Celia: Introduction Story

     In the midst of a bustling city lived a curious person who was not quite a person-- in fact, she was a myocelia, recently arrived and in search of a job. Her lack of a background was a bit concerning, seeing as her only history was having lived in a rural town and working there some time ago, but surely enough someone would be willing to overlook the gaps if they were desperate enough for a worker.

     Celia kept a keen eye out for hiring signs as she paced up and down as many streets as she could reach, but there was little that stood out to her in the way of convenience for someone who hadn’t even existed a year ago. 

     And then-- a strange feeling sent a jolt through her body, not from one of the senses afforded by the human skin she inhabited, but from the lace that was hidden safely beneath her hat. 

     It almost called to her, a siren sensation that pulled her further down the street she was on until she found herself standing in front of a door, with a sign above it that labeled the building as “Next Life Mortuary”. 

     Before she could understand what it was that brought her here, her hand pulled the door open, and she stepped inside to see a relatively mundane front desk, although it appeared to be unmanned at the moment.

     The door closed behind her with a gentle tinkling of a bell, and just as it did, a metal door on the far side the room opened, revealing a tall man wearing a brown trench coat, as well as a wide-brimmed hat and a pince-nez which obscured most of his face in shadow. Pinned to his coat was a nametag that only said ‘Mortuary Director’, with no indication of his actual name.

     “Welcome!” he cordially greeted, although something in his voice set Celia on edge. “Next Life Mortuary can take care of all your needs for your beloved relati-... oh? Hmmmm…?” He cocked his head, peering over the edges of his pince-nez at Celia. Then, a smile spread over his face, something knowing that sent shivers through Celia’s pseudo-nervous system.

     “You’re not here for any of that, are you?” The man chirruped, clasping his hands together. “Care to enlighten me, my little toadstool?” 

     It was clear that he could immediately see beyond the human facade that Celia worked carefully to uphold, a scenario which Celia had never predicated, much less prepared for. Who was this man?

     Celia held herself from saying anything, unsure of whether she still needed to salvage her identity or simply… leave. 

     Even more unsettlingly, the man appeared to immediately deduce Celia’s discomfort and moved on while smiling warmly. “Aha! I must have scared you-- I apologize for that, my dear. You see, I happen to be looking for new employees of a certain sort, and from a glance I could tell you fit the bill. You have quite the listless look about you, so I’m sure you’re interested.”

     Listless? Well, she certainly wouldn’t have used such a word to describe herself, but she couldn’t deny that everything else he said was true, either. 

     What mattered most to Celia, however, was how he knew of her myocelia identity. Before she would listen to anything he had to say, she needed to understand what it was about herself that gave it away.

     “How…” Celia began, her arms still drawn close to her body in tension, “How did you know I wasn’t-- wasn’t human?”

     A short exhale left the man’s mouth, and he shook his head slightly. “Well, I suppose you do have your priorities in order, but I’m afraid that information is reserved for valued employees only. Let’s just say I have a… sense for it.”

     “Now…” he clasped his hands together, “Would you like to join the ranks of Next Life Mortuary?”

     Pressed for work as she was, Celia had no better choice but to accept. The Director, as she knew him from then on, happily set her to work filing away papers, updating spreadsheets, and receiving customers-- but even with all the mundane work Celia was tasked with, she could tell that there was something mysterious about the Mortuary, and the man who operated it all.

     Given that she had no permission to enter the areas of the building that actually dealt in corpses, such details were left to Celia's imagination. Perhaps in the future, she might finally get to see what lay behind the veil…