Lily wiped her cheek, sniffing. Day 45. Still nothing.

"If I don't go to hell when I die I might go to heaven," she murmured to herself softly, looking up at the sky before giggling.

"I'm sure you know better,"

She froze for a moment before frowning. "You're just a clone."

Meir crossed his arms, scythe in hand. "Lillian you know better."

Lily winced looking back. Was it really...

"Now I left you with a perfectly good family. You should be the happiest girl alive! You can anywhere and do anything—"

Lily frowned, throwing a knife at her father who side stepped it, glancing at it in shock.

"Well I'm the unhappiest girl alive! I'm a girl who has nothing!"

Meir pursed his lips in disbelief. "Nothing? What you have Lillian—"

"That's not even my name—!"

"Is a body count that's higher than your age, an alarming amount of damnable sins and dubious scare tactics! I mean honestly! Did you really think I was a grin reaper?"

"You're not?"

Meir sighed. "Why would you even think that?"

Lily pulled her phone out, quickly googling an image pulling it up and thrusting it in the general direction of his face.

"Let me get my glasses," he frowned, materializing a pair putting it on the edge of his nose and looking over it, as he squinted at the phone.

She pointed to the similarities, naming them. "Black cloak, scythe, the whole skull thing, souls—"

"Hm. I see. Well, it's not my fault someone bit my style," he pulled his glasses off. They poofed away, as he waved his hand. "I am not a reaper. And even if I was, I left you with them for a reason, Lily!"

She crossed her arms defiantly.

"And I will have you know, your mother and I are very disappointed in your behavior," Meir admonished. "Now get your bag, and put away your scythe , I'm taking you home."

Lily stamped her feet. "I don't want to!"

Meir reared back. "Young lady! I will not have you talking back to me! In my day, when children were bad, they caught a fever, died and all their belongings were burned. Do you want that to happen to you?"

Lily turned around, giving him her back, her arms still crossed, a deep scowl on her face. Her hair was pulled back into a poof, too little braids with skull needs on the end as bangs.

Despite himself Meir smiled. She was too adorable.

She looked back, and he cleared his throat, closing his eyes, wiping the smile off his face and putting on a serious expression.

"I just want to be with you, Daddy. I don't want to go back to them. They're not my real family."

Meir sighed. "I'm going to tell you a secret, Lily."

He bent down, putting his hand on her shoulder. "This is not my real body. But it's the one I have, so I have to live in it. Do you understand?"

Her eyes widened. "No!"

Meir frowned before trying again. "This flesh isn't mine but I can't just tear it off, so I've got to deal. They may not be your real family, but they're what you have. So deal."

He stood to his full height, taking her hand, and pulling her away from the scene.

"We're going back. You'll apologize, get cleaned up, I'll wipe their memory of you in this state. Stop killing people, Lily."

She pulled away, anchoring her feet on Meir's leg to get leverage to pry her hand away. Meir sighed once more.

"Why do you wish to make this difficult Lily? You really could be very happy if you would just let go."

"Because you're my dad and I love you!"

Meir paused as she went slack her head against his leg. He patted her hair gently.

"I love you too, Lily. That's why I want the best for you. And what's best for you might not always be what makes you the happiest." He sighed, looking out at the moon, his large hand on her head.

"I want us to be happy, in a world just for us. And that is a world I'm striving to create. So for now, please hold on. It takes time to make the world over. But I swear, I'm trying."

Lily looked out at the moon as well. "Can I have that soul daddy?"

Meir looked down. "You were a bad girl today, Lily."

She puckered her lip out, making her eyes big. Meir cleared his throat.

"...but even bad children have to eat. Hurry up. Your foster parents are expecting you."