The Girl that Became A Reaper

“Wake up, Mister!”

A child’s voice echoed through my head.

“Hellooo? Wake up, sleepy head!”

There was something oddly familiar about the voice, it wasn’t someone I knew personally, so who was it? A sharp pain began to form on the left side of my body and I instantaneously opened my eyes. I looked to my left and noticed a scythe lodged into my body.

“Oh good! You’re awake!”

I turned to the voice and a little girl with short white hair and a black cloak was standing on top of me, grinning.

“I thought you would have stayed in limbo for another few years.”

The girl quickly grabbed the scythe and pulled it out of my aged body. With it, a small gush of white liquid flowed out of my body.

“Oh right, sorry about that! I forgot you ghosts are still alive, ironically.”

She then jumped off my body and placed her hand onto my wound, reanimating the flesh.

“Wait, did you say that I was a ghost?” I frantically questioned.

“Why, of course, you big goof!” She said amiably

“For how long?”

“For about 2 years.”

“2 Years?!” I shouted.

The girl nodded sheepishly.

“It was pretty funny the way you died, you fell down some stairs and broke your neck! Unfortunate for your family though, they really are missing you.”

As she released her hand from body, I sat up from my seat and looked around. The place was empty, like a dark stage with only one spotlight. I turned my attention to the girl giving her a questioning gaze. The girl recognized my gaze and answered.

“Oh! I almost forgot! My name is Susie, and I’ll be your guardian reaper for the rest of your eternal life!”

I looked at her from head to toe and gave her a doubtful look.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, how can a child fit such big shoes, blah, blah, blah. Well, not to brag but you are my 1078th soul to be reaped, so rest assured, I have quite the experience.”

My gaze did not break and Susie retaliated to my doubt.

“Hey! All the souls that I’ve reaped are satisfied with the service I give them, don’t belittle me!”

I turned away from her and sighed deeply, I was going to have to deal with her for the rest of eternity. Susie, with a pout on her face, started walking away from me, signalling me to follow her. I stood up and realised that the scythe she was holding was as tall as me. Susie then walked into the empty space and started to disappear. Not wanting to be left behind, I frantically chased after her. As I was running into it, a blinding light engulfed my vision, stopping me in my tracks. As the light faded away, I was transported into a dark cinema with no one in it except for Susie. Her scythe was rested neatly on the seat beside her, as if it was watching the screen. In Susie’s hands was a bucket of popcorn, and on her seat was a drink. Before I had the chance to say anything, the screen became illuminated with the title “The Best Moments of My life”, followed by “Directed by Sean Kembal”. I looked at the screen, dumbfounded, why was my name on the screen?

“This movie over here has been created by you, Sean. Every person that has died will be shown their favourite memories encased inside your head and onto the screen, it is a way to remember the things you had found enjoyable when you were still alive.” Susie explained robotically.

“Sadly, not everyone has as many happy memories as you.”

I began walking towards the seats and chose one beside the tall scythe. The movie started off with the very first time I received a present. It was an action figure that I begged my parents to buy for my birthday. I was 6 years old at that time.

“You were such a cute child back then, weren’t you, always innocent and always playing.”

I took a quick look at her, she was still enjoying her popcorn.

The next scene came along quickly, it was the time when I finally was able to ride a bike. It was a moment like no other.

“You kept trying and trying, never giving up on that dumb bike.” Susie said chuckling.

I looked at her again, how did she know about it?

Another scene came along, this time it was fast forwarded to my college days when I had met my wife for the first time, Caroline. The scene went on to the times we spent with each other and eventually our marriage.

“She was the apple of your eye, and you wouldn’t take your eyes off her, such a sweet guy you are.”

I looked at her once more, dumbfounded, she couldn’t have known, she couldn’t have been there, could she?

Then, the final scene came, the happiest moments had come, my children that I had watched growing up, becoming the people that they wanted to be, me achieving my dreams that I’ve wanted ever since college, the magical adventures I had experienced with my families for years and years, and they were gone, locked away in my mind. The screen went back to its original state, blank. Right after it was done, Susie stood up from her seat and carried her scythe with her. She didn’t say anything about it. I stood up and called after her.

“Wait, Susie, how did you know about those moments? I didn’t see you at all.”

Susie turned back and gave a sad smile.

“Sean, you were a great friend back then, and I have enjoyed watching you live your life.”

I was taken aback. Who was she?

Susie retracted her gaze and quietly walked to the exit door, disappearing from sight. I followed her and fell into a black void that seemed like there was no end. Eventually, I landed into a forest filled with dead trees, and in it was the reaper, Susie, waiting patiently. As she noticed that I had arrived, she swung her scythe into the air and reaped a wound in the space above. Susie walked to my side and sat down with me. Then, she held her finger to her mouth, telling me to keep silent. Moments later, a hologram like human appeared out of the scar. That human resembled me as a child. Another human came out of the scar, it was a little girl that sorely resembled Susie. The hole collapsed and brought forth a field that replaced the forest. The girl was bruised and running away from an adult man. The child me was chasing the man. The man had grabbed the girl and she struggled to break free. However, this allowed me to catch him and hit him, trying to get him to let go . The man realised that hurting the girl in front of me would tarnish his reputation, so he let go of the girl and shoved me away. I fell to the ground as the girl ran to me, frightened. I stood up, defending her against the giant. As I’ve realised that the man would no longer harm her, I turned to her.

“Susie, did he hurt you?”

Susie nodded unwillingly.

I looked at Susie, she was dead silent huddled at her station, I turned back and saw the child Susie rubbing her eyes

I then brought her back to my old home and my mother patched her bruises up. My mother decided to call the police on that man but Susie ran up to her skirt, begging her not to. My mother looked at her with pity and confusion, eventually she placed the phone down. I, however, would not take any of this and exclaimed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from him!”

Susie turned to me, her eyes welled up as she hung her head and sobbed. The holograms disappeared, and I was astonished. I had finally remembered. This reaper was my childhood friend, Susie.

“When you had told me that, I was so happy. I was so happy that someone was there for me, that someone would care for me.”

The holograms reappeared, this time of us playing with each other and having fun.

“You were the sole reason that I had any happiness in my life, the way you smiled, the way you would play with me everyday, it was the happiest time of my life.”

The reaper sniffled and sobbed lightly. The holograms shapeshifted into a funeral, and I was standing with my parents and the class that I had been with during kindergarten.

“Unfortunately, that time would have come to an end. The abuse was too much for me to handle.”

I walked up to the hologram and peered into the casket in front of me. It was Susie, lying there peacefully. In sudden clarity, I turned back to Susie who was silent, while her tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I attended your funeral. I remember now, your father he-”

Then a woman stepped out of one of the seats, sobbing uncontrollably, and walked to the casket.

“This was the first time my mother had appeared in my life. My poor mother witnessing her child’s funeral.”

She began kneeling beside the casket and broke out wailing, cursing herself. The holograms dispersed into mist, never to be seen again.

“No one else would have come here with me.”

She stood up and swung her scythe once more, a door way of light appeared behind her.

“This place was called, the Woods of Sadness. Where your saddest moments would be replayed here.”

She started walking towards me.

“When you were close to death, I begged the Grim Reaper to put you under my care, even though my area of expertise was for children. Knowing that I had memories with you, he wouldn’t allow me, but eventually he gave me permission.”

I looked to my hands and feet, I was growing shorter and younger.

“When you had arrived, I was happy that I could finally meet you again, but you wouldn’t wake up. So, I waited and waited.”

The shrinking had stopped and I had reverted back into my child state.

“And finally, after 2 years of waiting, you had finally awakened, but you couldn’t recognise me, and I felt sad.”

Susie was in front of me now, eyes red with loneliness.

“You couldn’t remember me, Sean.”

My heart stopped beating and was enveloped with guilt. She hugged me and started crying.

“I felt so alone in here, Sean, I had no one to comfort me.”

I held her close. The friend that I had lost 60 years ago, was in my arms, wailing. The friend that I swore to protect, but never could. This trip down memory hadn’t been about me all along. The child wept her heart out, pouring all her pent-up emotions on to me as I accepted them.

“Susie, I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you. You were gone too soon…”

Susie calmed down and broke away from my embrace, flashing a warm smile at my direction. With a snap of her fingers Susie began growing as I felt myself growing too. I was beginning to feel energized, like when I was in my prime.

“While I’m here, I promise that I’ll bring back the time we had lost with each other.”

Susie hung her head, smiling to herself. Susie brought her attention back to me and muttered to herself.

“Thank you, Sean.”

The growing Susie became a beautiful woman, unlike any that I’ve seen and held her hand, inviting me to join her. I accepted it confidently and was pulled into the doorway of light. On the other side, we fell from the skies and was headed straight for the clouds. Susie grew angel-like wings, lifting me up from the fall. The girl that was lost in time, had now been an angel, gathering lost children like herself into this haven. Now like any lost-child, she wishes to live out a life different than hers, and I was willing to fulfil that. The angel brought me to a majestic kingdom in the clouds and said,

“Welcome home, Sean.”