Of Life and Death

two

I put on my cloak, the white hood covering my platinum blonde hair. I pull the hood way down, blocking my blue eyes from view. I check the  mirror on my way out. I look like a fairytale character.

I walk down the street, reveling in the peace and quiet. The hem of my cloak brushes the sidewalk. I turn left and continue walking. A car drives past me, the first I've seen tonight. I wave at the driver and continue on my journey.

I stop in front of the plain black door. I ignore the lock and just step through it. The house is warm and quiet. The only sound is the grandfather clock ticking in the living room.

I silently climb the stairs and walk past an open doorway. Inside, a sleeping toddler drools on his Hot Wheels pillow. That only makes the job harder.

I continue down the hallway. I open the next door down. Inside a married couple sleeps. I approach the bed on the side of the man. I gently place two fingers on his forehead. He stops breathing and his heart stops. His wife remains asleep.

"Are you an angel?" A voice beside me asks. I turn to face the man I just reaped." No, I am much darker." I tell him in a soft spoken voice. He looks down at his body." Is that me?" He squeaks." Yes." I reply.

" I'm dead?" He demands to know." Yes." I repeat." Why?" He questions me. He looks ready to fight me. For others, the main emotion is sadness. Some even laugh. Death shows the truest form of people.

" I don't know why. I only do my job. Your name was on my list. And before you ask why I didn't make an exception, if I did another person would have died that wasn't meant to. It could have been your son or your wife. I can't discriminate or make exceptions. It will be okay. Be glad you have an escort. Most have to do this alone." I explain to him.

I grab his hand and walk towards the wall. A white door appears. I open it and gently push him through it." Wait, I still have more questions!" He objects." The Council will answer them. Just walk until you see a little girl. She will take you where you need to be. And don't worry about your family. They will be okay." I tell him and close the door behind him.

His wife stirs and sleepily calls for her husband. I head back down stairs before she wakes up completely and sees her husband dead. Just as I exit the house a scream pierces the night air. It's the scream of lost love and of heartbreak. Tears drip down my face as the man's son joins in with the screaming.

I brush them away and walk back to my apartment. As I reach the door sirens race towards the house I just left. I climb the stairs to my apartment and go inside. I reach my bedroom just as my alarm goes off. Six am. I shrug off my cloak and trade my tank top for a long sleeve shirt.

It's a plain white shirt paired with a pair of light denim jeans. I throw a thin baby blue jacket over it and run a brush through my blonde hair. I head back onto the street. This time my destination is the little coffeeshop two blocks away.

As I enter the building the smell of coffee wafts out. I breathe it in, enough caffeine in the air to wake up anyone. I head to the counter and order the same thing I get every time: coffee, black, and a plain bagel. I pay the barista the fifteen fifty seven I owe and find my seat.

It's outrageously over priced but I can afford it and it's good. I pull out my phone and check the news like I always do. The headline today is car crash kills family of four and injures single mother and son. The details are printed under the bold words but I already know them.

The single mother was driving her son home after his soccer game when the father in the family of four accidentally ran a red light. The cars smashed together " instantly" killing the two children in the backseat and sending the parents to the hospital with what would later be fatal injuries.