《The Loneliness of a Grim Reaper》


 Prologue: The names Reaper, Grim Reaper.

    Hi. I am a Grim Reaper. At least that¡¯s what I¡¯m called by many now-a-day. I do not have a proper name; you know the name your parents give you. I wish I had one. However, I¡¯ve been called many things. Some places call me King Yama, others King Yan. Some call me King Enma. Though, a lot of times I do not have the title of king. Some refer to me as the ¡®Netherworld Emissary¡¯ and ¡®Angel of Death¡¯ or a shinigami. Some make me out as a deity like Thanatos. Well it has been quite a long time since I¡¯ve been called Thanatos. Here lately I¡¯m known as the Grim Reaper.


    Over the millennia, I have had many shapes to my weapon. I¡¯ve always had it, and I¡¯m not sure why or where it came from. It changes shape to the most popular belief of the weapon of death. One time it was a staff, another sword, even a sickle one time. Now it is a scythe. I can choose what it is with enough focus, like I one time turned it into a gun.


    As for my appearance, I AM NOT A SKELETON! I¡¯d like to think I¡¯m a good looking guy. I do have blonde hair that reaches almost to my eyebrows. I also have bone white skin. I do have a face! With all the artists capturing me as a skull; I¡¯ve grown a little self-conscious about it. I do wear that long, black hooded robe. I think it looks good. I am not sure why I have them, but I have wings. They are pair of large, black feathered wings.


    As for what I do, I watch over the mortals. I walk amongst them. They cannot see me, though I wish they could. I would give anything to have a conversation with someone. You wouldn¡¯t believe how boring it is with no one to talk to. It is very lonely. Despite watching humans since they were cave dwellers, I have yet to have a conversation with one.


    What¡¯s that you say? Death? Souls? Hmm, well I naturally know who is dying. With a simple touch, they stop. They stop moving, breathing, living. I see no souls; I do not have a conversation with them. They do not beg, trick or even accept me. It is like someone pulls a plug so to speak. They just stop being.


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    It is a sad job and I hate it. It has to be done though. There was a time or two I did not do my job. People die even if I do nothing; however they linger for a bit longer, infecting people with diseases that devastate the entire population. When I knew of this I had to reap more than I could keep track of so not all of humanity dies. I caused the Black Plague. Scientist blames it on fleas, but I know the truth. It was me. I probably deserve this solitude as punishment.


    Watching these humans, there are some scenes I like, such as when humans fall in love for the first time. In the beginning, humans just got together out of pure instinct for reproduction. It was an almost ugly sight to watch. As time went a long, it got interesting. You have to first earn the other¡¯s affection, then follow up with acts of an emotion called love to maintain the relationship.


    Humans sure are fascinating.


    It was this thought that ran through my head, is when I felt a tug on my robe. Turning around I saw a cute little girl, maybe around the age of 19. She had a small, round face and a pair of large green eyes that sparkled in the sun. She also had messy, red hair that was long and curly. She had a petite body to top it off. She was wearing a long button up, white top and khaki bottom. Most mortal men would probably be attracted to her, she was that attractive.


    ¡°Excuse me, but do you think you could help me? I¡¯m a little lost.¡± The first question ever directed at me.

 Chapter 1: My First Conversation

    ¡°You can see me?¡± I asked absolutely astonished.


    ¡°Umm, yeah? Am I not supposed to see you or something?¡± She put on a puzzled face.


    It took a moment to shake being stunned, ¡°No one has ever seen before. Ever. Not only that but you can also touch me! This is amazing!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like touching you. Oh, you know Halloween is a few months away, right? Are you supposed to be the Grim Reaper or something? If so why do you have wings?¡±


    I shook my head. I am being bombarded with questions. ¡°I am the Grim Reaper. As for the wings, I have no clue.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see came with the costume?¡± She turned her head and quickly grabbed the attention of a man passing by, ¡°Hey you, doesn¡¯t this guy¡¯s costume seem a little weird to you?¡±


    The man turned to look where she was pointing; his gaze went past me like normal. He then became confused, ¡°Costume? You know everyone is in normal clothes. Are you ok?¡±


    She then became angered, ¡°I know he was rather plain looking but that is rather mean of you to ignore him!¡±


    ¡­Plain looking? Hmm, so this is what it¡¯s like to feel disappointed in yourself. Not a good feeling to say the least.


    The man once again looked past me, ¡°What are you talking about? Are you sure your eyes are fine?¡±


    With this comment, she lost it. She started to hit him, ¡°My eyes are fine! Stop being so hateful to him!¡± He started to run away while screaming apologies and calling her crazy. She was about to give chase, there is where I stopped her.


    ¡°You should leave him alone. Mortals cannot see me.¡± I say this while looking down.


    ¡°I think he was being a jerk. Still, why wearing a costume?¡±


    ¡°This is no costume.¡± I lifted my scythe above my head and unfurled my wings. She looked at me with wonder, then curiosity.


    ¡°If you are the Grim Reaper, then why don¡¯t you have a skeletal face?¡±


    I almost broke down into tears, ¡°I am not a skeleton! Why do they always depict me as a skeleton?¡±


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    She began to look around while I was making a commotion. She seemed a little surprised no one came to investigate. ¡°Ok, ok. I¡¯m sorry. I had no idea that was a touchy subject.¡± I was already huddling on the ground, clutching my knees. Then her attitude changed as if she remembered something. ¡°Wait if you are the Grim Reaper, am I going to die soon?¡± She began to take a step back.


    Immediately I shot up and grabbed her shoulders, ¡°Do not be afraid! Please do not be afraid! This is the first conversation I¡¯ve ever had! Please.¡±


    Probably jumping at her and grabbing her shoulders wasn¡¯t the most calming effect, but after a while she calmed down. Hearing me plead like that probably made me look pathetic and less intimidating. Now to answer her question¡­ wait, something is off. I don¡¯t know her death. My gut tells me she burned into existence not too long ago, like about two decades. However I usually know when they die as well.


    This time I was the one who was shaken, coming to my senses I barely caught her question.


    ¡°Hey, snap out of it! You¡¯re freaking me out, please answer my question.¡± Her eyes burrowed into mine when she stopped shaking me.


    I have no idea what is happening, but I decided I¡¯m going to tell my first lie. I straighten my back and stare deep into the pits of her eyes I say as calmly as I can, ¡°You are going to live a long, long life.


    She stood still for a moment and stared back. Did she catch my lie? No, no, there is no way she could see through this masterpiece lie. Can she? No she can¡¯t. But what if she can read minds? What felt like an eternity of flopping the conversation in my head, a large gentleman asked if the young lady was well. She nodded and sent him on his and gave me a concerned look and told me, ¡°We need to go somewhere that hasn¡¯t got many prying eyes. Follow me.¡± She turned around and marched away.