Tears of the Grim Reaper

Human Leakage

The Man
He stood beside her, his trench coat and her attire standing out amongst the crowd. She stared at the menu, scrutinizing every detail, and questioning what the names meant. He should be annoyed, as they have been standing there for almost twenty minutes, but he was bothered by what she had mentioned earlier. Was his future really headed towards disaster?

"Sir, please tell your daughter to hurry up," the cashier said. "There are others in line waiting behind you two." The young teenage employee tapped her manicure nails (or claws) on the side of her screen in annoyance. He held back his tongue from spitting out nasty insults.

The man looked down at the Grim Reaper and asked, "What the hell do you want?"

She remained silent, her mask hiding any facial expressions, but he could tell she didn't know. So he ordered a four-piece chicken nugget Happy Meal, with a small Coke and seasonal mandarin. The latest toy for girls was a Beeenie Baby. The man ordered the Big Mac meal. As he and the girl left the line, he heard the sighs of relief from the others in line.

This kid is wasting my time, he thought. If only I could...

"If only you could what?" The girl asked.

"None of your business, cheeky brat." He mumbled without much venom.

Someone called out their number, and placed a paper bag and a red box on the counter. The man checked his order, making sure they hadn't robbed him of anything. He thruster the red box to the girl, who took it and held it carefully. They sat down in the play place and began to open their lunches. The man watched the girl open her box and take out another smaller box that held her chicken nuggets. He was curious as to how she would eat her food with that mask on.

She didn't eat. She appeared to be waiting for him to stop staring. He sighed angrily and turned away.

Memory 3
The man remembers when he used to buy his daughter Happy Meals. She loved eating her nuggets with barbecue sauce and her fries. Though she tended to out up a minor fit against the apples, his daughter would finish everything before opening her toy.

About a week before she disappeared, the man had brought her a Happy Meal, as well as two meal combos for him and his wife, though he doesn't remember what the meals were. What he does remember is daughter's room.

After they had finished eating, his wife and his daughter had gone outside to play while the man headed towards the bathroom. The bathroom was located in front of the girl's room, so before entering, he caught a glimpse of something move I in her room.

Instead of checking what it was, he quickly took care of his business and returned to the dining area. He cleaned the table and gathered the trash before deciding to head back to his daughter's room. He crept slowly towards the dark room. Chills ran down his spine as he neared it. The man wanted believed he was simply overreacting, that there wasn't anything in there, but his instincts said otherwise.

Whatever was in there knew he was coming. The man could feel its eyes burning into him. The feeling he got was like smoke wrapping around him, suffocating him and jumbling his mind.

"Who's there?" He whispered. "Is anyone there?"

Nothing responded. The man scanned his child's room, under the bed and inside the closet. No one was there. Perhaps he had imagined it.

Something was here, his instincts screamed. I bet it's still here!

But the man found nothing.
-----
"Wake up, slayer," the girl ordered. " I have finished my food."

A paper ball hit his cheek, snapping him out of his trip down memory lane. He looked at her trash and her bear. How long was he out of it?

"What did you think of the food?" He asked as her began he to eat his own lunch. It was a bit cold.

"I was satisfied. The packaging was rather delightful," she said. "Do humans eat this everyday?"

He snickered. "If they did, no one would fit in the seats."

They sat in silence for a few minutes as he quickly finished eating. Then they walked out and he waited for what would be next. She cleared her throat and asked, "Where do you live?"

He pointed down the street to their left. "Not far from here. Conveniently located where most demons congregate, though it's no five star hotel."

"Then I want to go there." She skipped down the sidewalk and said, "Lead the way, slayer."

As he watched her skip, he felt something warm inside of him spread throughout his chest. Somehing about her lack of judgement reminded him of his daughter. She always did what she felt would be fun, without a care in the world. The last time he felt something like that was before he lost everything, but he had forgotten what is was called. The memory of the sinister thing in his daughter's room returned, and he felt regret for not having believed in the unnatural. But the thoughts dissolved when he focused back on the Reaper.

Now he could believe that she was a little girl.