Listen up now! Shh! Do you want to hear the story or not? You were the ones who asked. Are you comfy? Okay, I’ll start from the first thing I remember:
The car came out of nowhere. Brakes squealed. Screams resounded. Papers floated on the wind. Blood pooled on the pavement. I laid in a crumpled heap of skin and bones on the crosswalk.
I was dead.
Perhaps it should have bothered me more, standing invisible beside my corpse. Instead I found myself wondering why it had happened then of all times. Death is an unavoidable force of nature, but couldn’t it have waited a few more years? But, I guess it was good this way. My friends and parents would be sad but at least I didn’t have a husband or kids yet.
I watched as people covered their mouths in horror, calling for the ambulance and the police. The driver of the car was devastated beyond words and looked to be on the brink of breaking down.
I sighed.
What a boring way to go.
Couldn’t I have saved a kid or something? No, I had to be hit by the late guy on his way to work.
I felt a cold touch on my shoulder and turned to find a man in all black, I must say he was pretty handsome in a dead sort of way. His cold gold eyes and pale skin were hard to ignore as he stood a foot taller than me. “Grim Reaper?” I took a guess while looking him over.
He raised a thin black eyebrow, “You’re a rare one.”
I gave my best fake smile as I watched the ambulances drive up uselessly, “Nothing to fear in death, right?”
He looked at me blankly and for some reason I didn’t like him much. He gave me the creeps, like those idiots who go around flashing people. “Many people fear death.”
“I wonder if it’s really that they fear death,” I watched the paramedics cover my body with a black tarp, “Or if they fear what they are leaving behind.”
The Reaper chewed over my thoughts a bit before asking what I feared. I met his icy gold eyes, “I fear not existing at all. I fear being forgotten.”
“You are merely a soul,” he pointed out ever so kindly.
“I still have eyes and thoughts, I’m still here if not there,” I gestured towards the body bag being carried into the ambulance, the street a gruesome red that would need a good washing.
“I could kill you right now if I wanted to,” his voice had changed and for the first time I actually felt threatened by the personification of Death standing before me.
I changed the subject, not wanting to think about him killing me just yet, mentally I could only take so much in a day. “Can the Grim Reaper die?”
He almost seemed flustered by the question and when I say flustered, I mean he blinked. “How can Death die?”
“Well are you the only one?” I felt momentum in my thoughts, gears clicking into place within my mind.
“No, there are many of us,” he replied stiffly.
I shrugged nonchalantly, “Then what makes you so special? Who cares if you die? No one would miss you.” The cruel words rolled right off my tongue. Truthfully, these thoughts had always resided in the back of my head but they had been directed towards myself instead of the Reaper.
He frowned, “And perhaps it was the wish of everyone for you to die and finally leave them alone?” I grimaced inwardly, this was a dance and we were fighting for the lead.
“Will you really kill my soul?” My eyes wouldn’t waver from his.
This time he shrugged, “I see no reason not to.” His pale hand reached out and, in a puff of black smoke, a scythe appeared in his hands.
I could feel my heart if I still had one or my imaginary one if I didn’t, beating fast. I was not going to lose my life and my soul all in the same day. What if there was nothing left of me after my soul dies? What if I couldn’t fight back without a soul? The questions raced through my mind as I stood suddenly reinvigorated with a new thought. I hadn’t lied. My greatest fear is disappearing completely from the world. I was not about to let some Reaper seal my fate.
There are studies out there saying that when there is danger to oneself or to one’s loved ones, the adrenaline in the body makes one grow the ability needed to survive. I think it’s more than just ability. It’s more like the will to live takes over and suddenly you can’t control your body as you fight for your life in a way that you could never even imagine before. The fear is literally over powering your body, making you strong enough to fight back. If you hadn’t guessed it already: I freaked out when the thought of dying again took over my spirit.
I lunged.
If I had been a normal panicked soul, I feel like he would have expected it. But he hadn’t been expecting me to try to steal his scythe. Both of my hands wrapped around the staff as he immediately swung it around him, trying to throw me off. I hung on for my dear life as my feet left the ground and the police lights blurred into two lines of red and blue. Tears streamed for my eyes as I felt the force of my body trying to fly my off in my fingertips.
Noticing I was still attached, he stopped swinging and began to try ripping the scythe from my hands, “Let go you insufferable soul!” he grunted as he also swore in a fashion I’d hardly bring to your young ears. I, on the other hand, couldn’t speak as I used all my strength to kick out my feet at his legs. Losing balance, I fell to the ground, pulling the scythe and Grim Reaper down with me. Grunting and panting we rolled around both refusing to let go of the weapon.
CRACK!
The scythe broke in half with the blade victoriously in my hand. I stood triumphant as the Reaper stared hopelessly down at the wood bar in his grasp. He had been in the business long enough to understand his time was up. With a big smile and an easy swing, I executed him on the same crosswalk I had been killed on just a couple of minutes earlier. His body dissipated into wispy black smoke that trailed up into the sky before slowly disappearing in the light whispers of wind passing us by. I held the weapon tightly as it regrew into a full scythe and my clothes were replaced with a black cloak.
I had become a new Grim Reaper.
So, did this answer all your questions? I just wanted to wait till you guys were older before letting you know how I took my place in the world. You guys won’t have to go through what I did since you’re pure blood Reapers, but I expect big things from you two, don’t let me down.
What? Oh, I met your father right after I had joined the Reapers. We fell in love, got married, had two wonderful kids and lived happily ever after.
I will not tell you another story. You can beg all you want but you only get one bedtime story a night. No, not even for a pretty please with a cherry on top. Now get to sleep!
I love you guys, goodnight.