Maliah began to feel a sense of relief even as she felt drained. As she turned around to walk down the hallway, she saw a familiar figure almost sending her into shock.

She jumped, “Abioye!”

“Abi--who?” Mr. Anderson said, turning his head back towards his daughter, “What’s wrong?”

Maliah forgot that no one could see him but her so she waved her hand and laughed madly, “I’m fine.”

Mr. Anderson looked crossed between concern and “my daughter is having a crazy moment”, “Let’s go. I need coffee.” He said walking down the hallway.

“Yea, I gotta...go to the restroom”, Maliah said as she turned to walk past Abioye. When she did she obtusely pulled on his sleeves. Abioye followed Maliah.

Maliah found a one room unisex bathroom and hissed as she closed the door, “Get in here.”

Abioye sniffed, “Why are we in a bathroom?”

“Hush. Why are you here?” Mailah asked, keeping her voice low.

“Because you were screaming at me.” Abioye answered.

Maliah furrowed her eyebrows, “What are you talking about?”

“For the last couple of hours, I heard your voice in my head.”

Maliah blinked, “You did?”

Abioye nodded, “It was tolerable until you began to scream. However…..” Unexpectedly Abioye’s voice slowed and got softer, “I can see what caused such a thing.”

Maliah folded her arms. She didn’t want to think about the last several hours. She just wanted it to be a faded memory that no longer bothered her. She blinked away hotness tha welled in her eyes and looked away. That way was the mirror so she turned the other way.

“It….sounds like it isn’t serious”, said Abioye.

Maliah nodded, “It isn’t.” Then she snapped her head up and looked at Abioye wide eyed, “Wait, hold on! You are a Grim Reaper!!”

“Death Prince!!”, snapped Abioye.

Maliah waved her hand, “That’s immaterial. You know if my mother’s is fine right? She will be here for a long time right? I don’t have to worry about that, right?”

Abioye didn’t answer fast enough and found Maliah gripping his arms looking up at him earnestly. He didn’t know why but it bothered him to see Maliah looked at him like that. He had seen such a look on other humans and it never moved him one way or another. And even though Maliah was touching him, he didn’t move away.

Maliah tried to shake him but he didn’t budge, “Abioye!”

The 2nd Death Prince, 3rd child of the Death King finally responded, “Even I don’t know when humans die. No one knows that.”

Abioye wasn’t about to explain that technically his older brother, Alimayu knew. Alimayu was the only one of them that was directly connected with the Spiral and with that came a whole slew of responsibilities that no mortal could ever hope to understand.

“You are a bloody Death Prince! How do you not know? You have my Life file, don’t you? So it stands to reason you have my mother’s!”

This time Abioye pushed away Maliah’s hands, “Death Children are not onimpscent. We don’t know what happens from moment to moment anymore than you do. I only deal with Life files that come across my desk for Debate. And that is only because mortals were given the right to Debate their life not that it ever changes their Judgement. But only so that they know what they are being judged on.”

Maliah rolled her eyes. She didn’t care enough right now to know the ends and outs of how their system works. She clapped her hands once, “Then go get my mother’s file.”

“There is no reason for me to!”

“Abioye!”

“Maliah!!” Abioye snapped, reaching up and grabbing her forearms. In any other situation he would have been distrubed that this was the first time he had willingly touched Maliah.

“Even if you had your mothers’ file, what do you want me to do? Tell you when her final date? Even if I could, I wouldn’t! You aren’t this stupid, Maliah. Does knowing that exact day and time make it any better? I know you are upset and frightened at this scare but I’m not going to indulge in this stupidity with you.”

Maliah stared up at Abioye mouth wide, eyes watery. She didn't want to admit that he was right. Any other time she would agree but this wasn’t that time.

Maliah tried to knock his hands away but he didn’t budge, “But you don’t understand! You could never understand! What would a Death Prince know?”

Abioye’s voice was soft, “I understand more than you think. The question, is can you explain it adequately?”

Abioye released Maliah and it was silent for a long moment.

It took everything in Maliah to speak. And when she did her voice was soft, almost inaudible but the Death Prince heard it clearly, “I’m not ready to lose my mother.”

Abioye said knotting his eyebrows together, “But you haven’t.”

Something in Maliah snapped and she almost yelled up at Abioye, “Yes, I get that but you don’t understand that if I lose my parents I won’t have anyone!”

Abioye eyebrows shot up as Maliah hung her head as she continued, “I don’t have any friends. I’m also an only child. I don’t have a boyfriend much less married. If I lost my parents that means I have to deal with life alone. I can't do that. Not now. Maybe not ever.”

---

Abioye stood in the corner of the room. After Maliah’s words, she quickly put him out claiming she really did need to use the restroom. Whether she did or not wasn’t his business, however he found Mr. Anderson sipping on coffee that morning in the waiting room in the corner. The sun had finally come out as it was well by 10 o’clock.

Abioye admitted that human emotions were well beyond him but for some reason Maliah’s words troubled him. He had heard of being alone or being lonely. It never affected him when he heard humans talk about it but it seemed to trouble him when it was Maliah. It was okay that he was pushed out of the bathroom as he found that he had no words after what she said.

He looked up when he saw Maliah entered the waiting room. She noticed that Abioye hadn’t left and walked over to sit next to her father. Abioye noticed that her eyes looked a little red and wondered if she had cried. Mr. Anderson glanced at Maliah before offering her his cup to drink a little straight black coffee.

Maliah eyed it with disgust but took a gulp of it anyway.

Abioye didn’t know why he asked as it wasn’t like she would reply in this situation, “I thought you didn’t like coffee”, Abioye asked.

Mr. Anderson inadvertently answered Abioye’s question, “I know you don’t like coffee but I figured with the circumstances you might drink some.”

Just then the doctor called for them to go back. Abioye raised an eyebrow. So Maliah only drinks coffee when she is stressed? That was new. He followed them languidly. Maliah glanced at him as they entered the room. She was surprised that Abioye was still around after she came out of the bathroom. She fully expected him to have left. Abioye heard Maliah’s voice before he even entered the room.

“I’m fine. I’m fine”, Mrs. Anderson was saying, her husband holding onto her hand and fussing over her covers.

Maliah couldn’t help but to grumble, “But you gave us a scare.”

Abioye finally wandered into the room and stood facing the window. Maliah glanced at him. Since she had time to cry in the restroom and get herself together she realized that Abioye was right. She didn’t want to know the time and date. She didn’t want to know any of that. However her mother’s waving hand distracted her, so she sat down next to her and held her hand, “I’m glad you are okay.” she mumbled.