Grim

Death is a natural thing. It’s part of what people call “The Circle of Life”, yet they can’t seem to grasp  the idea of dying. I know it’s a hard concept, “Where do I go after?”, “Does heaven exist?”, “Are spirits real?”, these are common questions I encounter everyday. Apart from all the hate humans give me, they are curious creatures.

I’m the Grim Reaper, yes the black cloaked, scythe wielding, “image of death”, but I’m actually a friendly guy. Sometimes, even lonely… I’m often mistaken as an evil being, but I’m just doing my job. People blame me for the death of their loved ones, I just collect souls, darling, and lead them to the afterlife. But hey, “that’s life”, at least that’s what the humans say…

On the day I had to pick up another soul, I patiently waited outside the human’s hospital room. He was saying his final prayers and final good byes to his family. The old man jokingly said, “I already see him waiting outside by the window.” He laughed. As his children cried, He gave each of them a hug. This is taking too long. I check my watch and look at the checklist.

“C’mon Sir, I don’t have all day.”

He smiled and looked at himself. “Thank you for sparing me some time.”

“You still have anything holding you back?”

“No.” As we walk outside I urged him to sit on a bench and have a final look at the world before he goes. He looks up and sees the sky again. He begins to cry, because it’ so blue, the sky. It fills him with happiness because he’d forgotten how it looked like. The man was blind, you see. He got into an accident a few years back and lost his sight. I was there. It wasn’t his time back then, but he was able to see me. He gave me a warm smile as if to say he was ready. But life pulled him back, so I waited.

“I’m ready.” I walk beside him and take him to a bridge.

“This is as far as I can go. Walk straight from here and you will see the light, from there that’s the path you follow.” An angel hands him a white gardenia as he walks towards the afterlife.

“Hey, Grim! How’s life treatin’ ya?”, She giggles.

“Oh! Beat me to the punch huh? Well… I have a couple more souls to guide today and-” I spot something behind the trees peeping at me and the angel. I squint my eyes and lower down. “Well, what do we have here…”