The Second Death

"Sleep, young queen," the priest said. "But what if I sleep forever, and they don't remember me anymore?" He looked at her with an expressionless face, but there was kindness in his deep brown, almost pitch dark eyes.

"Your name will be sung throughout the millenniums," He told her, "Spoken so often that you will never have to face the second death." She was impassive. "Your temples and statues will be the testament of your life, of the beloved queen."

"There is no certainty in that," she answered. "The desert will claim what human has built. Nothing last forever, not even my name." The light from the candles illuminated her beautiful face, basted her in gold and made her looked ethereal.

The priest allowed himself a tiny smile, a smile drenched in pain and sadness because he knew she was right. "But it will buy you time before the second death approaches. Who knows what miracle you can do for your people?"

"Will they still be my people, though? If they forget about me?" She asked. Their eyes met. The old priest was lost for words. "Of course they are," she replied herself with a genuine smile. "Their loyalty is their own. My loyalty to them is my own."

The priest trembled and held back his tears. "It will be fine," she said softly, soothingly, "We will see each other again." He looked down to avoid her eyes, too scared to see what's hidden beyond those eyes, or the deep understanding that surpassed his. 

He lifted the gold cup with trembling hands. She would drink from it, and she will journey on the first death as the priests prepare her body and locked her tomb as per ritual. Yet she didn't know her tomb will not only be locked but also sealed and destroyed to prevent her from ever waking up, to complete both first and second death.

"It will be fine," she said again. She took the cup and held it gaily, as if she was still in the comfort of her own palace, "I will survive both deaths." He looked up at her in terror, watching as she sipped the cup delicately like drinking her favorite nectar.

It should be enough to send anyone to the afterworld immediately, but she passed him the cup as if nothing happened and curled on the silk bed on which she sat on as if she was ready for a good night sleep. 

"Be loyal to me, and I will see you again," she said with a loving smile. He bowed. "I too will see them again," she added, this time with a cold fire that sent the shiver down his spine. He knew now she knew.  She closed her eyes and he started to weep. His queen. His beloved queen.

A few thousand years later, a girl woken up from her nap with a start. She didn't remember when she had fallen asleep, but she did remember playing with her phone and feeling so miserable, feeling so scared that people will forget her.

"It will be fine," she said subconsciously. "It will be fine." She sat straight and looked at the window for a bit, soaking in the view of beautiful Los Angeles afternoon. She looked at her phone, which was still silent as if the world has abandoned her. "It will be fine," she said with a smile.