Grim

Chapter Six

When the time finally came I went to my office to check my agenda. A 34-year-old woman, cancer. I called both hospitals, assuming she was an inpatient. I then looked for her over social media and discovered she had refused treatment when she was diagnosed a year ago. I easily found her address through photos posted online and made my way to her house.

I knocked on the door and a little boy holding a cat answered the door. I felt my heart flutter. She had a son?

"Hi there, my name is Vea Harris, I'm with the animal shelter." He smiled excitedly and called out for his mom. A few seconds later a woman in a wheelchair came to the door. When she saw me she came outside and closed the door.

"Look lady, I don't have money so if that's what you're looking for I suggest you get the hell out of here." She wasn't a very patient woman.

"My name is Vea Harris. I'm very sorry to inform you your life has come to an end. I'm here to help." I watched the realization come to her face that I was a Reaper. She began shaking her head.

"No, that can't be true. I'm not ready yet, I—my son." A tear ran down her cheek. "No. You can't have my soul. Get lost." She opened the door and went back inside.

I told myself there was nothing I wanted more than to help this woman move on. That there was nothing more important, and suddenly I found myself standing in front of her. "Finally!" I exclaimed out loud.

"Oh my... how did you? Never mind. Get out of my house now or I will phone the police." She grabbed a phone off of a table beside her.

"Please ma'am. Is there someone that you want to call to watch your son? You have until midnight tonight." I looked in her eyes, my face had never been more serious.

"I really can't get out of this can I?" She lowered her face and put the phone down. "My husband will be home in an hour. Give me some time with my son?" She looked up at me, crying. I nodded and left her house.

***

I sat in my car and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I thought of how crazy the past few days had been and how all this conflict with Kellen made reaping seem so normal. I reached out to rest my hand on the steering wheel, only I couldn't move. In the back of my mind I heard a record player, and I knew immediately what had happened. I had fallen asleep.

I opened my eyes and saw that I was in what appeared to be a dining room. I stood up and walked around the corner to the living room, where the father and a Lucy danced, record player in the corner.

She was getting older, but the man was still alive which meant she couldn't die soon, because Kellen reaped her soul.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder I spun around, startled. It was Lucy's mother. "You scared me. Why are you still here? I'm sorry that sounded rude, I meant why haven't you moved on yet."

"I never got to hold her. I never got to hold my baby girl." The woman started crying, and I placed my hand on her shoulder. "She's so beautiful, don't you think? She'll make a fine wife one day." I felt my lip quiver. She would have made a fine wife one day.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here. I don't want to interfere anymore than I already have." I began to panic, as I didn't actually know how to leave. As I panicked the lights started flickering, and then it went black.

***

"Vea? Vea!? Can you hear me? You have to wake up!" Kellen? I opened my eyes, I sat in the front seat of my car, leaning on the steering wheel. "Vea! It's almost midnight! You haven't claimed your reap?" My reap?

...

My reap! I sat up and opened the car door, knocking Kellen over. "Sorry Kellen!" I ran up the woman's walkway and quietly knocked on her door. It didn't open. I closed my eyes and tried to jump, when I opened them I was inside, looking at my client asleep in a chair.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" I gently shook her shoulder and she woke up. "It's time." I waited for her to gain consciousness before locking eye contact. "My name is Vea Harris, I'm here to help you." I placed my hand on her chest and began extracting her soul. Tears began to fall from both myself and my client.

"Thank you, Vea Harris. For giving me time with my son. You're a kind soul." And with that, she closed her tired eyes for the last time.