Prologue

As the sun shone through the silhouettes of the mint green curtains of the hospital, a constant beeping sound can be heard from the hallway. A man, dressed entirely in black, holding a bouquet of flowers on his right hand, seen to be out of place. He was standing on the other side of the door to Room 204. He seemed gloomy.  He seemed to be in a conflicted mood. He sighed and opened the door to see an elderly woman, lying with her head looking out the window, looking at the bright blue sky, accompanied by the chirping of birds outside. She heard the door opened and turned her head to see a familiar face standing right beside the door. She let out a weak smile and nods as to welcome the man in black in the room.

“What made you come?” The woman managed to let out an almost faint, weak voice. She looked so weak and fragile that you would dare not to touch her in case she accidentally breaks her bones.

“I have to see you. Before you go,” replied the man. “I want to give you my proper goodbye.”

“Why?” The woman asked.

“Because you’re my contract.”

The woman chuckled a bit and coughed. ‘Contract’. That’s what she is to the man. She knows that term too well. She looked out the window again with a weak smile on her face. The breeze from outside was cool and refreshing.

“Please do me a favour, Belial. Can you please bring me for a walk?”

“Sure, Contract #8874, Ms. Norbert.” The man then went out and came back with a wheelchair.

…

The garden at the back of the hospital seemed so calm and mellow. The sun was shining brightly with only little fluff of clouds floating, just like little white, floating cotton candy in a kid’s eyes. It was a fine day. The birds haven’t stopped chirping happily and were flying around, each of them busily singing their own songs.

Belial stopped the wheelchair he was pushing under a large oak tree. He then walked to be in front of the old woman sitting on the wheelchair. He crouched in front of her so he can be at the very least the same level as the woman while he talked to her. The woman just smiled.

“You don’t have to do that, Bel. I’m fine with talking to you while you’re standing up. It must be tiring to crouch like that. Stand up,” said the woman. She was wearing a green hospital gown like all the other patients around the hospital wore, but her scarf warped around her neck was in navy blue.

“It’s okay, Ms. Norbert. I want to see you and talk to you like this,” the man replied.

She chuckled a bit and gave him a playful glare. “Why are you calling me by that name now? Call me like you used to. I’m not used to you calling me so officially,” and she let out a laugh. Her laughing sound was like music to his ears. His face turned red and his eyes can be seen to be holding back tears.

Silence fell through between them as Belial continued to scan through the woman’s face. It seemed like he was trying to imprint her image into his mind like what a lover would do. He can’t seem to be able to do so because he was trying hard to hold back his tears from rolling down his cheeks.

“Bel, are you crying?” The woman asked.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t. I’ll stop.” Belial then tried to wipe off his tears with tissue. The woman then got up from her wheelchair and hugged him.

“Ms. Norbert? Wha- What- Please don’t- You’ll fall-“ Belial was seen to be quite flustered and shocked by her sudden hug.

“Let me stay like this, please,” said the woman. She hugged him tighter and tears started to form in her eyes. She held it back so Belial doesn’t know. She was trembling, ever so slightly, but she kept on hugging him.

Belial stayed still but he couldn’t help but tremble while he tried to hold back his tears. He just couldn’t think of anything else but be there for the woman until her last hours passed. He knew her time was almost up, and he knew the person or being that will bring her to the afterlife.

Him.

He wished for the time when he was with her to just stop so he can continue on living with her. He can’t bear losing her to the cruelty of the life cycle. He was afraid of losing her. It was his first time in thousands of years to be afraid. It was his first time to love a human so deeply. It was his first time to feel hurt. He was confused. He can’t let go. He wasn’t ready.

Yet, time and fate continued on moving forward. He reminisced the past, when he first met the woman until the time he needed to bring her to the afterlife, and he let out a smile. He hugged the woman back and held on to her, waiting for the time to tick by and for the time to take her away. He took a deep breath, let her go, looked at her face once again, and smiled to the woman that he fell in love with.

He still can’t believe that God granted his selfish wish. He was never thankful to God, yet he was when he looked at the woman. He never regretted his newly made promise to God as long as he can spend the woman’s last days together. He will never tell what his promise to God was to the woman.

Belial closed his eyes, and the woman knew that it was her time to go. She took his right hand and held it as tight as she could muster her strength to. Belial in turn held her trembling hand in a manner to assure her that everything will be alright. He then helped her to sit on the wheelchair again, hold his left hand up to close her eyes, and he closed his eyes as well.

“Goodbye, Alicia,” and her heartbeat was no more.