There was a river named Styx.

Its surface was mirror-like, undisturbed save for the passing of a single lonely boat. The river seemed vast and endless, shrouded in fog, it looked like it went on forever but it did eventually reach its destination. Today, however, the ferryman was in no rush to get there. He just wanted to spend as much time as he could in the company of his sole passenger.

Even though they called him the ferryman, no one really knew his gender. Towering over its passengers at nearly nine feet in height, everyone had just assumed that it was a man and most days it's passengers were too lost or terrified to even bother asking. But once a long time ago, the ferryman had been a woman. Now it's gender remained fluid. It changed itself depending on who was in the ferry. Today it wore its traditional garb, a long dark robe with a hood that covered its face and only two bright red eyes shone from underneath it. Those eyes didn't shine as brightly on that day. Today they looked sad and the ferryman was glad that it's face was shrouded in shadows so it's passenger couldn't see them.

It's sole passenger was a middle aged woman dressed in black jeans and a leather jacket with lustrous black hair. She looked lost. She was looking at the river and its surroundings trying to figure out where she was. The river was lined with a dense forest on either side. Every once in awhile the woman would see something move in the forest, creatures that didn't quite look human but they looked hungry and they were looking back at her. They made her nervous but it seemed that the ferryman made them feel the same. None of the creatures had any intentions of taking on the ferryman especially since it looked in a particularly dark mood. Eventually the passenger decided it was best to ask the captain of this tiny but ornate ship and so she turned around and spoke to the ferryman.

"Hello" she said.

"Hello" replied the ferryman as it looked back at the woman.

"What's your name?" the woman asked.

"I'm called the Ferryman."

"Is that your name?"

"It's one of them."

The woman looked as if she was trying to remember something. The ferryman could see the struggle on her face but it didn't last too long.

"It's funny, but I can't seem to remember mine. Do you know my name?"

The ferryman remained quiet for a while before it answered.

"Your name is Root."

The ferryman waited for its passenger to react. It had hoped to see a glimmer of recognition at the mention of that name, but it got nothing. It saw that the name meant nothing to the passenger.

"Root? That's a weird name."

"It's what you liked calling yourself."

"Still, sounds weird." The woman chuckled.

The ferryman laughed too but it's laughter was tinged with sadness and the passenger picked up on it.

"If you don't mind me saying, you look a little sad."

"I do?"

"Yeah. Is it alright if I asked you what's wrong?"

The ferryman sighed.

"It's this job. It's just... it's just that some days are harder than the others. Some days I wish someone else would do it." the ferryman replied.

"Maybe you need a vacation. Just get away from it all."

"I was planning to but it just didn't work out."

"Why not? Your boss not giving you an off?"

"Something like that." The ferryman replied sadly.

"The bastard. You should just walk into you office and say you quit."

"You know what, I think I'll do exactly that"

Hoping she'd cheered up the ferryman she asked the question that had been preying on her mind for a while.

"So, where are we going?"

The ferryman knew there was no other way to answer the question so it told her the truth.

"I'm taking you to hell." the ferryman replied, trying to keeping its voice as dispassionate as it could but it didn't succeed. It's voice was filled with regret. Regretful of the fact that in the end it had chosen duty over love and that maybe if it would have acted sooner neither of them would be here.

But now it was too late, now it had no choice but to complete its duty. It was well aware of the spell that had been cast on its passenger and it knew that its effects were permanent. The woman it knew as Root was gone and it knew of no method to bring her back.

"To hell? Does that mean I'm dead." Root asked

"Sadly, yes"

Root grew quiet and the ferryman went back to rowing the boat. They went a little more distance when she turned around again.

"Was I a bad person? I mean if you're taking me to hell I must have been bad, right?"

The ferryman thought about it before it answered.

"That's a difficult question to answer. You did do some terrible things to a lot of people, but you could say they were bad too so maybe they deserved it."

"Do you think that they deserved it, that it was ok for me to kill them?"

"No, I don't think it was ok for you to kill them, but you did enjoy it."

The woman thought about it for a second and smiled.

"You know what, that sounds right, something inside me tells me that I definitely enjoyed killing people. I guess that's alright then, me going to hell. I must have been a bad person."

"I wouldn't say that. You weren't bad entirely. You died trying to do the right thing. That counts for something."

"I did," Root's face suddenly lit up but then she looked confused again, "how come I don't remember any of this?"

"It's the deal you made, your memories to save the life of a little girl."

Root thought about it for a moment and looked up at the ferryman and smiled.

"That sounds fair, don't you think."

The hooded figure smiled back sadly. It just nodded it's head and rowed the boat down the river towards their inevitable destination. Root looked happy and content with the knowledge that she'd done something good with her life.

Time moved at a different pace in the underworld but it did move and after some time had passed the boat finally reached the dark shores of hell. The forest that surrounded the river had grown quiet. There were creatures that now roamed in those woods that actively hunted lost souls. They were always on the lookout for anyone that might lose its path and stumble into their neck of the woods. Usually the ferryman would just leave the souls at the shore and point them to the gates. Whether they made it to the gates or not wasn't its concern, but today it wanted to be sure that it's sole passenger reached her destination safe and sound.

It stopped the boat near the shore and got out. It knew the boat wouldn't drift away, it was tied to its will. Root got out alongside the ferryman and rubbed her arms trying to make herself feel warm. She opened her mouth to speak but instead of words, mist poured out of her mouth.

"I thought hell would be warmer, a lot warmer." Root commented.

"Actually hell does have seasons, two seasons in fact, freezing and burning. I guess we've arrived during the freeze."

"Should I be even feeling anything, I mean, I am dead after all."

"Souls can feel too."

"I'm beginning to realise that."

The side of the river on which they had embarked was devoid of any trees. It was barren and rocky for as far as the eye could see. As they walked on Root could see a massive wall coming into view. It seemed immeasurably tall. In fact it was so tall that Root felt that the tops might have a completely different weather than the base since it was completely covered in dark clouds which occasionally lit up with lightning flashes. In the middle of the rampart was a massive gate made of pure darkness that looked as if it was at least twenty storeys tall and on either side of it were demonic guards that were at least half as tall.

The ferryman looked at it's passenger to make sure that she wasn't scared but instead saw a look of awe on her face.

"It looks really impressive."

The ferryman smiled.

"It's the main entrance, it's only used on special occasions, but mostly it's just for show. No one really comes this way anymore. There are quicker ways to hell."

"You know, I was wondering about that. It does look awfully empty."

"Well, I felt like taking the scenic route today, give you the grand tour and all."

Root looked up at the ferryman.

"Has anyone ever told you you're really nice. I wish I could have met you when I was alive. I think we could have been really good friends."

The ferryman remained quiet. It didn't know what to say.

Then out of the corner of it's eye it noticed some movement near the gate. The sentries posted at the gate had noticed them and had sent a message inside. They had been surprised by the new arrivals too. Death hadn't come through this route in centuries. As they passed on the message the Ferryman and its passenger waited but they didn't have to wait too long. A few moments later the gates opened slightly and someone stepped out. Root couldn't make out very clearly since they were still standing at quite a distance but it looked like a woman. She motioned for Root to come to her.

"Well, it looks like this is it. Time for me to go. Goodbye, ferryman."

"Sameen. My name is Sameen" the ferryman blurted out. She had hoped that the name might jog Root's memory but she saw that the name meant nothing to her.

"Sameen," Root repeated the name, "that's a really nice name. I really liked all the time time I spent with you Sameen."

Root stepped forward with her hand outstretched.

Sameen wanted to grab her and scream at her, tell her that she loved her but she knew it would mean nothing to her beyond just confusing her and she didn't want to torture Root anymore than the torture she was about to face once she entered those gates.

So Sameen just shook her hand.

"The pleasure was all mine."

And so it was time for Root to go.

She turned around and walked towards the gates leaving the Ferryman behind who watched her walk away.

It stood there watching as Root approached the woman and they both walked in through the gates together and the massive gates close noiselessly. But the ferryman remained standing. It realized that it had no reason move, it had nowhere to go. So it just waited.

Waited in the hope that the woman named Root just might remember it and come running back from the gates, but it never happened. Yet it waited. The minutes turned to hours and hours turned to days in that place where time flowed differently and the ferryman waited. The demon guards at the gates were confused. They didn't know what to do. They didn't know why the ferryman stood there immobile, but they lacked the courage to ask it that so they let it be.

And Death waited for the maiden for a very long time.