How Long 'Til Black Future Month?

Death and Sleep lay about a water tower “thick with meadow grass” and flowers, trying to help each other feel comfortable (281). They notice a flower they had not witnessed before that is “deep matte black’” and are excited that it is “different” and “[n]ew” (281).

Death has been living in an abandoned factory now inhabited by cats. He tried to keep a cat as a pet once, but the cat quickly escaped the relationship. He often walks to town over the Williamsburg bridge, feeling that somehow his presence on it keeps it safe. One day when he arrives in town, everyone is in a rush to get to the new Starbucks. He heads that way but stops to listen to the Dragon King play the bagpipes. The Dragon King joins him on his quest to get to Starbucks since he is “bored” (283). When they arrive, it is packed, but Death wants to wait anyway. They see a group of worshippers on some steps nearby and the Dragon King goes to join them while Death goes to Starbucks. He never gets a coffee, as they too quickly run out.

He sits down at a table with a cookie and talks to one of the owners, Lise. She and her twin brother Mawu like “small talk” so he tries to make conversation with her (285). He likes the twins because, like humans used to, they “were good at creating new things” (285). She doesn’t beat around the bush though and immediately references their uselessness now that the humans have all passed. She tells him the “Lex has overflowed” and since they are unsure how to fix it that it could cause part of New York City to “be underwater within a year” (287). Her main concern is that the English Nursery Rhymes, who live nearby to the Lex, will be killed in the flooding. Death does not understand why they cannot relocate, so she explains that they are kids who are not capable of long journeys in the way that beings who have “had thousands of years and dozens of cultures to strengthen them” can (286). It bothers death that she refers to the English Nursery Rhymes as “children” since though they are relatively young all the human children had long since died (287). After some reluctance, Death agrees to help them. He travels to their area of town and sees them “thin” and playing like schoolkids (288). He also notices a red peacock among them.

Some time later, Death starts “to feel restless” since he is losing power (228). Without humans, he still exists but is no longer revered. He walks down to the ocean and thinks about how lucky he is to be able to travel the world and not be rooted to one culture. He wanders Coney Island, rotting in the absence of humans. He sees a trail left behind by an unknown entity and decides to sit and wait to if it will return.  

After a while, an octopus carrying a Slurpee cups appears, laboriously dragging itself across the shore while taking small breaks to immerse its head in the cup. Death follows it to a cracked tank full of water and octopus babies. Death realizes he is needed, that the mother octopus wants to die so she can feed her children with her flesh. He kills her, then offers advice about how to travel safely to the water again to one of her children. He feels renewed by this experience.

Death then seeks out the worshippers he saw before. The Dragon King is there and is surprised by Death’s desire to help others. Death asks the Dragon King to teach him the bagpipes as he wants to learn how to make music now that he has gotten over the passing of the humans.