The second reaping

Valeria opened the door to the far east guest room for Ari and he entered it, looking around critically. It was just as luxurious as the rest of the mansion. Expensive furniture, gold trimmings, brocade and silk everywhere.

"I guess this will have to do," he said resignedly before heading to the bed and lying down, as if she had just shown him a barely furnished dusty shack. "At least I no longer have to lie down on newspapers," he added wryly.

She rolled her eyes. She never knew reapers can be such drama kings. Wait, newspapers…wait, his clothes could still be damp from him black goo. She rushed over to pushed him aside to look at the bed covers, causing him to grunt in pain. Fortunately, there were no stains.

"Reaper blood can't exactly stain mortal things," Ari told her.

"Now you tell me??? After all the trouble I went to?" she exclaimed, remembering to keep her voice low. She couldn't risk the in-laws hearing her talking in here.

"I thought you would have noticed that the newspapers had remained pristine throughout," he pointed out.

"Well, excuse me, I was too busy trying not to panic that I almost killed a demon man thing and then I had to go reap a human soul and then I had to deliver the said soul to some zen soul headquarters and be told that I have to do it another 99 times or be sent to hell, in between I had to stop for magazines, get yelled at, so excuse me if I didn't notice that you didn't stain all over the newspapers in my car!" she replied.

"Okay, okay, chill, jeez, lady, I know you are in a bad mood, don't take it out on the wounded reaper," Ari said, literally shrinking away from her.

"Ugh, whatever, I am going to take a bath and go to sleep, I have a long day tomorrow," she said. She turned around to go.

"Wait, you need to check your soul assignment for tomorrow too," Ari reminded her.

Valeria inhaled patiently and tried to channel all the zen energy from the Zen Soul Headquarters earlier.

"There is actually no such thing as Zen energy there…" Ari interrupted.

She turned back to him and glared at him. He quickly turned away from her and uttered a loud fake yawn. "I am tired, good night," he said.

She stormed out and left the door slightly ajar. She went back to her master room and started to undress. She felt grimy and sticky. Probably from the kick-fest earlier.

She studied her reflection and noted the fresh bruises forming on her body. Her tanned skin is a network of bruises, cuts and small injuries courtesy of her monster-in-law.

She doesn't even remember a day when she doesn't have a single bruise on her body. Sometimes her face is so swollen from being slapped, she had to ice her face to bring the swelling down before going out to run errands. Usually, she will have to cover her head and face with scarves and large sunglasses. To think that so many women coveted her position as Mrs Mark Brinstrone.

She stepped into her shower and turned on the hot water to stand underneath it. It was then that she allowed the whole list of souls to be revealed in her mind.

She has to reap two souls tomorrow. The first one is:

[ Jane McLean, 40 years old, to die of cancer in her hospital bed at 8am ]

Fishsticks! 8am?????

It looks like she can only sleep for three hours tonight before her day starts with making sure the maids did their job well cleaning the whole mansion and then preparing the elaborate breakfast her in-laws insisted on even though they don't really eat much. The twins and monster-in-law are always on some sort of a diet but that doesn't exempt Valeria from cooking breakfast, morning tea break, lunch, afternoon tea break and dinner. Whether they eat the meals she cooked is another matter.

After the shower, she changed into her comfortable sweatpants and sweatshirt. She fell asleep almost immediately, dead to the world, exhausted from the eventful evening. Her alarm woke her up at exactly 5am and that starts another hectic day for the rich housewife of Brinstrone mansion.

She rushed through the spot check on the cleaning works by the maids and preparation of a full spread of breakfast selection for the in-laws. All these done before 7am. Then she went in to check on Ari. He is fully awake and seemed to be reading something on the bed.

"Where'd you get a book?" she asked him puzzled. She looked at the book cover. It is written in some weird symbols that strangely she can read.

"How to tame hellhounds" she read out. "Wait, there are such things as hellhounds?" she asked him.

He placed the book on the bed. She noticed he had also changed from his black hoodie to a grey sweatshirt with matching pants.

"And you managed to get a change of clothes too," she remarked.

"My powers are greatly diminished but I am not totally powerless," he told her. "It's boring in here, I need a distraction and I have always wanted a hellhound," he added.

"Fine, let me give you the blood and I have to rush to the hospital for the second soul," she told him. She stuck out her finger and held a needle to it. "Pull up your shirt," she ordered.

He pulled up his sweatshirt and for the first time, in the light of day, she noticed the ugly gash she had made last night. It is no longer oozing fresh black goo but there are still black goo crusted around it. She pricked her finger and dripped a blood on it. Like last night, it fizzled and smoked and Ari winced in pain. He covered back his wound by pulling his sweatshirt back down.

"Don't you need like a bandage or something?" she asked.

"We reapers don't use such things," he said haughtily. "Anyway, do you want me to go with you to the hospital?" he asked.

She is still so new to this. It would definitely help if he comes along. Although last night he wasn't much of a help.

"I was injured and bleeding heavily last night! I can't help it," Ari protested.

"I suppose I don't mind having an experienced reaper along," she said grudgingly. Ari visibly brightened. He sat up and got down from the bed easily. He actually looked way better than last night.

"Let's go," he said, almost gleefully. She eyed him suspiciously. Why is he so cheerful about this?

"Hey, anything is better than being stuck in this boring mansion with nothing but the vapid thoughts of your in-laws, ugh, and I thought your meaningless rambling was bad," he told her.

***

They reached the hospital with minutes to spare. Again, Valeria is at a loss over how to do it. Does she walk right up to Jane McLean and then tell her "Hello, I am your reaper for today, please come with me and enjoy a good ride to the after life" ?

"Can be improved but I suppose it might work," Ari replied her.

She is beginning to regret letting Ari follow along. He is annoying with a smart alecky mouth.

"No I am not," Ari protested. "And YOU did not LET me follow you along, I am the one who willingly grace your second reaping with my presence,"

She rolled her eyes. They have reached Jane McLean's room in the hospital. The woman is lying alone on the bed. Valeria wondered where her family is. Maybe they have yet to come for visiting hours. She went over to the woman, her thin frail body connected to a variety of machines.

Valeria stood looking at Jane McLean. The woman was barely conscious. The cancer had ravaged her body so much that only a husk of it remained. Valeria actually pitied her. She must have suffered a lot. At least she is now taking her pain away from the woman forever. She looked at her watch.

It is 7.59am.

She took out her silk scarf.

"Jane McLean. It is now your time, it will be the end of your suffering," she told the woman softly. The woman's soul opened her eyes and looked at Valeria. It was filled with pain, suffering and regrets.

"Are you here for me?" Jane McLean asked Valeria. Valeria nodded.

"All the pain and suffering will be gone once you come with me," she told her.

Jane McLean's soul sat up. "But, I am not ready to go," she told Valeria.

"You've been suffering so much, don't you want it all to go away?" Valeria asked her.

"I can't leave my husband, my children, it is not the suffering, I don't mind suffering if I can just stay with them for another day," Jane said sorrowfully.

Valeria shook her head. "I am sorry, you have to move on now, your time here on earth is over," she said. She showed the woman the silk scarf.

"Once you accept this, you will be on the way," she said.

"What if I don't? I need more time!" Jane McLean said, suddenly angry. She lay back down on her wasting body. "I am not leaving!"

Fishsticks! She had thought this woman would be another easy job like Albert Chan.

"Jane, it is your time, you have to go," she said insistently.

"NO! And you can't make me!" Jane McLean said stubbornly.

She can't force her. It's in all guide Ari gave her. She tried to search Ari's memories to see what he does in cases like this.

"Well, if you don't come with me, you will turn into an evil spirit and haunt your husband and children and drain them of life force and they will fall sick and die early," she said, using the exact words Ari had used on another soul long ago.

At this, Jane McLean immediately sat up and left her body. The machines connected to her body started beeping frantically.

"I'll go now, please, I don't want to harm my family, please, promise me, tell them that I love them," Jane said. "Also, please tell them, my will is under the bible,"

Valeria nodded and immediately tied the scarf around the wrist of Jane's soul and she was absorbed into the scarf. Just in the nick of time, nurses and doctors came rushing in.

"Who are you? What are you doing in here so early? " one of the nurses asked her.

She made some fake excuse about being a friend from another city and hurriedly left the room. Just as she walked out of the room, she saw a man in his mid-40s and two teenagers rushing in.

They must be Jane McLean's family. She now has a dilemma. Does she tell the family what Jane had told her to tell them?