The Reaper

When I first saw her I didn’t even really see her, just the pile of books she was carrying. Of course she didn’t see me though. They never do. I make sure of that. Honestly, it’s the best and worst part of being a reaper; being able to choose when I want people to see or hear me. The fact that I’m dead is just that: a fact. My name is Jasper. I’m a reaper and not The Reaper, just one of the many dead guys that helps reap souls. We’re not all guys though, there are some girls. Mostly guys since we seem to die a lot more often than girls. I should be starting my senior year in high school and worrying about girls and where I’m gonna go to college but instead I’m worried about catching my next appointment. I absolutely love my job and my life. Completely. Don’t hate it at all.

I used to be a pretty typical kid. I lived with my mom and dad who were high school sweethearts. I had a little sister who was 6 when I died. Her name is Ellyott. Cute kid really. She was the one thing that seemed good even after I died. Life is just a bunch of bullshit anyways but honestly I miss it. I say ‘died’ a lot. I mean, I did die because I’m definitely no longer alive; dead is what I am. I just didn’t say how I died. I was murdered. Murdered in my own house while babysitting my little sister. At least I protected her. Ellyott is almost 9 now. She lives happily with Mom and Dad. They moved about a year after I was murdered. Not that I blame them of course; I wouldn’t want to live in the same house where my teenage son was brutally stabbed and raise a kid there. They live in Denver now. Real nice place. I check in on them occasionally even though it’s technically against the rules. You’re not supposed to have any contact or connection with your living family. Failure to follow this results in being erased. Apparently it’s a big deal to spend the rest of eternity as a reaper. I’m honored. Really. The boss acts like he doesn’t notice me checking in on my family. I think, in a sense, he relates to me but he’s been dead for over a hundred years now. Now is one of those times when I’m busy checking on Ellyott and Mom and Dad that I almost forget that I’m dead. I do that when I’m with them. They’re so alive that it’s hard to not feel it. Anyways, like I said, I didn’t really see her at first. Just a short pair of jean-clad legs and a mountain of books. Ellyott’s new babysitter that Mom talked about last week. The thought floats through my head until the girl drops the books on the counter. Holy shit. I haven’t seen a girl like that ever. I swear I felt my heart beat for a second. She’s short but in a cute short girl kinda way, not midget short. She had shoulder length autumn leaf colored hair that curled in random directions but looked like it’d be soft to the touch. I’ve never wanted to touch someone’s hair before. What is wrong with me? I must have made a noise because she turned around near where I was; her soft mouth in a round O.

“Ellyott? Was that you?” The girl asked in a soft feminine voice.

“I am right here,” Ellyott draws as she climbs down the stairs slowly.

“What’s wrong sweet girl?” The girl asks; her beautiful face scrunches into an expression of concern.

“Nothin’.”

“Come on, Elly. You can trust me. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

Ellyott looks slightly perturbed by this for a second but she is entirely too trusting and changes her mind easily. Here she goes. Three…, two…,

“Okay. Fine. I had one of Jasper’s favorite stuffed animals but now it is lost.”

Now that causes me to physically take a step back. I’ve been dead almost three years. How in the hell did she hide this? And how-after years of checking in on them- did I not notice? She’s so smart, that sister of mine. I miss making her giggle that sweet baby laugh. I was the one who got her to give her very first belly laugh. Mom teased me about it for weeks. Sarcastic, hardass Jasper did something as crazy as riding a laundry basket down a flight of stairs just to make his baby sister laugh. I never regretted it. Even when Mom teased me about it.

“Jasper?” The girl’s voice jolted me out of my inner rambling.

“He’s my brother.”

“Oh? Oh. I’m sorry, honey, but don’t you mean was? He...passed away, right? I’m sorry to bring it up I..”

“No. I mean is. He is my brother. I know he died. That doesn’t mean he isn’t here right now.”

“Of course. I apologize that I doubted that.”

I was taken aback at that moment. And Ellyott looked right where I was standing! Wow. Kids have quite the imagination. Ellyott wandered off upstairs, her dark pigtails bobbing up and down as she hopped up the stairs. I followed her out of curiosity. She had never been that grown up with anyone before, least of all someone she barely knew. When I floated- hovered, walked, invisibly gallivanted or whatever you want to call it- around the corner, Ellyott was sitting on the edge of the bed. Her head tilted upwards, almost like she heard me enter the room but of course that wasn’t possible.

“Hi.”

I glanced back to the doorway to see if the pretty babysitter had come up without me noticing. No one else was there.

“Jasper, I know you’re here. I’m not stupid,” said Ellyott with obvious frustration written on her face.

I stayed silent and invisible. Mostly from shock. In three years, she had cried and grieved but never has she called for me or acted like I was there with her. I always wondered if maybe she just didn’t remember me.

“Jasper. Now. I know you’re invisible. You can make it change so do it. We have a lot to talk about and the quicker you stop being a brat the better.”

Unsure as of what else to do and with a quick prayer to whoever the hell is upstairs, I made myself visible to my sister for the first time since I was alive.

“Ellyott.” I say to her, half a sound of joy and half a question. How did she know? Why now? What the hell is happening? I’m full of questions but my little sister just walks over and shuts her bedroom door. She freezes with her back turned to me.

“Elly?”

All the sudden my short dark-haired little sister launches herself at me and grips me so tight that if I was alive I wouldn’t have been able to breathe. She hugged me like she was afraid I would disappear again. To be entirely honest, I hugged her right back. You don’t really realize that a random hug could be your last. I learned that three years and I wasn’t about to take it for granted now. As much as I would have loved to hug my sister for hours, there were questions I needed answered. Being a reaper doesn’t have very many rules but doing your job and making sure no one sees you is a quick way to get you erased.

“Elly, what is all this about? How did you know? Do you understand that I could get..’

“You’re not gonna get erased Jas, and I’ve known for about two weeks now that you’ve been not quite as dead as we thought. Though I wasn’t going to let you know until I realized what exactly having you around to help me entailed.”

“Help you with what? You’re 9 years old for God Sake. When did you grow up so much? Two weeks ago? What the fuck is going on?” Okay, I realize at this point I was getting quite loud but I was too angry, scared and confused to care.

“Elly! Is everything okay?” The babysitter knocked on the door of Ellyott’s room and I instantly became invisible. Ellyott glared at me in the typical sister-like way and opened the door to reveal the pretty babysitter. The babysitter- I really need to get a name so I can stop calling her that- stood at the doorway with a book in her hand. I’m starting to think the book thing is typical. She’s in skinny jeans that hug her wide hips and a white sweater that looks a bit too big. Her converse are a bit scuffed and dirty; obviously they’re a favorite pair. Her hair frames her face in small spiral curls that aren’t nice enough to be curled with an iron but look natural. Her skin is pale and unblemished and her eyes are dark; surrounded by long dark lashes and look wide and lovely. Her pink lips are formed into a concerned grimace yet again as my sister opens the door and faces her.

“I’m okay, Charlie. It was just the T.V.”

I take that as my cue and silently turn the T.V. on. Charlie. I finally have a name for her and for some reason, it suits her really well. Charlie smiles and looks only slightly reassured.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been kinda off lately.”

Ellyott glances back at me for a split second and turns the volume on the television up before she says, “Yeah, it’s just getting close to the three year mark and it feels different than I thought it would.”

Charlie walked over and gave my sister a warm hug. She told her dinner was in an hour and headed downstairs after another hug. Ellyott closed the door again and turned to me.

“You’re not going to get erased, and I know it sounds kind of crazy but I can read your mind, and we have to be smart about safety because your killer? He’s coming back to do it again. He’s gonna finish me off this time. We have to catch your killer before he kills me too,” Ellyott finished in such a rush that it was almost impossible to understand what she was talking about. So I took a few minutes to respond.

“You can read my mind? Figuratively or literally?”

“Literally. I know you’re thinking- what the hell is going on because I’m not sure if I should make the obvious comment that I’m dead so she shouldn’t be talking to me let alone reading my mind.”

“That’s fine. I’m not freaked out at all. I’m just a dead boy talking to my little sister who can read my mind. That’s just a typical Tuesday.”

“Not just your mind. All minds. I know that Mom and Dad are worried about me and Charlie wants to help but doesn’t know how.”

“Okay. So you can read minds. You’re talking to your dead brother so I think I win the freakpool. Now what about my killer? And do you know who it is?”

She glances around for a second as if listening to something. Maybe someone.

“Dinner is almost done. Charlie is wondering if she should come up and get me or not. In all seriousness, I don’t know your killer. I just know that someone has been thinking about the night you were murdered and that they never meant to kill you. It was me they were after though I’m not sure why. We have to solve your murder and find out who did this to you. Or I’ll be the next dead child. For some reason, I absolutely do not want to be a reaper so I’m not sure where I’d go if he kills me. All I know for certain is that someone wants us dead and they’re around constantly. I can hear their thoughts but I can never tie it back to one specific person. It’s almost like they’re shielded from me.”

Hey, I may be a hardass but I’m in shock from this overload of bad news, so I stay silent until Elly hugs me and heads downstairs for dinner. I manage to glance at the watch on my wrist. Shit. It’s 6:17. I have 13 minutes till my appointment. I get up, take a step in Ellyott’s room and the next step I’m at the hospital. I’m a reaper. So guess what I get the pleasure of doing? Ding ding ding. Give the man a prize. Yeah, I collect the souls of whoever is supposed to die. My ‘appointment’ is the time of death. Everyone has a time when they’re supposed to go. It’s all on a masterlist. Each reaper is in charge of a section of a town or city and you’re given your portion of the list. Maybe this list comes from God. I’m not really sure though. I never see who gets the masterlist before us and I only ever see my part of the list. Never ever try to change the list. I heard about a reaper who tried to save a baby in the NICU because they couldn’t handle taking that life. The mom died instead and the baby died a month later, the original time that the mom was scheduled to die. A life for a life has never rang more true. You don’t try to cheat death. I, being a rookie, work in a hospital but I don’t work in the emergency room or anything interesting. I mostly work with old people. Your typical death is a stroke. Or maybe their bodies just give out from old age but eventually, death becomes as familiar as brushing your teeth every morning. Old people deaths are boring. I had gotten a gunshot victim one time and it was quite thrilling. I walk into the hospital room without being seen. Jude, my 6:30, was a bitchy old lady so no one is in the room with her when her heart monitor screeches out a single, long sound as her heart stops beating. I used to feel sorry for these people but now, it’s the norm. Death? I am death. I’m just not really sure what comes after that. I go to the office, which is an office. There are cubicles and computers but it’s rather dark and gloomy. It’s like an episode of the Office except everyone is depressed and it’s dark outside all the time. I take my soul and put it in what looks like a mail chute. It shoots down to a room where it will be judged and sorted before being sent off to wherever it goes. I grab my list for next week and head back to Mom and Dad’s house. I live a very exciting life. I have no need for food or sleep. I don’t go hang out with Reaper friends if that’s what you’re thinking. I spend my eternity killing people and watching my family live their lives. Really exciting. Obviously. One of the other great joys of being a reaper? It kills your love life! I was a little bit of a lady killer- no pun intended- when I was alive. The girls liked me and I liked them. I didn’t usually have a steady girlfriend but I didn’t sleep with every girl who looked hot either. Nowadays, I see a hot girl and think about how lucky she is to be alive. Since most reapers are guys, there’s not many hot girls that are exactly available. I lift my foot up and down in one step and I’m back in Ellyott’s room. Ellyott doesn’t seem shocked when I appear next to her.

“I thought maybe you’d be gone longer,” Ellyott says with a look that I can’t quite decipher.

Why are girls so complicated?

“Because if we were shallow and easy to read, we’d be men.”

“Really? I thought maybe it was because you had to overthink everything,” I retort.

“Yeah, we do. And stop thinking dumb questions. No, Charlie is not one of the hot bimbos you like so much. She’s intelligent and has higher standards than you.”

“Dammit, Elly.” I can’t help but smile though. This is exactly the kind of sibling argument that I thought I would never get the chance to have.

“Me either.”

Ellyott gave me a soft smile that looked more sad than happy. I decided that I would never take my sister for granted again.

“Come on. We can talk about Operation Find My Murder tomorrow. For now, let’s get you tucked in.”

She complied easily and immediately got under the covers as I tucked her in. We turned the T.V. onto one of those tween shows she loves so much and I laid next to her but on top of the covers so she could pull them up to her chin. I watched as she fell asleep after taking a deep breath. I looked down at my own, unmoving chest and sighed. As nice as it is to be with the living, it also makes you feel more dead than when you’re surrounded by other dead people. Charlie opens the door and I vanish from sight. She comes in, turns the nightlight in and the T.V. off and leans over to kiss Elly’s forehead. When she starts to straighten up again, she stops and looks right where I’m laying. Of course she can’t see me, but she can see the butt shaped imprint on the blanket. Shit, I forgot to make myself not able to touch objects on this plane. That’s how I ‘disappear’. I just exist in a different plane. You can’t see me because I’m not in your world anymore. Charlie stares at the imprint I made with fierce curiosity written on her face. Maybe she thinks there’s a ghost. That’s actually pretty typical.

“Not….ghost. Just….you. Her….dad….reaper,” Ellyott mutters in her sleep.

Of course she reads minds in her sleep too. Perfect. Just perfect.

“Dad?” Charlie asks. “Dad, what are you doing here? I thought you were looking for the guy who was after her?”

Immediately I make myself visible.

“Explain. Now.”

Charlie sputters for a second. Not shocked by seeing a reaper but the fact that I’m not her dad. Damn. Guess I’m just breaking the rules today. Hopefully the boss doesn’t find out.

“You’re….Jasper?”

“Yes. I’m Jasper. I’m dead and a reaper. Shocking. And you’re Charlie. Babysitter of my lovely baby sister and the one who is about to explain everything she knows before she has to deal with an extremely pissed off reaper.”

I can see how I was a bit of an ass during this, but in my defense, I was on edge since she knew someone was going to hurt my sister and wasn’t shocked by a reaper. Apparently, my threat pissed her off. I saw something spark in her eyes and her lips set into a firm line.

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that. You want my help catching your killer and saving your sister? You better watch it. I have no idea who you think you are but guess what? Important is not it.”

Yet again I find myself smiling. This girl is apparently more than just a pretty face. She has a fire in her that I haven’t seen before in anyone.

“Jasper,” she growled in a low tone.

It silenced my inner rambling. Obviously I’m very good at paying attention. I looked at Charlie and saw that in her ranting about me being an ass, a curl had slowly slide it’s way down in front of her eyes. Without thinking, I reached down and tucked the loose, golden curl behind her ear. Her cheeks turned bright red in spots and I jerked my hand back like I had been burned. Jesus Christ, Jasper. You don’t want to be even more of a freak.

“Your dad is a reaper.”

It wasn’t a question but she answered me anyways.

“Yes. He died when I was three. Drunk driver hit him. I guess he didn’t want me to grow up without any parent so he hung around even though he shouldn’t have.”

“Any parents?”

“Yeah, my grandparents raised me. My mom died giving birth to me. My grandparents aren’t exactly the warm and fuzzy type so I didn’t really have anyone. Dad showed up when I was about 10 and has been around for the last 8 years.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

There was that awkward silence that’s always there when someone mentions death. I don’t do awkward though. Or silent.

“What does your dad have to do with my death and my sister?”