An Inconvenient Attachment

Chapter One

Leland looked at his surroundings. He was in a long room with paintings covering the tall walls. The arched ceiling itself was a work of art with paintings of different gods. Despite having never been in any room similar to it Leland couldn't help but feel at home. That's when he spotted a woman in the room with him. She looked away from the painting she was looking at and smiled at him.

"Hi You must be Leland," she said walking towards him. "Hi, my name is Meira. I'll be your guide for today." Meira appeared to be in her early thirties with long black hair and a stylish suit with a long blue lanyard with a tag identifying her as staff. She gave off a welcoming aura that made him want to trust her immediately.

"Uh yeah but where am I?"

"You're here in the Timeline display where you will learn all about two groups of supernatural beings Grim Reapers and Witches"

"Grim Reapers and Witches?"

"Correct now if you notice our ceiling has many depictions of different Gods and or Goddesses from around the world." Leland looked up to see the ceiling; it had paintings of a God or Gods of one religion and shifted on to another. The ceiling seemed to continue morphing, changing from one religion to another.

"That is because all religions are right at the same time. You see the world is made up of many realities overlapping seamlessly your religion determines which reality you belong to."

"Is this real?" Leland asked.

"If you believe in it. There are only two exceptions to this universal rule, Grim Reapers, and Witches."

"Why?"

"Well, what is the job of a Grim Reaper?"

"Isn't it to collect your soul after you die?"

"Kind of Grim Reapers and Witches are just their generalized term. They are beings that guide you to your afterlife. Grim Reapers would take you to a holy place while Witches would take you to the damned places of your religion. If you have no religion either one can collect your soul they merely take you to what you believe happens after death."

"Why do we need them to guide us, why can't we go on our own?"

"Well, the path to the afterlife no matter your beliefs is paved with the horrors of your life. Regrets, hatred, pain you have to face these things to move on. They manifest as demonic like beings you have to overcome to reach your afterlife. That's incredibly hard for someone to face alone so Grim Reapers and Witches fight with you and depending on your age for you. Come look at these paintings."

Meira led him to a massive painting of a family. In the center an old man sitting on what appeared to be a bronze throne. Next to him appeared to be six kids his age all wearing the same navy blue uniform with a golden S on their left chest. Boys on the left and girls on the right all of them sharing a signature trait, red eyes. One particular boy caught his eye. He was slightly shorter than the rest, his hair was dark black contrasted with the two blonde boys next to him. There was something about that boy that Leland couldn't shake off something pulled and intrigued him.

"That's my family," Meira explained. "They are the Grim Reapers, the man in the center is the leader of the entire clan and the children around him are his grandchildren. The actual family is significantly bigger than any portrait could ever fit."

"Who's that?" Leland asked, pointing at the black-haired boy.

"That's my son. He's the reason you and I are here."

"What?" How?"

"I'll explain that later. We're running out of time and I have to explain to you the history of the family. Every Grim Reaper in the world is part of a single-family with many branches. They all report to the head of the family the man in the middle. Grim Reapers and Witches are technically immortal beings the only way they can die is if they are killed. The majority choose to be killed once they feel like it is their time. Follow me."

Meira led him to another painting across the one they were previously looking at. This painting was much larger and had ten children five with a woman who appeared to be in her forties in the center. Leland immediately recognized one of the girls in the picture. It was a girl in his class, Madeline.

"This is the Witch family. Like Grim Reapers all the Witches in the world all come from a single-family. Now, Leland, you must recognize that while Grim Reapers send people to holy places and Witches send people to damned places this does not mean All Grim Reapers are good and All Witches are evil. None is superior to the other and neither can exist to the other. Previously there had been tensions between families but that is all over now. Now everyone recognizes that neither can function without the other; it took a plague to teach us that."

"I know one of the girls in this portrait. She's in my class." Leland pointed out

Meira shrugged, "Witches are everywhere. We're almost out of time. I need you to promise me you'll come back tomorrow. You must promise."

"Where even am I? How do I get here"

"Promise me" Meira repeated in a more urgent tone

"I promise?"

Leland opened his eyes. He didn't even remember closing them. He looked around in his surroundings. It was morning and still in his bed.

"That was a weird dream," he whispered to himself as he got up and got ready for school.