Beyond the Rabbit Hole

Alyss Awakening

"She was lovely, like a girl attending her first ball."

"She was larger than life – a queen of unfathomable elegance and beauty, coming to personally bid me my final farewell."

"She was massive. I was terrified of her presence, like a behemoth looming over me."

"She was so curious. It was my death, and yet she asked so many questions, I thought I had been visited by the ghost of a child. And yet, somehow, I couldn't bring myself to be angry with her."

"She was. . . happy. Even without a mouth, I could tell, she was always smiling."

Humans. . . such strange, beautiful creatures. They looked upon my incorporeal visage with undeniable awe. But they never saw me the same as each other. With every person I guided to the aether, I learned something new about the people and their world. I became something new. I grew, adapting to the changes in society and etiquette so that one day, I could count myself among them. I'm not sure if it started consciously or not, but after centuries passed, it became my hobby. Then it became my ambition. Then it became an obsession. I had to become human. I had to see what life was like on the other side. I had to see what I could become. Nothing else mattered. . . except him. He was always there. As far back as I remember – even when he couldn't recognize me as a person – he would stay by my side. When I had no one to talk to, he listened. When everyone else in the world saw me as something different, he alone saw me for what I was. He doesn't even remember. He listened while I told him all about what I learned. He listened when I told him the name I gave myself. He listened when I gave him his own name, and he listened when I told him about my selfish desires. When the people I was obsessed with saw me as something incomprehensible, he saw me as Alyss. I was frustrated that I wasn't human, but he never cared. To him, I was his best friend. I was his only friend. So, what is he to me?

He is someone I love. He is the one I admire more than anyone else. Had I been human, I could've filled an ocean with the tears it would have cost me, longing to be like him. He is strong. He is, and so that fear in his eyes shakes me to my very core. What is this feeling – is this anger? I will not let him be taken away from me. I will not let him suffer any more harm. What am I willing to lose for this insufferable obsession? Perhaps it is fate that one must make a choice for parallel loves.

I am NOT a human. I am NOT a monster. I may be a Grim Reaper, but I am no longer just a guide. This is my life! Our lives! And I will not let anything get in the way of our happiness.

The ghoul lunged forward and stabbed its arm through the air like a spear. It was unbelievably fast. It had just been struggling with the horses, yet only a moment later, its revolting fleshy fingers grazed Alyss's cheek. She swerved to the side, losing her balance as the monster's filthy hand pushed her away. She tumbled to the ground but caught herself immediately and placed one of her feet firmly on the ground. Her gaze pierced the ghoul with ferocious fervor. A quick glance at the tents, and she bolted toward the tree line. The ghoul turned and swung its other arm at her. She quickly ducked, and the fleshy arm just barely missed her head. She continued for a few seconds until a thunderous stomping crashed through the wet leaves on the ground behind her. She came to an abrupt stop and turned to face the charging ghoul. She jumped to the side and rolled out of the way, letting the monster crash into the tree behind her.

Her breath grew heavy, but she took to her feet without issue. Her body was without injury, and on her face was a strange expression – one even she was unaware of. As her heart thumped like a beating drum, the short breaths that followed escaped through a wide grin.