It had been three days since Vivian's operation. Kirito had a meeting with doctor.
"Vivian has depressed brainstem reflexes" The doctor said as he looked at her report.
"What's that?"

"The brain turning responses off--
Such as pupils not responding to light, no responses of limbs, except for reflex movements, no response to painful stimuli and irregular breathing. The person is still alive, but the brain is functioning at its lowest stage of alertness."

"You mean a coma?"
"Yes. So, we'll setup a life support"
"A life support?"
"It's any combination of machines and medication that keeps a person's body alive when their organs would otherwise stop working. However, people who are using a life-support device don't always recover. They may not regain the ability to breathe and function on their own."

"Till when do you think it will last?"
"That is unpredictable. It can last for few weeks, months or even years,"
"I see."
"We'll shift her to another ward--"
"Can I take her back home?" Kirito interrupted.
"You can but I suggest you don't. You need an entire team of professionals, regular medical care and an entire life support apparatus."

"Then, where will you keep her?"
"We keep coma patients on life support in an intensive care unit. The bed costs, at a minimum 217,800¥ to 435,644 ¥ (Approx $2,000-$4,000) per day and can run much higher depending on the patient's condition, into millions an year."

The book began shining again and Lucus picked it up. He looked into it and Vivian grabbed his hand.
"Is this all you do all day?" They both were sitting on the peak of the Tokyo Tower.
"Yeah" He replied with a smile.
"Seems interesting. You can meet so many people." Vivian said.

"Dead people" He corrected.
"Dead people"
"Wanna tag along?" He asked.

"Sure! Let's go!" She held his hand and looked into the book "Philippines!"
Soon, both of them disappeared in a dark cloud. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a hospital lobby.

"Where are we?" She asked Lucus. "Cebu, Philippines. We are at the Central hospital" He answered and walked into a ward.

Two people lay on two beds. One was an old woman with grey hair and wrinkled skin, the second was a little girl, barely eleven, crying as she lay on the bed. Her parents sat beside her.
"Why is such a small girl in a hospital?" Vivian asked.

"She has blood cancer-- Final stage." Jericho looked at her.
"But she's so young! You can't take her away!"
"I don't decide who is to die, I just follow this." He pointed at the book.

"Then who is it who decides who is to die?" Vivian asked.
"Fate" He replied.
"This is--"

The girl shrieked as her pain grew stronger. Jericho walked towards her as his hair dyed peach and his clothes turned into a black getup. Her parents looked at her and her father ran out to call the doctor. She struggled and Vivian looked at her. Finally, she gave up. Her mother shouted out her name and began crying. Vivian pressed her head on Lucus's back, sadly.

"Don't kill her" She requested.
Lucus ignored her and opened the book. He looked into the book and his eyes turned grey.

"Come, let's go home" He said, softly. Her soul came out of her body and stood before Lucus. Her father and doctor reached there by that time and ran towards her dead body. Her mother pressed her forehead on his shoulders as she cried louder.

The little girl looked at Lucus as he wrote something in the book. "Aisha, Age; 11 years, cause of death; uncontrolled infection, blood cancer, Died on; 20th day of the month of October"

"Who are you?" She asked in Filipino.
He leaned towards her and pressed her head gently "I am Lucus, the Angel of Death. I'm here to guide your soul." Lucus said in Filipino.

She gasped as she looked at him "You're an angel?! It was my dream to meet one! But I thought only girls are angels, boys are gross."
Lucus laughed "Some boys are angels too."

"You are an angel? Can you do magic?" She asked as he held her hand.
"I can, see, it doesn't hurt anymore, does it?"
"You are right! It doesn't hurt!" She said and looked at Vivan. "Is she an angel too?"

"No, she's a free sprit."
The girl ran towards Vivian and hugged her tightly. Vivian smiled and leaned towards her "Huli ka!" The girl said. Vivian looked at her with surprise.

"Huli ka!" Kirito's words resounded inside her head. 'So, that was Filipino. But why does Kirito know that? Isn't he pure Japanese?' She thought.

"Aisha" Lucus walked towards her "Wanna see what heaven looks like?"
"I do!" She said "Wait- Does that mean I'm dead? Mom said we go to heaven when we die."

"You are." Lucus said. Vivian looked at him "You shouldn't say that to a-"
"Yay! That means no more hospital or school!" She said "I'm so happy" She said as she jumped while clapping her hands together.

"Huh?" Vivian stared at her as if she has seen a snake. Lucus gently picked her up into his arms "That's why I love kids." He said to her.

"I love angels too!" She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The white stairway appeared, covered with clouds and guarded by a golden gate.

"Let's go" He walked on stairs. Vivian stepped on the stairs.
"Don't follow." He turned back. She looked at him "If you come with me, you'll never be able to return back again."
She nodded and stepped down. He went ahead and came back after five minutes or so.

"What a painful job this is... I take back whatever I said about this being fun." Lucus laughed "Aw, don't be gloomy. It's not always bad. Some people are actually happy after they die since I managed to end their suffering."
"But still..."

Lucus pressed her head "Let's have some fun."
"Fun?"
She found herself standing in the streets of Greece. "Let's explore some of mortals wonderful creations."
They went boating in the city of Venice and had lunch in Hungary. They visited the Alps and Vivian petted an alpaca. They flew with the Siberian cranes and swam across the Pacific ocean with the dolphins.

It seemed as if animals could see them. Vivian had a sunbath of he life in Miami and they did a race on the great wall of China. They went fishing in Thames and tried on some jewellery in Arabia.

After that, Vivian followed him to Toulousse, Huntsville, Oslo, Pyongyang, Soweto and finally Sydney where he taught her how to surf.

"Man! What a long day." Lucus said while stretching his arms as he and Vivian sat on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was evening already.
"Do you always travel so much?" Vivian asked "We went to places I hadn't even heard of!"

"Yeah" He replied "Well, somebody needs to guide your soul and tell you that you are dead, right?"
"I wish we had someone like you even when we are alive. Somebody to guide our heart and tell us that we are alive" Lucus stared at her and then looked at the water beneath them. His hair turned back to blonde and his eyes turned blue.

"I still don't understand, why do people hate you so much? I mean, you're better than any person I met when I was alive--"

"Vivian, nobody loves death, stop showcasing as if you do"

Kirito opened the fridge door and looked inside it. It had a bowl covered with an aluminium foil kept at the central plate. On the bowl, was a small slip which read "Onion au gratin, for my dearest husband who loves French cuisine! I'll be sleeping early today-- I'm really tired! I might be asleep till you reach home so don't forget to eat!"

Beside the bowl was a glass of watermelon mocktail. He took a sip of it "I want seconds. Will you really never wake up?"

- To be continued

Vivian Garnette || Lucus
My Heart Hates Me