Black Iris: Chapter Seven
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CHAPTER SEVEN
I wake up surrounded by light. Osiris looms over me, disappointment weighing on his brow.
“So, uh… what was that?”
“An air conditioner.”
I instinctively touch where the impact was on my skull, but the injury has already been healed. “You saw it?”
“I saw it afterwards. It’s been less than five Earth hours since your previous death, so I didn’t think I needed to be constantly monitoring you. I thought you were going to be more careful.”
“But this time, it wasn’t my fault. I mean, an air conditioner fell on me. It could happen to anyone.”
“It could happen to anyone, but it shouldn’t happen to you. You’re a demigod with superhuman agility. The problem is your cat reflexes were slower because you had just been re-born. You had died six times before that, so you should have known how it works.”
The circumstances surrounding all of my previous deaths didn’t afford me the luxury of a full recovery. Most of those times there was still someone trying to kill me when I woke up. This time there’s no excuse. “Yeah, but I was feeling so good.”
“Well, how do you feel now?”
“Like you’re pissed off at me.”
“Not pissed, disappointed. And your mother will be, too.”
“I know, I know. But please, just let me be the one who — ”
“I was going to let you tell her last time, but now things are more serious. One more death, and you’ll be a permanent resident here, and I know you don’t want that. There will be people on Earth that you’ll never see again. People you’ll miss. I don’t think you’ve fully come to terms with this.”
My father will eventually come here, but Mandi is Hindu. At the end of her reincarnation cycle, she’ll end up in Nirvana. Unless I only hang out with members of Egyptian cults, every relationship I start on Earth will be temporary. I’ve always known this. “I was going to lose those people anyway. They’re all mortal.”
“Yes, but now, they can lose you.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“Eventually you’ll understand.”
“Whatever. This ‘I told you so’ routine isn’t helping. I know I fucked up, but I’m the one who has to live with the consequences. Not you or my mother or anyone else.”
He sighs. “You’re right. Sorry. It’s just frustrating to watch you… Anyway, good luck down there.”
“I’ll be fine.”
His forced smile tells me he doesn’t believe me.