The Red Reaper | ✔

The Choice

Felix was dead.

Yet he wasn't.

He was dead, but he wasn't. When he had jolted back to reality, the first thing that emerged in his vision were stark white walls. Fluorescent bulbs inflicted harm upon his sensitive eyes as he soaked in his surroundings. Foreign medical equipment surrounded him. Two revelations surfaced in his mind.

He was in a hospital.

And his physical body lied motionless on an operating table.

Bewilderment came into play, triggering hundreds of questions that spun round and round inside his head, trapping him in a tangle of emotions. Confusion, despair, agony, and misery tackled him all at once. After registering his situation, Felix clawed at his blond hair, only to discover that he had taken a transparent form. He could see through his fingers and limbs, as if he had X-ray vision. Was he a ghost now, an empty shell of his previous self? Before he could start hyperventilating, a voice snapped him out of his dazed stupor.

"You smell lovely." Felix spun his head around, catching sight of a woman. A glamorous cherry-red dress hugged her slender figure, the silky ruffles of the hem billowing around her like puffy clouds. Glitter adorned her flashy outfit. She was levitating off the floor, her majestic presence defying gravity. A small reptile-like creature rested on her left shoulder. It flicked its pink tongue out, almost as if it were mocking him.

"Who are you?" Felix stammered, his blue eyes widening with bafflement. He motioned several steps back, caution exercised in the movements.

"My name is Eva, and I think you smell lovely." Floating closer to Felix, Eva dropped down and invaded his personal space by flaunting off her massive red dress. She sniffed at the air a couple of times, almost as if she was tasting the atmosphere. All of a sudden, she snatched a handful of the boy's blond hair and dug her nose deep into it, heaving in a final and emphasized sniff. Startled by this, Felix smacked her hand away and leaped back.

"What are you doing?!" he exclaimed, surprise delivered through a loud shout. With his forehead wrinkled, he extended the distance between him and Eva. "Sorry for the slap," he quickly added, because he felt guilty for hitting her and he still had manners.

Eva smirked, an omniscient curve in her lips. "You're the one."

The way she worded that, in such an ominous manner, shot chills up Felix's spine. Disbelief clouded his features. "And you're sort of creepy. No offense."

"And you're dead." Eva's flat bomb knocked him off his guard. She advanced closer to him. "Also, I just happen to be a reaper."

"I don't understand," Felix sputtered, harboring doubts. "You don't look like a reaper."

"We reapers find spirits, dying souls, through smell. Whenever a mortal dies, they emit a scent that reapers can detect and hunt down. We don't wield scythes or dress in dark and mysterious cloaks. We just smell you out, like a dog, and then we escort you to the end of your time." Eva paused for a note of suspense. "However, that only applies to normal cases. Felix Phasire, you are not a normal case."

Felix's eyes bulged. "How do you know my name?"

"I am a reaper, a server to death and an immortal deity from the Underworld. If I'm going to whisk your soul away, I will need to know your name. If I have to collect a nameless soul, that's like having a blank gravestone. It's unlikely." Eva shifted her gaze onto him. Her dark eyes flickered with amusement. "Since you are not a normal case, you are given a choice that determines your afterlife." The green reptile-like creature that had been sitting on her left shoulder morphed into a shade of red that matched her dress.

"A choice? Why me?" He processed her words, considering them with slow thought. "Why am I a special case?"

"When you had been alive, you were an amiable boy. Your kindness almost never wavered, even during the most dire of situations. You've even sacrificed yourself for the greater good, for the sake of your own sister. A pure soul is one that defines a unique one. Therefore, as a unique soul, I will be giving you two options. Are you prepared to listen to them?"

Felix nodded after a moment's hesitation. "What are they?"

"You can either enter the realm of Heaven and wait to be reborn again, like any other regular spirit." Eva paused. "Or you could become an angel."

"An angel? I don't - I don't know." A stammer was caught in his words. Everything was being crammed into his skull so fast that Felix struggled to maintain it all. His mind was twisting and churning with conflicted emotions. His demise was already difficult enough to comprehend.

"I'm not forcing you to pick a particular alternative," Eva said. "This is your choice. If you are still indecisive, however, then I have one tip for you. In order to adapt to changes, you must be like a chameleon." She gestured to the reptile-like creature on her shoulder. The chameleon crawled down her arm and jumped on her open palm. Its red scales transformed into a light yellow that matched Felix's hair color. "You must be flexible. You must bend around your changes or grow accustomed to them."

After letting the wise words sink in, Felix stared at the chameleon, recognition flickering across his face. "Oh. I've been wondering what it was."

"Foolish spirit," Eva remarked, with a roll of her eyes. "Have you honestly never seen a chameleon before? And my chameleon is a him."

"Only on the Internet." Felix scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, we're getting off topic here."

"I am guilty of doing the same. I tend to stray off subject with every conversation I hold with a spirit. Spirits often bear intriguing lives." Eva let the chameleon dive into her bushy hair, much to Felix's surprise. "If you choose to live in the realm of Heaven before being reborn again, you are welcomed to. Being reborn grants you the chance to start over again. If you choose to bear the responsibility of becoming one of the Underworld's angels, however, then you will never become mortal again. You will be assigned hard work and training in order to deliver justice for the afterlife. You will be responsible for functioning the realm of Heaven, your very being will become significant, and sometimes you are required to revisit this mortal world for missions. Angels visit this world almost as much as reapers would."

Felix took a long moment to consume her explanation. "If I'm reborn, it means that I'll forget everything in my past life, doesn't it?"

He didn't want that. He didn't want to forget his old life. He couldn't let it go, he refused to. Not now and not yet.

Especially Rebecca.

A wave of dread churned inside his stomach. He would never see her again.

"It appears that you are in serious consideration," Eva said, eying him with a raised brow.

Felix nodded. An idea sprouted in his mind, bearing a seed of hope. "If I become an angel, is it possible to see someone who's important to me again?" He was doing it. He was considering it.

"The person won't be able to see you." Eva's face didn't budge with a reaction as she spoke in a matter-of-fact manner. "As an angel, you will not be able to come into the vision of any mortals. You will be able to see them, but they will not see you."

"That's all that matters." A surge of longing ached his chest. Tears trickled near the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill. "I just want to see her again."

"Are you certain about your choice, spirit?"

Felix nodded, the tears gliding down his cheeks now. "I will become an angel. For her."

"Then I, Eva the Red Reaper, shall grant you with your choice." She smiled. "May death wish you good luck, Felix Phasire." With that, Eva touched Felix's forehead with her fingertips. Lights embraced his vision, blinding him.

Then, they were gone.