To Be Normal

A loud, piercing alarm sounded throughout the apartment, jolting you from your sleep. You sat up quickly, looking around the room with blurry eyes. It took a moment for you to realize it was the sound of your roommate’s alarm.

You rubbed the back of your head in frustration, glancing toward his side of the room. He wasn’t in the room, and his bed had been made already. Why the hell did he even use an alarm? He was always up hours before it went off.

Throwing the covers back, you marched over to the clock on his bedside table, smacking your hand on it harder than was necessary. As badly as you wanted to climb back into bed, you could feel your body coming alive as sleep left your system and you knew it would be pointless to try.

You headed out into the living room, prepared to give your roommate a piece of your mind. What you saw made you take pause, blinking dumbly. Were you still dreaming?

Gary was in the kitchen, humming softly as he leaned over a tray of cupcakes. In his boney hand was an icing bag filled with blue icing - his favorite color. He was a tall, thin man with stringy black hair that reached his shoulders. His skin was sunken and pale, resembling leather that had been stretched too far in an attempt to fit. Deep bags sat beneath pitch black eyes.

“What the hell are you doing?”

He jumped in surprise, nearly dropping the bag onto the floor. He scowled at you, one hand on his hip. “How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me?” He had a British accent, his voice deep and cheery.

You rolled your eyes, tugging open the fridge to grab the milk. “How many times have I told you not to set an alarm that you don’t even need? I was having such a nice dream, too...”

“Another taco dream?” he guessed with a snicker, returning to his task.

“You know it.” You poured some milk into a coffee cup, leaning your hip against the counter. “Do I want to know why you’re decorating cupcakes at five in the morning?”

“They’re for the Autumn festival!” he replied, excitement clear in his voice. “They’re having a baking contest and first place gets tickets for two to see the newest Halloweenville movie! I’ve been so excited to see it since it was first announced but then it got pushed back because of covid and then again because of financial issues. Ugh, I just want to see it and now I have the chance to see it first!”

You stared at him blankly, tired brain processing his words. “Gary...”

“The director swears it’s going to be the spookiest movie of the year and you know me, I’m hard to scare. Well, unless it’s by you sneaking up on me. You’re quite terrifying for a human, you know.”

“Oi.”

“I do love a good scare, but most horror movies these days are absolutely terrible. They’re far too predictable and the characters do the dumbest things. How can I possibly be scared if I’m too busy laughing? I mean, really -”

“Hey, Jackass!”

He scowled at you disapprovingly. “There’s no need to be rude.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose in annoyance. ‘It’s way too early for this shit.’ “You seem to be forgetting an important detail.”

“Oh?” His brow furrowed in confusion, eyes glancing at the cupcakes. “Oh, the sprinkles! Good call.”

“No, idiot. You should be at work, not baking cupcakes for some festival.”

Gary paused, his cheery disposition slipping into one of sadness. His shoulders slumped as he set the jar of sprinkles on the counter, lips tugged downward. “I just want to be normal...”

“You’re a grim reaper, you don’t really get to live a normal life,” you replied softly, resting your hand on his shoulder. “Normal is overrated, though.”

He slowly lifted his head, eyes shimmering with sadness.

“You’re a grim reaper, Gary! How many people can say that, hm?”

His brow furrowed in thought for a moment. “5,328 currently.”

You blinked at him dumbly. “Wait, are you for real? There’s that many?”

“Of course. There are over 7 billion people on this Earth. We’re actually quite understaffed currently...” He sighed, pulling the apron over his head and tossing it onto the counter. “Which means I shouldn’t be wasting time decorating cupcakes...”

“At the very least, you don’t want to get lectured by McBeth again. That guy is brutal.”

“You have no idea.” He suppressed a shiver at the thought before holding out his hand. A scythe materialized out of thin air, resting snuggly against his palm. “I’ll be off, then.”

“Can you bring home tacos?” you asked him hopefully, earning a chuckle.

“Yes, of course. Stay out of trouble, my dear roommate.” Gary offered you a smile before disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

You glanced at the cupcakes. Only half of them had been decorated, but he did an amazing job. Instead of the usual orange and brown leaves, he had created navy and teal ones atop an orange background. For someone whose job it is to reap souls, he’s quite talented with baking.

“Well, I’m no expert, but...” you placed the apron over your head before picking up the icing bag. “I’ll do my best for you, Gary.”