The Grim Reaper's Girl

The Forgotten Reaper

Similar to the last time, Mindy felt the soul's hand disappear as soon as she stepped into the light. She also felt peace and joy fill her to the brim and threaten to take over her senses, but this time she was prepared for it. 

The Grim Reaper's presence in her mind also helped a great deal - she could feel him right beside her, like a watchful guardian angel. Their combined resolve allowed Mindy to take full control of her senses and focus on their mission.

The Grim Reaper encouraged Mindy to go deeper into the light by simply thinking of it. Communication was much easier when his mind was melded with hers - his thoughts were now hers, and vice versa. 

Mindy walked straight ahead - the white light surrounded her from all directions, so it made no difference which way she took. 

As she walked, the Grim Reaper extended his senses and tried to find something, anything, that could give them a clue where they were and what the light was. However, no matter what he tried, the light seemed to dampen his mind and senses so that they couldn't sense anything other than the light.

A faint memory, however, slowly returned to the Grim Reaper. The way the light made him feel, the overpowering joy and euphoria, and the way the blanket of happiness tried to push his thoughts deep under and tuck them away to a corner. Yes, he had been here before, he was sure of it.

Mindy sent a mental encouragement to the Grim Reaper. She could sense something fighting its way to the forefront of her/his mind, the feeling similar to how you know you've forgot something important and can nearly picture it. 

A few minutes passed, and Mindy started to feel bored. Whilst the Grim Reaper was still trying to sense his way into his forgotten memories, she started to think of what the light could possibly be. 

It was obvious the light separated each soul as they walked into it, so each soul could have their own 'dimensional light' space. The light was also responsible for making souls feel inexplicable joy, so much so that they forgot where they were and what they were doing. Mindy suppressed a shudder as she remembered the last time she was in the light and almost gave in to it completely. 

The Grim Reaper seemed to become aware of Mindy's train of thought, and added, it is possible the light was responsible for wiping memories and feelings except joy while the souls were stuck in their version of the light. It would be like heaven to them, as they would only be aware of eternal euphoria, forever. That is, until they move on to the next phase of their existence. 

The thought of being a brain-dead zombie until they were released to an unknown elsewhere sent a shiver through Mindy. She had almost came this close to being trapped, had it not been for the Grim Reaper.

A memory suddenly flashed in the Grim Reaper's mind - a memory of himself, walking around in the light, dazed, looking for a way out. He was wearing a simple tunic made of coarse wool, and looked... human. 

Both Mindy and the Grim Reaper were stunned at the memory. Was the Grim Reaper a human? 

As they both thought this, more forgotten memories began to surface.

The Grim Reaper saw his human self enter the light, but immediately turning back and trying to find the doorway again. Realizing the doorway back to his world was missing, his human self started yelling a name. What was the name? He couldn't recall. 

The memory continued to play out the events - the Grim Reaper's human self was in despair. Clearly, whoever he was looking for was important to him, and he wanted to go back to the world to find them. However, the light had begun to affect him, and his face started to assume a calm and dazed look. A small smile had started to form, and he stood still, letting the euphoria wash over him. 

This went on for a while, until Mindy and the Grim Reaper both felt the human version of the Grim Reaper recall a face. They could sense that the face was important to the human, but they couldn't see its features. 

The Grim Reaper's human self suddenly came to his senses. The way he felt about the person who he had pictured was evidently strong enough that it cut through the delirium and snapped him to his senses. He suddenly disappeared from the light, and the memory ended there for both Mindy and the Grim Reaper.

Mindy could feel the Grim Reaper's disquieting thoughts. 

He had been a human, had entered the light once, and had somehow escaped from it. Why couldn't he remember all these? Who was the person that was so important to him? And finally, what did all these mean?

Mindy started to empathize with the Grim Reaper. It felt as though he had had his entire world pulled out from under him, and what he thought he knew no longer held true. 

The Grim Reaper saw Mindy's thoughts and hurriedly swept his thoughts aside. Whatever this was could wait till they were out of the light.

Mindy could hear the Grim Reaper's intentions to exit the light. She recalled the steps she took the last time she was in the light, and she concentrated for a moment, picturing the valley with the waterfall, the valley where she died. The light dissolved and Mindy and the Grim Reaper both appeared in the valley, thankfully in separate bodies now.

"Are you alright? What was that?" Mindy asked.

A disconcerted expression overtook the Grim Reaper's features. He opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated. It was hard to form the words to explain himself, now that he could remember parts of his old life.

"I was a human. It was a millennia ago, and I had a wife, a son. A family. We were being chased, by bad people."

The Grim Reaper paused, and look upwards at the mountain cliff where Mindy had fallen from, his expression sorrowful.

"We were chased there, and that's where I... we fell. I didn't know I died, and I must have wanted to find my wife and son."

He stopped, and looked at the ground, his face shrouded in darkness by the hood. Without looking at him, Mindy could feel this was taking a huge emotional toil on the usually emotionless Grim Reaper. 

This must have been the reason why he had always looked at beautiful landscapes and tall views with such heartbreak in his eyes, even though he didn't know why himself. He wasn't appreciating the view - he was mourning it. 

"I'm sorry. Do you want to stop?" She asked. She would rather not find out the truth, than to see him suffer through what appeared to be his worst memory in life.

The Grim Reaper shook his head and continued. 

"I cannot remember my wife and son's faces or names. The light must have taken these memories from me. When I escaped from the light, I must have been confused and over time, I must have thought that I needed to send souls into the light.

"As time went by, I found that I could sense souls in different time periods, and can go to the moment of their death by thinking of them. I could sense more than their feelings, I could bring their memories to the surface and walk them into the light. But, I was afraid of the light because of what it did to me, and could only bring the souls to the light, but never go beyond myself."

The Grim Reaper stopped here and looked at Mindy's face. His face was streaked with tears, tortured eyes conveying anguish of the family he had lost and cannot remember. 

Mindy didn't know what to say. What could you say to someone who couldn't remember his lost family and found out that he spent eternity doing something that was born out of his amnesia?

She stepped forward and touched his arm, trying to convey the thoughts she couldn't express in words through touch.

And the Grim Reaper gasped.