and not her. She had always been there for Shiuli and she will continue to be there for her, but right now, she knew Shiuli needed her boyfriend.

"You know what? You guys talk. I'm just interrupting you guys. I will talk to you later, okay?" Amisha then turned to Dean, "And it was nice to meet you, Dean. I hope to see you soon again. Maybe we can all hang out sometime?"

"It was a pleasure meeting you too, Amisha. I will definitely take you and Shiuli out for lunch sometime."

Amisha smiled at the lovebirds and left.

Shiuli felt movement next to her and realized that Death was now sitting next to her. He pulled her to him and she rested her head on his strong shoulder. Shiuli instantly felt better. He had that effect on her. Whenever she was around him, she felt calm and protected. She felt like she was home.

"What's bothering my girl?"

"I don't want to hide anything from Amisha. I've been lying to her and weaving stories! What kind of a person am I? She's always been there for me."

"Shhh," Death consoled her, "You're doing it all for her own good. She will not be able to handle the truth. It'll be too much for her."

"But she will eventually find out, Death. I'm immortal now and I won't age anymore!"

"If you want to tell her everything… the truth that is… you can. I don't want this to bother you anymore. It hurts to see you like this."

Shiuli looked up at the man she loved. He was such a sweetheart. He understood her and always made her feel cherished and loved. She cupped his face and lovingly stared into his beautiful silver eyes. His eyes held the same emotions of affection in them.

"We'll both talk to her tonight?" Shiuli asked hopefully.

"You sure you want this?" Death searched her eyes, "I don't want you to regret this."

"I'm sure, Death."

"Okay. I'll be here around 11 pm."

And then Shiuli saw it. His stance, his posture was rigid. He looked bothered and like he was hiding something from her. She narrowed her eyes at him. He looked at her confused by the sudden change in the mood.

"What's wrong, Death? You are here and it's afternoon. Plus, we don't have to work today."

"Everything is fine" Death wasn't good at lying.

"I'm giving you time till 11 pm tonight. I can see that you want to tell me something and it is bothering you."

Death sighed and nodded his head. He did not want her to worry any further, but he had to talk to her about relocating and it had to be done as soon as possible. Things were not looking good for them. Almost all the creatures were siding with the Moon and Life and he had to keep his girl safe.