A few days had passed since the Warden's funeral. Slowly but surely, the rest of the family were starting to adjust to his death and the absence that had followed. It hadn't been easy, of course; but then again, nothing in life was easy. The Mistress, for the most part, still couldn't fully grasp that just days before her husband had died, she'd reflected with him at length on just how far they'd gotten in life and what their plans for the future were. They'd been halfway through their ultimate goal to open Superjails, Ultraprisons, and Suprapenitentiaries on every continent. She could still recall Warden being so excited to put most of the world population to work through the prison labor system once they'd accomplished the goal to end all goals. Now he was gone forever. It didn't make sense for him to die like he did, to go out in such an ignoble fashion; especially not when he'd taken such pride in slaughtering and spilling the blood of hundreds, if not thousands, of people like livestock (regardless of whether or not they deserved it).

Mistress resorted to burying herself in her work in order to keep her grief at bay. It was the only way she could get through her emotions without losing control. It was the only thing that made sense to her during these trying times. Even when things seemed insurmountable, she was determined to keep going. No matter how difficult it was, she was determined to finish what they'd started all those years ago, as well as make sure that the Warden family and their legacy would flourish for generations to come. She didn't want to let her husband down.

Thirty-three years ago, if someone had told Mistress that this was where her life was headed, she would've just laughed them off. After all, she had more important things to tend to than swooning over an overgrown murderous manchild who seemed to care for no one but himself... or so she'd assumed. She may not have wanted to admit it at the time, but either despite his obvious flaws or perhaps because of them, she felt something of an attraction towards him that she'd never felt in any of her previous relationships nor would she ever feel again.

Now, at sixty years old, Mistress was at an impasse on how she was supposed to spend the remainder of her time. She knew secondhand that death was inevitable, and she knew that she had the whole world on her shoulders. She also knew that she wasn't getting any younger and that she needed to spend whatever time she had left carefully. So how was she supposed to live out the rest of her life without being burdened by all the heavy thoughts weighing on her?

As if out of nowhere, someone knocked on her office door. Finally, a much needed reprieve from her ruminations! A momentary one, granted, but she welcomed it all the same.

"Who is it?" Mistress called out to the person behind the door.

"It's me, Grandma," Keiko's unmistakable voice responded from the other side. "I need to ask you something."

Mistress paused for a few seconds. "Come on in, Keiko."

Keiko quickly scampered into the room and took a seat across from Mistress' desk.

"So..." Mistress exhaled silently through her nose. "What was it you wanted to ask me?"

"You ever think about death?" Keiko asked.

Mistress thought about it for a microsecond. "I'd be lying if I said I'd never thought about it."

"What do you think the afterlife's like?"

Mistress pursed her lips. "I don't know. I haven't been there."

"Oh come on, not this again!" Keiko was practically whining. "Don't you have an opinion or something? I need to know what you think!"

"Keiko, I already told you that I don't know. In any case, I've never exactly been a firm believer in an afterlife. I believe that once we die, that's it. We just cease to be."

"That's not comforting! What about Grandpa? How do you think he'd feel to hear you say that?"

Mistress sighed, an onslaught of emotions about to overcome her. "If he were still here, he'd be very disappointed that I said that. After all, he told me once that he'd visited the afterlife."

Keiko's ears perked up. "Really? What did he say it was like?"

"As far as I'm concerned, he said it was mostly a place where the souls of the dead hung out." Suddenly, Mistress felt tears begin to prick at the corners of her eyes. "Oh God, I miss your grandfather so much. Why did he have to leave us now?"

"I don't know."

"I know I promised myself that I wouldn't cry for him when he was gone, but I'm coming so close to breaking that promise." In an instant, Mistress's stoic facade fully broke, and she broke down in tears. "God, I don't know why I didn't do something that day. Maybe if I'd noticed the warning signs and taken him to the hospital, he'd still be here."

Keiko didn't say anything. She had no idea what she could've said in this situation other than "I'm sorry." Instead, she just sat there and watched as her beloved grandma cried some more and vocally expressed her regret that she couldn't save him from his ultimate fate. She wished that there was some way she could comfort her right then and there, but given that she hadn't had that kind of life experience, she had to wonder if her efforts would come up short.

"Leave me alone," Mistress said after a while, still crying. "I need time to think about all this."

"Uh, okay..." Keiko then briefly glanced at the door behind her. "I think Dad needs me anyway."

"Atta girl, Keiko. Go to him."

"Okay."

Keiko got up out of her seat and headed out the door, leaving Mistress alone with her thoughts. Mistress couldn't help but feel a little relieved. The last thing she wanted was to bring her oldest granddaughter down to her level of sadness and burden her with the amount of emotional stress she was currently experiencing.


Shortly after leaving her grandmother's office, Keiko zoomed out and searched around for her father, desperate to spend some family time with him. Eventually, she found him standing alone in a room, staring out the window. She rushed over to him and gave him a big hug.

"Huh?" Eddie could only utter. It took a moment before he could properly articulate himself. "What's this about?"

"It's okay," Keiko could only respond. "I know you're sad about Grandpa."

"What? Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I think Grandpa's death is affecting Grandma more than she's letting on. I know they had their ups and downs, but I'm worried about her."

"She'll be fine. She's dealt with more harrowing situations before."

"Well, yeah, but—"

Eddie cut her off, his voice gentle but firm. "She's a strong woman. She's always been a strong woman. She'll get through this. It's just that all she needs right now is our love and support, got it?"

"Of course, Dad. I understand."

Eddie nodded. "Good. I just wanted to make sure you did."

After Eddie gave his oldest child a hug and a kiss on the forehead, they proceeded to go their separate ways. Keiko knew that when her time came to rule the planet, a lot would be riding on her shoulders. Much as she preferred not to think too deeply about it and just enjoy her childhood while she could, she also knew that she would have to be prepared for anything the future brought her way. It was, after all, her destiny.