The Reaper's Almanac

Eden: 1st Letter

My Fellow Reaper,

How are you faring? I know it hasn't been long since I last wrote, but here we are. Another life, another letter. But this one in particular is rather short-lived. You see, since my charge is a beautiful and entrancing diamond, it is not strange to encounter thievery. And as you might have guessed, yes, my charge has been stolen once again. I don't doubt it would happen once more.

Anyway, this person in particular was rather strange. Like most of the ones that have stolen possession of my charge, they either took it for the sake of selling it, getting money in return for either noble or selfish purposes (personally, I think all of them are for selfish purposes but who am I to judge?); display it as a trophy for their accomplishment, or gift it to someone else. But this one-- this one kept it.

Nora Belle Waters. A maidservant within a Duke's Manor. She's the type of servant to mechanically follow and obey orders from her masters, silently phasing throughout the day. Ordinary looking, nothing worth noting save for the enticing beauty mark on her lips that leaves one wondering in curiosity. Forgettable, yet not negligible. She was cleaning around her mistress' room when she, perchance, came upon a ring encrusted with my glistening charge, just lying forgotten on the floor. I was bewildered in mild shock at how she did not even hesitate on pocketing it. But looking back on it now, I suppose it shouldn't have been that surprising. It was a beauty after all. I suppose she thought her mistress wouldn't remember it, or maybe she thought it was merely a trifle, that her mistress has many others and can buy another just like it as a replacement if she so wishes. It was a simply designed band after all. Elegantly simple and delicate. What she did not know was that it was a possession filled with sentiments from when her mistress was but a maiden. One of the only few as well. Nonetheless, she took it, and it never left her body, not even once.

The first few days, she's done nothing but stare and admire its beauty under the brilliance of the moonlight, or through the illumination of her small candle within her quarters. Then, she started talking to it, as if talking to a friend, almost as if a prayer to a long-lost loved one. I presumed she was lonely. She often talked about her day, and sometimes she would reminisce all sorts of beautiful, happy, and sad memories. At first, I thought she was crazy, but I gathered it was her only way to express her feelings, for she did not know how to read nor write. Her spirit was bright, and her lack of literacy never dampened it. It even attracted her a suitor. But alas, she did not accept. I could see that she quite liked the young gentleman, yet when she was proposed to, she had nothing to offer for dowry. She could've used my charge for it seemed that her mistress did forget about the ring, but she refused.

It was only after 4 years that I learned why she did not accept. The ring represented a connection to her late sister, something she believed could channel her thoughts, feelings, and words to her sister; something to connect their souls. The ring reminded her so much of her sister, the diamond even more. It never left her heart, as she put the ring on a chain to wear as a necklace.

That night that I knew, her master came back home frantic, calling for his family to pack, to escape. There was commotion and chaos and she turned to the ring for guidance. It was a tragedy, yet oddly beautiful. For her 24 years of life, I stayed with her for 5. And that night, when she finally wore the ring on her finger for the very first time, was also the last.

It is always a shame that such a pure young soul is taken too early, yet to experience the beauty of life and its adventures, but I suppose no one really knows how life works. Nora Belle Waters lived her life knowing what she wanted and pursuing contentment in the simple thing she can attain. She's achieved satisfaction, and what more could one really ask for?

Sincerely yours,
Reaper