The Reaper

“Come on!” Jessica grabbed my arm, pulling me onto the play-space with her. We squealed as a kid stopped his counting and yelled “The Floor Is LAVA!!” He started chasing all the other kids around as Jessica and I hid in a slide, laughing. “Shh! We can’t get caught!” I said through a fit of giggles. Kids screamed as the lava monster climbed up the stairs towards us. “Aah!! Go, go, quick!” I said pushing Jessica down the slide. “Aah!! He’s right behind you!!” Just before the boy could me into a lava monster like him I slid down, knocking Jessica over and falling on the wood chips. “Run!” I grabbed her wrist and ran towards our favorite tree. She climbed up pulling me with her until we were in the highest branches, giggling and trying to catch our breath. 

“Mia?”

“Yeah?”

“We’ll always be friends, right?”

“Right.”

...

The lock clicks as I open the door into my house, carrying three different bags. “There’s my sixteen year old prodigy!” My mom says, as she washes a fork in our small kitchen, her long, dark blonde hair in a tight bun. “How was school?” she asks. “Classic Friday.” I answer, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “How are you?” I hang up my backpack on a coat hook near the door.

“Pretty good, but that lady from your school keeps calling.” she says with a sigh. “Ugh, she doesn’t quit.” I give her a solemn look. “Guess what Jessica said to me.” “What happened?” she says in her sweet voice. I pull off my shoes and put them under my backpack. “She called me the D word again and then her boyfriend punched me in the arm. Look.” I lift up my sleeve to reveal a big black and blue mark. “That is not okay, hon! Did you try your counselor again?” “She said that I should ‘stand up for myself and tell them to stop bullying me.’ I told her that Jake punched me and she said that I shouldn’t make up lies about self-harm and that her son would never do that.”

“That’s not fair” She pushes in the top rack of the dishwasher and pulls out the bottom. “Should I try to get through to them again?” “No. Ms. Banks will just try harder if we do that.”

“Pfft. Are you sure you don’t want to go to private school?” She gives me a solemn look. “I’ve told you, it’s fine. Private school is too expensive, anyway.” “We could make it work. I just don’t want this to happen to you anymore,”

“It’s fine.” I say, she looks skeptical so I quickly say, “I got an A in latin today.” “That’s awesome!” I drag the bags over to the table for dinner; it’s a tradition for me to pick up food after school and bring it home. “Hey, mom?” I ask bringing the heavy bags into the dining room, “Yes?” she asks as I look at our tall, high chair table, wondering how the heck I’ll be able to drag the bag through the room of ceramics, onto the chair, and-finally-push it onto the table. “How do you feel about Chinese food?” I ask as I finally getting the bag onto the nice, wooden table, in the green dining room, “Ooooh, yum!” She answers.

After dinner, which was delicious, I go upstairs to go to bed, as all people do, but as I drift off to sleep, I hear a whisper, it sounds a little angry, but, hoarse, like the person saying it was screaming before. “Don’t free the cat, black as midnight! Don’t free the creature bound in chains! Don’t take the Reaper! It must die! He’s fated to kill! Kill! KILL!!!”

“AHHHHHH!!!”

I wake up screaming. “What is it honey?!?” My mom asks as she comes running into my attic bedroom, which I choose to sleep in, by the way. “Nothing mom, just, thought I heard a ghost,” I say as I try to calm down my hyper ventilating. “Uh, honey, ghosts aren’t real.” she says plainly. We stare at each other. Then we both burst out laughing. As I clear tears from my eyes my mom asks, “Ready to go see Mr. B?” “Obvi!” I say in an excited but sassy voice, gesturing to my pajamas.

She chuckles, “Ok then, meet me downstairs in twenty minutes, O gracias queen PJs.” “Oh, thank you, O great mother.” I say in the best straight faced British accent I can muster. After I get dressed into some jean shorts and a pink crop top I go down stairs and smell the instantly recognisable smell of…

“Waffles!!!” I yell with a smile on my face. “Yes, ‘Waffles!!!’” My mom says mockingly, “Hey! You know how much I love them!” I say, but I smile. After breakfast we run outside to the car. It’s a tradition that every Saturday we work at the pet store. My mom helps people and I look for lost animals and make sure that the ones we have are happy and safe.

“We’re here!” A large sign up front says, “ALL ANIMALS DESERVE A HOME.” showing a picture of the store’s self-appointed mascot, Curiosity. Curiosity is a long haired calico mix. She is very sassy. The petstore specializes in dis-figured animals. Pets that have been in accidents, ran away, or were just born different.

A bell rings sweetly as I open the door to the pet shop. “Hello Jen. Hello Mia. Good morning.” The pet store owner, Mr. Brown, says with a cup of coffee in one hand, a mewling kitten in the other. “Hey Mr. B! Who’s that? How’s Lily doing?! Did she deliver?! Are they cute?!” I ask intensely, mom looks at me, as if asking “Who’s Lily? What are you talking about?”

I know she has a huge crush on Mr. Brown, so I have to keep her anxiety down about him getting remarried. “He he! You ask so many questions, I bet that someday you’re going to be one of those detectives, interviewing people, figuring out who did the crime! Yes, she delivered, the puppies are adorable, ready for adoption. Do you want one?” I look and my mom’s face changes from “I’ve got no chance!” to “Don’t. You. Dare.” “No Mr. B, just usual work,” I say.

A boy about my age appears from the backroom, carrying a small, homemade cat bed. “Dad, I just finished sewing Curiosity’s new bed.” He has thick black hair that just covers his eyes, giving him an emo look. “Hi, Seth!” I say, giving a small wave. He seems to just notice me and my mom, saying a quiet “Hi, Mia. H-hi, Miss. Lopez.”

“Ready for today’s jobs?” Mr. B grabs a clipboard. “Yup!” I say, buzzing with excitement. “Jen, you’re with the dogs. Seth you’re with the cats, make sure that they are all playing. And Mia, looks like you’re on lost pet duty.”

“Awsome!” I love lost pet duty. I run around town, looking for pets and I bring them back here for people to claim. I also collect lost pet posters, in case we find one.

“See you in an hour!” I run out the door towards the road near the woods. I walk along the side of the road for a little bit, just behind the trees so no one sees me. I find a small little gecko on the side of the road, it’s tail missing and the stump bloodied. “Oh, you poor thing.” I sit with it, reaching my hand out slowly. It flicks it’s tongue out, licking my hand. It quickly skitters up my arm, sitting on my shoulder. “You are so cute!” I scratch it’s little chin, and it closes it’s eyes.

I move towards the more urban part of town, where the alleyways are dark and long. I peek behind an old restaurant and hear a quiet whimper. “Hello?” I slowly walk into the alley, edging towards the dumpster at the end. The lizard on my shoulder licks the air. Suddenly a big dog jumps out, growling. A German shepherd, ready to attack, teeth bared, ears pulled back, hackles raised. It stalks closer, growling louder. But I notice something. A limp. Scars and open wounds. A bad eye. I sit down again, regaining my composure. I reach out towards it. It backs away slightly. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you?” A say in a calm, even tone. “You’re just hurt and scared.” He walks closer to me, sniffing. He flinches as I raise my hand, but calms down as I pet his back. He sits with me, tail slowly moving back and forth. I sit with him until he’s ready to follow me.

Me, the lizard, and the dog walk together along a small path in the woods. Sometimes when we find an injured wild animal, Mr. Brown can help. I found an opossum once that was ready to deliver her babies, but was hurt. I brought her to Mr. Brown and he was able to help her. Sometimes I see her and her babies near my house. Usually eating from our bird feeder! But they’re too cute to stay mad at.

Along the trail I find a dead bunny. The dog sniffs at it and I have to pull him away. Next to the bunny is a bush. It shakes softly. I peek inside. Under the bush are two baby bunnies! I recognize the dead bunny as my neighbor’s, fully white coat except for a black ear and a black foot. “You two must be so lonely! Here, I’ll bring you home.” I grab them carefully and hold them in my shirt, keeping them warm.

Me and my parade of animals walk back to the petstore. “What do you have there?” Seth asks softly. “Two baby bunnies, one lizard, and one big dog.” I pass him the bunnies. Seth has always been better with small animals. “Dad! Lizard!” Mr. Brown comes over from near the back of the store, “Oh! A gecko! And a young one, too! I’ll get you settled little buddy. Oh! Bunnies?” He notices the two little balls of fluff, both cream with dark brown spots. “Yeah, ’found them near the body of my neighbor’s rabbit. We’ll have to see how the rabbit escaped and whether the owners will be suitable to take care of Marshmallow and S’mores.” I pet the little balls of fuzz with two fingers, their bodies warm and soft. “You already named them?” My mom walks in too, her hair in a tight pony-tail. “Yep! And this is Captain.” I gesture to the german shepherd. He wags his tail politely.

“I’m gonna go get lunch, do you guys want anything?” Ask as I grab the door handle. I get mixed replies of “No, thanks” and “Not right now, thank you”. I open the door, the bell dinging as I leave. I walk to a small cafe and grab a muffin and some water. As I walk back I see two boys from my school and a black cat with one blue eye and one yellow one. I stop and stare as a horrible scene unfolds. One boy offers the cat the last bit of something inside a glass jar. The cat sniffs it tentatively, then sticks its nose inside, licking the food. The boy pushes the jar over the cat’s head, trapping it inside. The other boy then ties up the cat in a simple silver chain from the fake jewelry store down the street. The first boy laughs. “Haha, little freak.” The second boy high-fives the first. “That’s what chu get, cat!” I run over to them, blocking their path. “Hey! What is your problem?!” “Ha! Freak cat and freaky girl!” The first boy laughs. I punch him in the nose, making a sickening CRACK! He starts to bleed. “What the hell?!” The second boy backs away as the first clutches his nose. I kick the second in the shins, then, I kick him square between the thighs. “That’s what you get! Now run before I get hungry.” They both run away, screaming. “Bastards,” I mutter under my breath. I turn to the cat who seems to have trouble breathing. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out!” I raise the jar with the cat’s head in it and smash it onto the pavement, letting the cat breathe. Next I try to untangle the chain. It bites me and yowls. “Ow! I’m trying to help you!” Suddenly the cat is free and it runs away. “You’re welcome!” I yell after it.

I walk back to the petstore, thinking about the cat. Suddenly a small black figure jumps out in front of me, meowing urgently. “It’s you!” The cat sits in front of me, licking a paw and pulling it over an ear. It then lifts a leg, licking it daintily. “So you are a boy..” I say, staring at him. He puts his leg down and stares up at me. He meows again, sounding impatient. He starts walking towards the pet store, tail high. “I guess we’re going to the same place.” We walk together until we reach the pet store and the cat sits right down in front of the door, as if waiting for me to open it. As soon as I do he walks in like he owns the place, not minding Captain or Curiosity as they stare at him. He jumps up onto the counter and meows. “Uh, Mom?” My mom yells from the back, “Yes, hon?” “I think I have a cat..” “What are you talking about?” She walks over from the backroom, staring at the cat and I. “He led me here. I think he might be mine.” As if to prove a point, he jumps into my arms, purring quietly. “Um.. Okay! John!” Mr. B walks over, wiping his hands with a towel. “Yep?” “We want to get this cat.” She gestures to the cat in my arms, his eyes closed and his posture relaxed. “Okay. You need to sign a little bit of paper work then come tomorrow to get a collar, but that’s pretty much it. I’ll send you home with a litter box and some litter.” “How much?” My mom asks, pulling out her wallet. “For all you two do around here, free.” “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I say, spinning around.

On the way home I look into his eyes, wondering about his life. Where was he from? What was he doing in there? What’s with his eyes? Questions race through my head, but when we get home, one booms and I put it into words. “What’s your name, little buddy?” I look around my room. “You know… I remember having a weird, old book…” I look around, flipping over piles of dirty laundry. “And now, of course, I’ve lost it. This always seems to happen to me.” I chuckle to myself as the cat starts making biscuits on my bed. He meows and I look up from my search. He’s got his claw stuck on my blanket. Of course. I gently grab his paw and he looks like I just offended him and his ancestors with this action of good will. I finally shimmy his claw free and he gives me a side eye as he keeps making biscuits on the spot. “What are you doing, you little weirdo?” I say playfully. I lift the blanket and grab the item he keeps pawing at and I look at the book cover. Creatures That Fiddle With Death is written in a fancy gold script. “Welp, I guess you found it.” I open to a random page and flip through the other pages until the cat puts his paw onto one. The Grim Reaper is written in a very similar font as the title. “That’s what I’ll call you, Reaper.” He starts purring. “My little Reaper,” I whisper as I fall asleep.