The Grim Reaper's Girl

The Light

Mindy's heart hammered in her chest. Or what felt like a heart. Did she have a beating heart now that she's dead? Hmm, something else to file away in the Ask the Reaper file. 

Holding the hand of the girl, she took one last glance backwards at the Grim Reaper, and then stepped through into the light.

For a brief moment, she was blinded. The light was everywhere - closing her eyes didn't help much. She tried grasping tighter at the girl's hand but found that the girl was no longer by her side. She was alone.

Slowly and with a bit of effort, she opened her eyes to sneak a peak at her surroundings. 

The space was white and pure, without a single other soul in sight. Mindy immediately felt at peace - it was a feeling she never experienced before. All of her past worries, thoughts and feelings simply didn't seem to matter anymore, now that she was here surrounded by the warm light. The light filled up every nook and crevice so that even she couldn't see past a few steps ahead of her.

Was this heaven? She wondered.

Mindy was euphoric and in bliss - there was something about the place that made her feel more at peace than she'd ever been before. It was nothing specific - not the light, not the silence, not even her body which felt weightless ever since she opened her eyes. She was aware that she didn't even need to breathe, and all she had to do is stand and exist for ecstasy to wash over her.

Mindy stood for what felt like a minute. Her whole body swayed slowly to the tune of an imaginary tune and she savoured every move and the way the light played around her.

Slowly, she lifted her hand and stared at it, tracing each line on her palm with her other hand, relishing the feeling of her own touch. I wonder what the Grim Reaper would think if he could feel this, she thought. 

Wait... the Grim Reaper. 

Something gnawed at her mind. There was something she was supposed to do, and it felt important. But, in this place, nothing was important any more. The only thing she had to do, or was expected to do, was to stand and feel joy, wasn't it?

She fought to forget the unpleasant nagging feeling that threatened her peace - it was easy, especially when eternal happiness was around her, waiting to be bathed in. 

The face of the Grim Reaper suddenly flashed into her mind, interrupting the smooth flow of rapture she was basking in. His slight furrowed brow, his unmoving jaw, and that look of haunting sadness she saw a few times when he was admiring landscapes.

The fog in Mindy's mind started to dissipate. All of a sudden, she didn't feel as happy as she did a second ago. It was a horrible feeling, and all Mindy wanted was to get back the euphoria she felt, but the Grim Reaper's face lingered in her mind.

I promised to go back... to him, Mindy remembered.

It took all the willpower she had to focus and ignore the feelings of joy that was keeping her in the light, and look behind her for the exit back to the woods. 

However, the exit was no longer there. In its place was light, and more light. 

All remaining feelings of paradise evaporated from Mindy and was replaced by panic. What had happened? How did she completely forget about the Grim Reaper? How long had she been standing there?

Mindy blinked twice, hoping that the door would magically appear in front of her, but to no avail. Her dismay was now growing - the light had no longer seemed warm and welcoming, but cold and confining. 

Mindy closed her eyes and all she could think of was the Grim Reaper. How she wanted to see him again. What his voice sounded like, deep and mysterious. And most of all, how his hand felt on her shoulder, strong and reassuring. 

The light disappeared from behind her closed eyelids and was replaced by a darkness. 

Mindy opened her eyes, surprised to find that the light had disappeared. It was replaced by a familiar valley, surrounded by trees and a nearby pool with a small waterfall - wait, wasn't this the valley where she... died?

The Grim Reaper was standing in his usual pose, hands folded behind his back, considering the waterfall. His face was an inscrutable mask devoid of emotion, but his eyes held the same melancholy gaze that made Mindy's heart wrench.

He suddenly turned around and his gaze found Mindy.

"Where have you been?" In a few quick strides, he reached Mindy. His hand came halfway up to grasp her shoulder, then he hesitated, and lowered his arm.

Mindy smiled. This was the most emotion she had seen the Grim Reaper express so far, and it was gratifying to know that he cared at all about her, a tiny soul in the entire world.

"I was in the light for like a minute, and then the door disappeared," she started to explain. The Grim Reaper's brow settled into a slight furrow, but he nodded to prompt her to continue.

"The light was super peaceful but I think it was brainwashing me or something. I completely forgot why I was there, and the girl disappeared, and I totally couldn't focus. Then I remembered you and suddenly I was here." 

The Grim Reaper's gaze intensified for a moment, his expression becoming more serious if possible. "Think of the light," his voice barely above a whisper.

Mindy thought back to the moment she entered the light, and suddenly the Grim Reaper was there beside her. However, this time she was aware that she was not in the light, but more like her memory of the light now included the Grim Reaper. 

The memory of the light now showed the Grim Reaper looking around, assessing the white space, trying to see past the light. She also saw herself, glassy-eyed, staring into nothing, swaying left and right, with a distracted smile on her face. God, was this what she had been doing? Kill me, kill me now. 

The Grim Reaper seemed to be unable to find any clues in the memory, and gave up. The both of them exited the memory and were back on firm ground in the valley.

The Grim Reaper turned to look at Mindy again. "You had been gone for seven days," he intoned. 

Seven days? That's not possible. She was in the light a few minutes, an hour tops. Mindy's mind raced to retrace her steps, but nothing extraordinary about the time she spent there came back to her. She stared at the Grim Reaper's face, hoping to find clues or an answer, but failed.

"Huh. Weird. I guess that's one way to spend eternity," she replied, hoping to ease the tension with her light tone. 

The Grim Reaper straightened back up and his face reverted back into its default emotionless expression. 

"Let's go."