The Grim Reaper

The hooded figure walked silently through the snow, leaving not a single footprint. He came up the steps to where the small rusty gate stood open and continued down the stone footpath that lead through the lifeless rose garden. As he approached, the rest home door opened and he stepped into a small lounge. It was dimly lit by the fire of an old log burner at the end of the room, giving as much heat as its humble size could allow. An antique rocking chair stood on the worn carpet, facing out the window. It was the chair where his wife sat all those years ago, waiting for his promised return. But of course, he never did.
Until now.
Now, when it was too late. It had been centuries since the news of his death reached the ears of his loved one, centuries since he chose not to die but to become death himself. All those years he waited in the darkness of death and despair, just to see her one more time, to say goodbye. But when the time finally came, she ran from him in fear and terror, struggling whenever he tried to touch her. He had watched helplessly, unable to guide her soul as it withered and died.
Now he had finally returned. He walked towards the rocking chair where an elderly woman now sat, staring out into the night sky.
"They're beautiful aren't they?" she asked, "The stars, I mean."
She turned and smiled warmly at him.
"I've been waiting for you," she said.
"Hello Lucy. So you know who I am then."
"I don't know who you are; I only know why you're here."
"No one seems to know the difference, not about me anyway," he smiled sadly, "Come with me."
He held out his weathered hand which was joined by hers and the Grim Reaper led the old woman's ghost into the starry night.
They paced silently along the street, to the graveyard where Lucy had grieved her husband's death. They passed the house where she had once lived and Lucy heard the sound of her young sons laughing and playing again. Through the beautiful stained glass windows of the church, Lucy saw herself walking down the aisle on her wedding day. They came by Lucy's past high school where she saw the old buildings that overlay the new ones like a cloud of mist; the shade house, the stables and the old skipping games she'd always missed so much. Memories new and old came back to her, haunting her, as they refused to be forgotten.
The young girl held on to the Grim Reaper's hand as they walked along the beach where Lucy's happiest memories lay. She turned and smiled at him, her red hair glittering under the stars.
"I used to always play here when I was..."she gasped, staring at her hand which was still in his, "when I was a little girl," she finished in no more than a whisper.
"Our soul always lies with our happiest moments," he said, smiling kindly back at her, "but people who walk along this shore no longer feel the happiness it once brought you. Will you help them, Lucy?"
"But I thought you came to take me... away."
He nodded.
"You can choose to come with me, of course."
"To where?"she asked.
"On."
"I...," she looked behind her to where a little girl sat alone down by the water’s edge, mumbling dejectedly to herself, "I'll stay."
"I knew you would," said the Grim Reaper, "Farewell."
He turned and walked silently through the white sand, his cloak fluttering lightly in the cool breeze.
"Wait!" she called, "Please, what is your name?"
He turned back to her, his eyes sparkling.
"Thank you, Lucy. You have finally freed me," he said, "thank you."
"I don’t understand."
"I have been imprisoned in my body for many centuries," he explained, "unable to be with the living yet unable to move on. I have seen too many things, Lucy, and I have become too old to hope anymore; too old to remember what it means to hope, but now, but asking my name, you've freed me."
"You age?"
"Of course,"he said, "my body does not die, but it becomes older with every passing moment."
He sighed and looked above them to where a magnificent aurora shone through the clouds.
"It is time for me to go," he told her, "do your job well."
"But what about the other souls?" she asked.
"Others will guide them," he said, "but now I must go."
"Wait!" Lucy cried, "How will I ever see you again?"
"Just look into the stars," he replied, "and I'll be there waiting for you."
And with that, he turned and walked into the light.