The Grim Reaper's Girl

The Power

The Grim Reaper had finished telling his story, when Mindy touched him on the arm.

It was as if a cool wave of water washed over him on a hot day. Her hand felt warm and cool at the same time - and from it, the crushing weight of his memories were alleviated. 

The bleakness and pain that he had felt - it was there, but now it wasn't. He could remember the pain he felt a moment ago, but it no longer hurt, as if time had already dulled the grief and hurt. 

He looked up and stared at Mindy, confused. He could see that Mindy only wanted to provided comfort, but she was doing something more. She was... creating acceptance.

Mindy's look of compassion changed to concern when she saw the look on the Grim Reaper's face change from sorrow to relief. 

The Grim Reaper, now clear minded, stood up straight and examined Mindy's face and thoughts. There was nothing extraordinary in her thoughts, apart from her emphatic wish to comfort him. Yet somehow, she had taken the pain out of him. He felt better than he had, since forever - it was as if an eternity of unknown pain had been removed and in its place, acceptance. 

"You've taken my pain away. How?" He asked. 

Mindy's face now changed to a look of puzzlement. "What do you mean?" 

He gestured at her hand still on his arm. "My pain, it's gone. I still remember everything, but it doesn't hurt anymore."

Mindy removed her hand and stared at it. She had not intended to do anything with her hand, but now that he mentioned it, the Grim Reaper was right. She could somehow sense the pain that the Grim Reaper had is now gone. Her ordinary hand was just that - ordinary. There was nothing special about it, or her, was there?

The Grim Reaper felt awakened. There was clearly something different about Mindy, even though she didn't feel like it. Was this an after-effect from entering the light? After all, he had also got his powers after he escaped from the light. Or maybe she had this power all along, and the light just helped awaken it. 

He remembered the same happening in the dungeon with the soul of the boy - Alex Morgan. She had touched him, and without any other interference, the soul had suddenly become accepting of his fate and allowed Mindy to bring him into the light. 

A rush of excitement went through him. He had thought that meeting Mindy was a random event, not being able to deliver her soul was a blip in his schedule, and her empathy and positivity was an irregular but possible part of nature. What if it wasn't? What if all these was planned, and Mindy was supposed to be here?

Come to think of it, she had also teleported not once, but twice. The first time, out of the light to him. The second time, she teleported them both into the valley.

He looked at Mindy again and asked, "Want to try that again?"

Mindy's bemused expression turned into one of slight surprise. A hesitant smile overcame her face and she nodded, curious to explore what appeared to be a new power. 

The Grim Reaper returned the smile and said, "Think of a soul. Any soul."

Mindy had no idea what to think, so she just focused on the word 'soul'. 

The world flashed before their eyes, and they reached a quiet, narrow alley. It was nighttime, and the alley was dark, the only light source being a street lamp far from the alley. 

The Grim Reaper turned towards Mindy. Mindy looked back at him, confused. The Grim Reaper could hear Mindy's thoughts - she thought that he had been the one who teleported them to the alley, but in actual fact, she was the one who did it. 

He had just confirmed the small suspicion he had since the first time Mindy teleported to him,  and it was time to tell her the truth. Before they dealt with this soul.

There was a man lying on the ground, hand grasping his side, in a weak attempt to hold in blood that was trickling out at an alarming rate from his abdomen. His wallet, emptied of all cash, was lying on the ground nearby. It seemed the stabbing had already been quite a while ago, and the Grim Reaper could sense the soul's cause of death - loss of blood.

The Grim Reaper turned towards Mindy and gestured towards the man. "Can you feel him?"

Mindy's confusion deepened, but she looked at the man, and suddenly gasped. "Holy crap! His... his name is Allan Thorn, and he's dying of blood loss! How did I know that?"

The Grim Reaper smiled at Mindy. "You are a Reaper too. You teleported us here, you can take away pain from souls and bring them into the light, and you can use empathy to connect with all the souls in the world."

Mindy stared at him, at a loss for words. The Grim Reaper heard her think, this has to be a joke, right? 

He thought back at her - No Mindy, and I'm guessing you can hear the thoughts of souls too. 

Mindy's eyes grew even bigger together with the incredulity she felt. She couldn't believe it, but at the same time, now that the Grim Reaper has made her aware, she could feel the power in her, as natural as breathing. It was as though a veil had been lifted from her eyes, and she suddenly found that she had new limbs that she could use all along.

The feeling was incredible. She could feel souls, countless souls, stretching all the way across the world. She could even feel them across time, sense their feelings and hear their thoughts. It was an absurdly marvelous sense.

The man on the ground groaned again, and then laid still. 

The Grim Reaper looked at Mindy and nodded towards the soul that was slowly taking form. "Go ahead."

Mindy took a couple of steps towards the soul, then stopped and turned back. "Do I have to say the same spiel as you? The 'I'm here to help' and all?" It's just such an archaic thing to say, her mind added involuntarily. 

The Grim Reaper suppressed an urge to smile, and simply raised his eyebrows. "You do your thing."

The soul, now fully formed, was staring at his body, unable to believe what had happened to him. It was just a mugging, I gave him my money, why did he still do this to me? Mindy could hear his every thought and felt a twinge of melancholy for him. Life was such a precious thing, but could be taken away so easily and randomly. 

She bent down to meet the soul at eye level. The soul, suddenly aware that there were others in the alley, raised his head to look at them. The sorrowful look on his face gave way to hope, as he realised that the two people in the alley could perhaps help save him. "Please, can you help me? I don't want to die!" He begged, grasping Mindy's arm. 

Mindy raised her hand tentatively and placed it over his. "I'm truly sorry, Allan, I can't revive you. But I can help you move on, if you'd allow me." 

As she finished her sentence, she felt something pass through her hand into the soul. It was as though her words, intentions and comfort were made tangible and sent into the soul via her touch. 

The soul's pained, pleading look changed to one of sad consolation and resignation. He nodded, accepting his fate.

Mindy felt relieved. She wasn't sure how this would work, and she wasn't certain she had the strength, or even the power, to show souls their worst memories. Giving them comfort, however, seemed to be something she could do that also had the same effect as the Grim Reaper, allowing them to move on.

Mindy helped the soul to his feet, and looked around. The light had formed in a doorway a few steps away, its white light appearing warm and welcoming compared to the desolate scene in the alley.

She led the soul into the light, then stepped back and returned to the Grim Reaper, who gave her an encouraging nod. Good job, he thought at her.

"Now what?" Mindy asked.

The Grim Reaper contemplated. Indeed. Now what?