“I don’t think I can do this”

“Sure you can. It’s easy, just listen for the silence in the beats then pull down.”

“What?”

Death sighed and demonstrated what to do. Death leaned to one of the billions of hanging glowing balls and heard the faint beat of a heartbeat. This one’s time was almost up but not quite yet. Death moved on to a dimming ball and could barely hear the beat.

“This one! Come here.” Death’s temporary replacement tentatively approached the ball and leaned in to hear the beats.

“See how you can barely hear anything?” Death questioned, his replacement nodded slowly.

“These are the ones you pull out.” The replacement blinked before grabbing the ball and pulling down. The ball immediately went dim and dissolved into the air. Death chuckled at the wonder and shock on the replacement’s face. A few seconds later, a new glowing ball, brighter than any of the ones next to it, came down to take its place.

“Woah! What was that?”

“That’s Life. You will learn to hate Life.”

“Have you ever seen Life?”

“Yes, in the beginning of Time. Now, enough questions, I never have days off so I must take advantage”

“What will you do?”

“I want to try this new thing humans invented; I am _dying _to try,” Death answered, attempting a joke. The replacement continued unamused.

“Well, what is it?”

“They call it Base jumping. Do you know how many balls I have pulled out earlier than their time because of this?”

“How are you going to do that? You don’t even have a real body”

“You were made immortal two hundred and eighty-five years ago; how are you still so narrowminded?” Death spat out in playful annoyance. Death’s original appearance would confuse any being that wasn’t there at the Beginning. Death was just a black substance that can be described in human terms like a floating cloth with black smoke. Death glanced at his replacement and copied the body, shifting and transforming.

“You were a human before becoming immortal, correct?” Death wondered, moving the new body shape to become familiarized with it.

“Yes,” the replacement said, sounding almost unsure.

“How’s this?” Death said, lifting newly formed arms into the air and posing.

“Maybe you should wear something less…depressing. And change your face, make it look more human, people will definitely notice you are a god looking that perfect”

“Black is my signature color! And we are not gods, we are Everlasts.”

“I’ve never heard of that.

“Because you are human”

“Was”

“Same difference”

“Whatever. So, are you not going to change?” Death pondered for a moment before morphing the new face a little more and changing the previous obsidian black silk shirt to a dark grey cotton tee.

“Ok face is better, but the clothes…”

“I will not change any further, color makes me feel… what do you humans call it…sick”

“When will you be back?” the replacement asked, after an eye roll.

“Soon. Unfortunately, my work can never stop and I am afraid you won’t last long”

“Well at least you are aware of that”

“I’m off!”

“Bye. Have fun!” Death did not know what that meant but nodded anyway and left.