The formless bartender shuffles behind the bar to sort the drinks. Each bottle a coming concept of the new universe about to be made. The bartender is uncaring of this new world, much to the denial of its only patrons.

  The god and goddess laugh together and they ask for the next shot. The bartender simply stares at them, for the shots have already been poured.

  The god of the material grabs a shot of opinions and the goddess of the soul grabs a shot of facts.

  The god looks too goddess and asks, “Should we toast to something?”

  She waves her hand uncaringly, “Pft- Nah!”

  And they take the second shot-

  They slam their glasses onto the bar top and the front door swings open. The god and goddess look to see who came in, only to find no one there. The god of the material tilts his head in confusion.

  “Must have been the wind.”

  The goddess glances mischievously, “Must have been god.”

  He blows away a strand of ethereal hair, “It wasn’t, but I see your point.”

  The goddess leans back in her chair far enough to almost fall off, but not quite.

  The god rubs his forehead on the bar top and thinks of a burning question.

  “Do you think we’ll be praised for the work we’ve done? Will they even know we exist?”

  She shakes her head and sighs. “We will be hated for the crimes we’ve committed. We can only hope that they understand why we had to do it.”

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  The goddess smiles at her partner in crime, “Those that look to the stars will praise us, and those that look to each other will suffer. But know that neither of them are wrong.”

  The god rotates his resting head to look at his goddess, “I’ve heard you say that before, but what does that mean?”

  She nods her thoughtfully, “How about I show you. Do you see that mouse?”

  He turns his head to see a mouse resting under a table. The mouse didn’t exist until the goddess pointed it out, but that doesn’t matter in this timeless place.

  She continues, “That mouse has known nothing but suffering. It will die before the universe even gets the chance to begin, and will never know another one of its kind. One must imagine it is content.”

  He wants to ask why, but he already knows the answer, “Because it is alive.”

  “Yes, and it will forever hate us for it.”

  The mood has increasingly become more somber at that note. That is until the bartender pulls out a revolver and shoots the mouse. The god and goddess jump at the sudden bang.

  The god blinks at the annihilated mouse before turning back at the bartender, “What was that for?!”

  The bartender points to a sign after holstering its firearm. Right under the no shirt, no shoes, no service sign it reads-

  No living creatures before the creation of the universe

  The goddess blinks, “Sorry, I got a bit carried away.”

  The god shakes his head in exasperation, “Was there really no enjoyment in that mouse's life.”

  The goddess smiles at her friend and continues the conversation once more, “Oh, I didn’t mean that! The mouse had a lot of joy in its short life. I just found it tragic that the mouse didn’t realize it until its final moments.”

  The god sighs wistfully, “The mouse that came from nothing, returned to nothing. It knew happiness and sadness and now it’s gone all the same. One must imagine it…”

  They speak at the same time. “Content.”

  The goddess smirks, “Jinxs! You owe me a soda!”

  The god frowns, “You owe me a drink.”