"And Life asked Death, 'Why do people love me but hate you?' And Death replied, 'Because you are a beautiful lie and I am the painful truth.'"
-Unknown
Life is the first breath on your lips, the first heartbeat rushing like a wildfire.
But Death is utter darkness, drowning in the Styx and waiting for judgement. It is the first time you hear your last hour chime, and the last time you will hear it.
It is your last time to make a choice.
Two siblings, one light and one dark. One is the beginning, and one the end. What could possibly be more contrasting in the world?
"End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it."
-J. R. R Tolkien, The Return of the King
They sit at the rim of the sky, watching as noxious smoke rises from California. Death, a dark haired girl, glows ever more slightly than her sister. A new ink stain curls on her shoulder, shaped like a small disintegrating flame, one image signifying thousands of deaths in the deadland below.
"The most foolish beings on the planet are humans." Death's low voice cuts through the shimmering air, following by a quiet noncommittal noise from Life's throat. "They have so much to make, to give, to take, and to rebuild, but when one person takes too much and gives too little, it gives them a power that blinds them."
"But they are a gift," Life gently reminds her sister. "They are made to live and make mistakes, and to die, and then to learn and start over again. This is just one of their mistakes; soon they will learn what they have done wrong and will not do so again."
"This has already happened once before, and has almost happened another time. This is the humans' third time they made the same mistake. Building a weapon that can wipe out whole cities and poison entire countries, this, this is proof that humanity was a mistake unto itself." Death sighs and flops back onto the grass, the green blades withering as their vitality drains away. Life shivers, staring at the dead plants.
A sweltering breeze sweeps over the two deities, humid and smelling of burnt meat. But neither their hair or clothes stir; they were apparitions, with no solid body on Earth.
After a moment, Life asks Death, "Why do people love me but hate you?"
And Death replies, "Because you are a beautiful lie and I the painful truth."
Life ponders her sister's answer. In her mind's eye, she could see people dancing on the streets, laughing, crying, rejoicing at the end of a long-fought war. But on the other side of the world she remembers many weeping, collapsing in their family's arms as news of their husband, brother, or son lying at the bottom of a grave reaches them.
"Where there is one victory, there are many losses," Life thoughtfully muses. She sighs, turning her multicolored gaze from the pale sky to the ruined city, still thinking. Visions of knotted ropes, forcefully broken railings, bombs strapped to a man casually triggering the detonator, invade her thoughts, and once again she asks a question.
"I give people everything, yet some people still wish to meet you. Why is that, Death?"
This time, Death hesitates. She hums for a while, picking apart dead flowers that litter her lap.
"That's because... for some people I'm just the end, taking them from you, and for others I am a choice offering freedom," Death says softly, brushing off the brown petals from her clothes. "They do not want to stay in the world any longer, and so they look for doors that lead away. There are only so many options, I being the most efficient, and so they choose me. They choose to leave what you have given them behind and instead follow me. That is all to it."
Life is quiet. She runs a hand through her pale hair and sags against a tree. "Every moment, someone is being born, brought into the world by my command. I remember each and every one of their faces, their names, and that is what gives them individuality. Yet I always forget that every second you take someone away from their identity and leave nothing but a corpse and a faint memory behind."
Her sister waves a hand, disturbing several souls resting in a tiny grave of dead critters. "You must also remember that I am but a door, and our mother Time is a window, and soon enough everyone will be back, walking this Earth again when it is their turn."