Lucian Bowcott preferred the company of the dead. They didn't interrupt him, didn't demand his attention, and didn't expect anything beyond his embalming services. Inside the preparation room of the funeral home, time seemed to slow down. It was a stark contrast to the loud and fast-paced world outside.
Gently, Lucian's scalpel sliced just above the body's navel. Setting the features had been simple and quick. "Reasonably healthy…" he murmured as he used a trocar to puncture the organs in both the chest and abdomen.
The scent of formaldehyde and clove oil was soothing as he continued embalming the body. Everyone deserved to see their loved ones at their best, one last time. Outside, he heard his phone vibrate once more.
Lucian turned to the body and said softly, "That's my friend Niko. He's been calling me for two, three hours now?" He imagined the body being interested in what he was saying. "I mean, I have been ghosting him and Mei for awhile now…"
He was annoyed and endeared at the same time. They were the only two living people in his life who hadn't let his absence affect their friendship. "I guess four months is enough hiding."
After the constant sleep-work-sleep routine, meeting up with them shouldn't be so bad. He finished his tasks and plugged up the hole he made with a trocar button. Work was the one place he could breathe without pretending; without wondering what the correct response was when talking to other people.
"All done. Now I'll ask your child to pick out a casket in the morning. You," he said, looking at the deceased. "Are very loved. I hope you rest well."
Both missed calls and messages were piling up on his phone. The last message was from Niko: "Dinner after your shift. You promised us a life outside the cadavers. Don't flake this time."
The sun had just begun to set, and Lucian knew he was out of excuses. "Fine, fine. But please, don't pick out a noisy bar, okay?"
Niko's reply came in seconds. "Yeah, I know. Mei got us reservations at Lion."
"Pulling out all the stops, huh?"
"You've dodged us for four months, Luci. Frankly, we also deserve a good drink."
Lucian chuckled and said "True" out loud. The entire gesture was sweet, honestly.
So, Lucian said yes.
True to their word, Lion wasn't another loud and dingy bar. It had a long, rectangular sign out front, pointing them to the door. Inside Lion, it was full of quiet murmurs and the occasional clink of glasses. The lighting came from tiny candles inside the mouths of crystal skulls. It reminded Lucian of fireflies flickering in the summer night.
Mostly he was thankful he didn't have to wear his headphones. When he met up with Niko and Mei, they marveled at how long his hair had grown. "It's up to your shoulders now!" Mei said, delighted. "Last time I saw you, it was so short!"
Lucian laughed awkwardly. "I haven't had time to get it cut. But more importantly—I can't believe we're actually here."
Mei waggled her eyebrows and preened. "Right?! I've had the reservation since January."
Lucian almost dropped his menu. "That early? It's already April…"
She shrugged and he absently watched her skeleton earrings sway against her long red hair. "People are dying to get in here, Luci," she whispered, half-teasing. "They're super efficient."
Lucian thought she was joking, but just as he drained his glass of water, a waitress seemed to appear out of thin air to offer a refill. "Are you ready to order?"
The rest of dinner passed by all too quickly. Mei and Niko traded life updates with Lucian over plates of steak, scallops, and pasta. He had been tempted to order a glass of wine, but Niko swore that the bar had better drinks than advertised on the menu.
"All right," Lucian had said, mock-raising his hands in surrender. "It does look like a gorgeous bar." It was made of wood so dark it looked black and the lighting above the bartender was modestly bright. Not too much to hurt the eyes, but just enough to be inviting.
It was 10PM when the trio sat at the bar.
They slid onto high-backed stools and were immediately presented with a small plate of salted peanuts and glasses of water. "This place has ruined me forever. The service is fantastic." Lucian muttered, and Mei, sitting between him and Niko, agreed. "Definitely worth the price. And being on the waitlist."
Before she could reach out to grab some peanuts, the bartender turned to them. Lucian knew it was rude, but the bartender reminded him of a tall tower. His black hair was slicked back and streaked with silver, but what truly distracted Lucian was his eyes.
The bartender's eyes were milky-white, like he was blind, but somehow Lucian felt seen. It was like being in front of Anubis. Weighed. Measured.
His gold monocle glinted beneath the bar's lights. "What'll it be?" he asked in a voice like falling ash.
Lucian thought for awhile, fingertips toying with a peanut. Then, half-heartedly, he decided to humor Mei's whispered rumor. "A quiet life. One where I just…do what I'm good at. Where I don't have to run from myself."
It wasn't a desperate wish clawing in his heart, but it had a flicker of something, and that was enough. The bartender nodded once, and began to mix. Lucian stared at the bartender's hands, and was blissfully unaware that no one else had heard him.
"Here you are." The drink arrived in a black wineglass.
"What's this?" Lucian asked as he held it in one hand. There was a weight to it, and the ice inside clinked.
"Your drink, prepared according to your wish. That is what the gimmick is," the bartender replied. "Instead of a menu, you describe your wish, and I make a drink that represents that."
Lucian wondered why, exactly, would his wish look like starlight soaked in ink. It didn't smell horrible though—the scents of honey and smoke grew stronger as he inspected it. Underneath it all was something old and comforting, like the embalming room, a well-loved pizza stone, and stillness.
Niko and Mei had gotten their drinks in the same black glasses, and raised theirs towards him. "To you crawling out of your grave," Niko said cheerfully. "Out of the morgue! Welcome to the land of the living," Mei added.
Lucian chuckled softly. For once, their gentle jabs didn't bother him.
"To not being strangers."
He drank, and the world started to shift slightly, like a spinning plate. It wasn't sharp or violent, just…deeply unsettling. Like time had melted sideways. The candles flickered. The bar lights dimmed. Lucian's heart thundered in his chest, then sputtered before stopping entirely.
It happened in seconds.
He felt the cold in his fingertips first, the way frost hugged branches. Niko's shouting was distant, and Mei's hand reached for him. He tried to hold it, but her hand seemed out of focus, blurred.
And then darkness.
Lucian's body fell to the floor, next to an empty wineglass.
The world around him faded.
Unseen by the rest of the world, far beneath the bar's foundation, the soil stirred.