Dressed in Feathers | K.TH FF

6: Ruins

"So. You're a bird." I began small talk.

"Quite the guess. But no. I'm just a reaper. What you saw was my raven form. Ravens are a symbol of death.... And rebirth. Their meaning is what I stand for. They make reapers what they are."

"In what way?"

"They are a sign that a reaper is near. Not all ravens are reapers. But all reapers are ravens."

"You, sir, are confusing and full of riddles."

Taehyung snickered.

"So, you say we're both spirits. What was your life like?"

"'Life?' You assume I was once living now dead. You're wrong."

"What?"

"I was never human, just as gods were never mortal. Reapers are powerful beings. We never lived as you did. We never walked the realm of the living as one who naturally belongs there. We are perceived as we choose—as ghosts or as men or as ravens. We may choose to be incorporeal, or as real as an autumn leaf."

"That's kind of sad, isn't it? You represent life after death, but you never got to experience it yourself?"

"It is an honor to provide my services for those that need guidance to the other side. That is journey enough for me. I wouldn't trade my eternal life for a man's, because I'm too attached to helping men through death. It's a beauty the duty that was bestowed upon me." He was serious. He wasn't just speaking to pique my interests and curiosity.

"If you collect the souls of people, then what about animals?"

"It's the same process for the animals. There are reapers that collect human souls and reapers that collect animal souls. I reap human souls, and animal souls on occasion. Reapers for the animal kingdom are especially busy, so I help when I have time to spare."

"That's sweet of you. So, if you were never human, exactly how old are you?"

"My age has no number."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I am as old as time itself, as the universe. I am as old as culture, as Earth, as Mother Nature. I am as old as the Fates. Though, they still call me young. I cannot tell you my age, because I do not know. I used to count the years since I was manifested, but I lost track. No number can truly define me. I refuse to be a product of that sort. I care only for my individuality. Age and numbers are meaningless in the end. Everything dies at some point: plants, creatures, light, fire. What matters is the potency of the soul and spirit, not how long something lasts."

"Wow. I was looking for a short answer and instead you gave me a long one."

He lightly giggled.

"You must be billions of years old."

"Older than that. Earth is rather young. I am beyond ancient. And in my time guiding and ferrying souls, there is one true thing I found that lasts for eons: life promotes death and death supports life. There cannot be one or the other. That is my philosophy, and that is what I strive for as a reaper."

Are other reapers just like him? "Well, I'm glad to be guided by one of the friendly reapers."

"What do you mean?"

"You said that some are grim and others aren't."

"Grim does not always mean rude or foul."

"Well, then I'm glad to be under your care."

He humbly bowed to me. "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Gyeowool. You have made my routinely journey far more interesting and much less lonesome."

"What is it usually like."