The Passing Hour

Chapter 6

          My grandmother had been keeping me up to date on the affairs of the manor and the boy while I was away, and this boy continued to intrigue me. He seemed fearless, and adjusted a lot easier than I expected he would. Perhaps he wouldn't be as big of a nuisance as I had anticipated. In any case, he was not my focus at the moment; I had managed to narrow down three more people who I have yet to introduce to their new realities, and I was on my way to the first one now. This one was an older fellow, huge by regular human standards, but with a gentle soul. Since the societal collapse most of the world went through after the absence of regular death took it's toll, old trades and tricks came back into the world for regular use such as blacksmithing and cobbling. Things that had been mass manufactured were now having to be made mostly by hand. While some communities banded together to create semi-working factories, not many favored the idea since work injuries became a huge problem. Not knowing when you've been fatally wounded working in a factory, over time, made those weary to encourage dangerous work enviroments. Many thought that the commodity of having manufactured goods really wasn't worth the risk, and it truly wasn't when you could see the world as one big picture as a Grim.

          The man I was going to collect at the moment was named Richard. He was an incredibly tall and well built man for someone in his late 50's. He stood almost 7 foot tall and weighed around 350, maybe 400 lbs. with his bulging muscles from working with metal all day and night. He had fair red hair and light skin that burned easily in the sun. I observed him for a day like I did with the boy, and I would probably do this with all of them. It helped me to determine who they were, and how to approach them. While this man seemed hard, I could see through small simple actions that he has an incredibly kind heart. The children who ran around his shop outside showed no fear around him, in fact they actually asked him to play for a bit. He declined but it was obvious he had accepted the invitation before. It seemed he had no family of his own, but for all I know he could have had one long ago. There was a sadness in his eyes I could not place, but he also hid it well. I witnessed him save a lady bug from a spiders web, but he replaced it with a fly so the spider would still have a meal. He even had a garden in the back that he tended to like his life depended on it. I took to my owl form so I could get a closer look at it. 

          It was rather small, only a few feet in the shape of an irregular rectangle, outlined in smooth stones. It had been hard to make out before, but now that I was closer I could see the hardwood planks marking two graves. I assume the females name was his wife and the other with the male name must be his son. That explained a lot about this mans character. I watched him carry on with the rest of his day, then prepared to tell him the truth when the sun started to lower.

          I knocked on the door after nightfall, and patiently waited for him to find a stopping point in the work he was doing. He seemed to work tirelessly, and with a routine. I wonder how long he has been doing this to himself. I could hear the clanging of metal on metal as he put the stuff away to answer the door, with curses being whispered under his breath. He opened the door, and despite my already knowing how big he is, I was still taken aback by just how huge he actually is. I looked up to meet his eyes, and started my introductions. He invited me in and we had a rather long talk. He told me a lot about himself, seeming to need the company of another adult to talk about certain things. If I didn't know better, I would have said this was more like a therapy session. My news to him served as an explanation to him as to why certian things in his life unfolded the way that they did, and he made peace with the fact rather quickly. He really wasn't the surprised about the reality of his nature. In fact, he seemed eager to leave all this behind and start up a new life somewhere completely unknown to mankind. 

          I let him pack what he wanted or needed, and sent for the flying carriage while he did so. I had it parked off some distance so as to not attract any unwanted attention. This man and the boy have made my job easy so far, but I am not naive enough to get my hopes up and expect them all to be this way. I still have two more to collect, and that's just out of who is ready. There are many more Grims out there, waiting to be ripe for the picking. We made our way to the carriage after he walked through the neighborhood saying goodbye to those who would miss him. He luckily had a well seasoned apprentice, so this town wouldn't be without a blacksmith. His apprentice looked a little crest fallen at the news of his sudden promotion, and wrapped his arms around the burly man as best he could for a hug goodbye. 

          As we sat in the carriage, he remained silent as he peered out the window, a single tear threatening to escape from his left eye. The meloncholic look on his face changed to one of awe as we took off into the sky after reaching somewhere far from the eyes of humans. He had about the same reaction to the horse as the boy, and I quickly realized that while it was fun to show these new things to those who I would be working with in the future, it was starting to feel like a tedious chore. Were they all going to be this amused over the smallest things they aren't used to? 

          He fell asleep after about 30 minutes of us being in the air, and I felt more relaxed when he did. It was nice to not have the obligation of having the important talk in the carriage on the way to the manor. It probably would have been better for the boy had I been able to do the same with him, because he only got a limited amount of answers to the many questions he wanted to ask. I should make sure Grandmother has a talk with him, to tell him more of the details I had neglected to mention. I took a mental note for myself, so that the responsibility of explaining more things to a child wouldn't fall on me. While the boy seemed mature for his age, I still did not really like children. 

          I took a swig from my flask, and impatiently waited for us to arrive at our destination. I wasn't planning on staying at the manor again until my task was truly done, but I very well might have to for tonight to recharge. All of this travelling in the human realm was exhausting. I have only found two of the reapers I needed to find, and have at least a couple more to go. 

           When we got to the manor, I was greeted by my Grandmother, and she told me the boy was out exploring more of the grounds. I reminded her to warn him about the black moss beasts, but she said they haven't been aggressive toward him in the slightest, which I found odd. They are aggressive to everyone, even the Grims. All except for those in the royal family... so this only confirmed my own suspicions of him and his true identity. I wonder if he would be able to access the tower... I quickly shook that thought from my head. That would never happen. Even out of the royal family, only a select few even had that privilege. I highly doubt this boy would be one of those privileged. Though it was highly unlikely, I couldn't completely dismiss the thought from my mind. I quickly introduced Richard to my Grandmother, then promptly took my leave to rest in my quarters. I notified them that no one was to disurb me, and for them to relay the message to Stefan as well. I was weary as I made my way to my room. 

         I had made my way to my room and had just closed the door when I heard a shuffling in the hallway outside my door. Confused, I opened it to find the boy crawling out of one of the paintings on the wall outside my room. He was accompanied by one of the annoying male faeries. He seemed to be showing him the secret passage ways in the manor. I should talk to grandmother about that, and set some parameters so he knows to stay out of certain places. I was too tired to deal with it now, so I just went back into my room. He didn't even notice I was watching him, or he just didn't care; typical of human children.

         I laid in my black satin bed, waiting for sleep to take me. The next few days were going to be long, indeed.