Reaper - The Curse

|Twenty-four|

June 16th, 2015
Fairview Mental health-care facility
Fairview, Pennsylvania

"I'm here to see Norman Morrison. I'm his son." His announcement was met with dead stares from the young man seated on behind the receptionist desk and the older female nurse standing behind him.

"Well, this is a first," the grey-haired nurse pulled a slip of paper from the young man's hand, "Mr. Morrison never has visitors. I'm sure he will be so pleased to see you. Follow me; I'll take you to him." She walked into the first opening to the right, and Neil stayed close behind.

The one time he visited was the day after his father moved in. Neil had always assumed he did it because of the stress of his wife committing suicide. The ramblings he received when he asked his father about it were unbelievable. He couldn't bare to watch his father become all consumed by his madness, so he back away. There were no phone calls or letters. It was dead air between the two. Maybe now it would all make sense.

The woman walked down a long hallway, passing closed doors with names and numbers on the outside. The last entry to the left was where she stopped, "This is his room. He's been a quiet and respectful patient through his whole stay from what I've heard." She knocked hard twice and then opened the door, "Norman. You have a visitor."

The room had a musty smell, not a lot of movements and minimal cleaning would do that to a place. Even after the nurses' loud announcement, Norman stayed in his rocking chair, swaying with a tap of his foot.

"Dad, it's Neil."

There was no sign that Norman heard anything, Neil moved closer and took a seat across from him. He looked over the man he thought was his father. His pale and wrinkled skin, telltale signs of the stress he lived with, and it's deteriorating effects upon his body.

Even with Neil sat in front of him, Norm still stared out into the bushes and trees outside his window. He didn't flinch at the arrival of people. He had given up.

"Mr. Morrison, your son, is here to see you," the older nurse stated abrasively, next to Norman's ear. She waved to Neil and left the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

"Dad, I need to talk to you. Please don't be mad at me for not speaking to you. However, it all makes sense now, everything. The reaper you were talking about, and mom's note and —,," Neil took a deep breath and rubbed his face, "I'm sorry I didn't listen. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to speak to me. You didn't deserve to be ignored. I'm sorry, dad." Neil's eyes burst with tears, and he returned his hands to cover his face.

Maybe coming here was a mistake. What if his father stayed silent? How would he stop the curse by himself? Neil's felt something on his shoulder. He looked up from his hands to see his father's lost smile beaming at him.

"There is no need to be sorry, son. You did what you thought was right at the time." He rubbed Neil's shoulder and moved closer in his chair, "There is still time. You are protected for the moment. We will get together tomorrow to discuss everything in detail. I'm just so happy to see you." Norman stood and pulled his son to his feet to give him a big hug, "Evil can wait one more day."