Do you see it? Do you see what I made?

Yeah I see it. What’s so special?

Do you see the light in his eyes? The glow? The life?

I see a screaming baby.

But he lives. His heart beats. His lungs work. His mind functions. He is conscious. He can experience. He can grow. He can live!

Cool. You make three hundred thousand of them every hour.

Actually, it’s more like three hundred sixty thousand.

. . .

And you take away a hundred fifty thousand.

See? Not even half.

Isn’t that a good thing? I mean, more and more people get to live!

You don’t know anything.

Really. Me. I know everything there is to know about creation. Existence. What exactly do I not know?

Nonexistence

What?

Nothing. Cold. Dark. Lonely. Except not really any of those things. . . because it’s nothing.

It’s been six seconds. . .

Fine.

Time for another life! How about a girl.

. . .

Blonde hair, green eyes, lot’s of freckles. . .

. . .

And. . . Done. Awww! She is beautiful. So alive.

Can you shut up for just one second?!

What did you do?!

. . .

Why would you do that?!

Because it was her time.

Her time?! She was alive for a fraction of a second! How is that her time?!

What, like you’ve never seen me do that before. . . Her lungs were unstable. Her heart was too small. She-

You have no heart!

That’s wrong.

. . .What is?

I have a heart. It is dark and heavy. It doesn’t beat. It is nothing.

I don’t understand.

I wouldn’t expect you to. They love you.

Who?

Everyone. Everything.

. . .

They love you. They praise you.

. . .

You have no idea what it’s like to be feared. They all say, “not me, not me, not me.” They live their whole lives running from me. They scream when I come. Their friends and family cry. Why are they afraid?

Because you take them.

Because they don’t understand me. I don’t take them, I save them.

Save them? You kill them.

Don’t act like you’re perfect. Life? Really? You’re full of sickness. Pain. Hurt. Trials. Life is hard. I rescue them when they can’t take it anymore.

A battlefield? Why’d you bring me here?

I’m making a pickup. I’m saving them from suffering. From hate. Your creations kill each other.

. . .

Are you. . . crying?

So what?

I’ve never seen you. . . do that before.

. . .

. . .

Hey D?

Yeah?

I love you.

Uugh. You’re so predictable. Sappy as ever.

Yeah. I know. And you’re. . . well, you.

Yeah.

We make a good team.