Meeting the Grim Reaper
Zoya Chaudhry
My name is Sienna Miller. I’m sixteen years old. Pretty normal, right? You couldn’t be more wrong.
It all started that one night. I was choking, gasping for air. My parents heard my frantic panic attack and immediately took me to the hospital. I had been diagnosed with an extreme case of cancer. Sure, they treated me with all the medicines, telling my parents everything would be okay but I knew better. I knew I was dying. Nothing could stop that.
Or so I thought.
When I thought I was going to black out for the very last time, something happened. When I opened my eyes, I saw a boy my age, standing only a few metres away from me. He had scruffy black hair and enchanting, emerald-green eyes. When I say enchanting, I don’t mean dreamy. I literally mean enchanting. When I looked into his eyes, I saw my entire life passing by, just like that. I saw myself with two twin daughters and a baby in a chair, watching them grow up and me growing old.
At first, I thought it was just a dream but then I looked around. I was in a white, empty room.
Who was this guy? Where was I? I thought.
‘Name’s Jackson Renalds. You’re in the Underworld,’ he suddenly said, making me jump.
‘Uh, Sienna Miller,’ I replied, feeling pretty stupid.
‘Yes, I know. I’m the Grim Reaper.’
‘The what-now?’ I said, looking at him with an ‘are you nuts?’ look.
‘Grim Reaper. I manage all of the souls that pass through here,’ he explained.
‘Okaaay… You’re crazy. I’m dreaming so I’m going to close my eyes and count to ten and I’ll wake up in my bedroom,’ I said. ‘1…2…3…4…5!’
Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Jackson again, smirking at me. This was definitely not my bedroom. Which meant-
‘You’re not dreaming,’ he said.
‘Great. So why am I here?’ I asked.
‘Well, because you’re not going to die today.’
‘Um, what?’ I asked.
‘Every human has a certain lifespan. You haven’t reached your peak of death yet.’
‘So, does everyone come here when they don’t die?’ I enquired.
‘No, only Grim Reapers can come here.’ He smiled.
‘But I’m not a Grim Reaper,’ I said.
‘Well you can be. If you want to,’ he said.
‘What will happen if I say yes?’
‘You’ll stay here and your mortal essence will die in the human world.’
‘And if I say no?’
‘Then you’ll live on without any memory of this.’
Go figure. But then again… Living here would be better than dying.
‘Then I’ll stay.’
‘Great,’ he grinned.
And from that day on, I was a Grim Reaper.
Life has never been better.