“Don’t look her in the eye,”
These are the last words Lucas tells me before pushing me into the doom and gloom office room. The room reminds me of Death’s study. Death. Let’s not think about him. The floral wallpaper mixes surprisingly well with the dark wood of the tables and desks.
I don’t notice the blonde teen standing staring out the window at first. She has a cup of coffee in her hand as her blue eyes look on. She is silent as a stone before she speaks. “The age a Half-Blood dies the first time is the age they’ll always resurrect. What’s even more burdensome is that we age at a slow rate after our first life and it only gets slower with every cycle,”
She sighs and stirs her coffee, not looking at me at all. “I first died when I was fifteen. My latest death was last year. Made it to fifty-seven but got stabbed in the back by some rat jealous of my promotion. Literally,”
“But I dealt with her. It’s no biggie,” She twists and smiles at me. “I dealt with her and I still got my promotion. But that isn’t what I wanted to talk to you about.”
I say nothing as her black heels click against the floor. She settles in the office chair behind the desk. “Aren’t you going to sit?”
I clasp my hands together and move to the guest chair. “Yes, ma’am, I will.”
I sit down and lower my gaze. Lucas’s rhetoric is getting to me.
“So, I hear you are a first gen. Do you know what that means?” She asks before taking a sip of her black coffee.
I shake my head. “No, I forgot to ask…”
“Well, you know all of us have a Reaper in our family line. The duller the wings the farther this Reaper resides in our family tree. My wings for example, they’re pitch black so my family’s reaper is rather far. Yours are a fresh bright red. You are direct fresh recipient of the curse,”
“Are you saying th-”
“Yes, one of your parents is a Reaper, but I suggest you don’t dwell too much on it. There is no use thinking about it but what you do need to think about is your future. Usually, we give options to reside with humans but I would highly suggest you don’t,”
“Oh, I don’t want to ma’am.” I tell her.
“That’s good. I also wouldn’t suggest being in a Reaper Company. You won’t be treated very well,” She says, eyeing me “You work for a Reaper Company, do you not?”
“I-I, well, I used to…”
“Did you sign a contract?”
I furrow my eyebrows. I remember Death trying to get me to sign something but I never did sign anything. Every time he brought it up I just procrastinated and whined until he dismissed it. “No, I never signed anything,”
“Good, good,” She says, pausing. “I would highly suggest looking into our Society. You can work here and you should. We pay well and we offer support,”
“I see, Axel told me the same thing,”
She nods. “Yes, he was right. We have many divisions to choose from. Here’s a brochure that I made personally,”
I take the thin paper. There is a picture of a farm, an office, weapons, and letters with a huge cursive font. I skim it before putting it down on my lap. “Thank you,”
“No problem,” She says, finishing the last bit of her coffee. “I understand that this is your first cycle and this is all really confusing but we need you. We are a new Society and most of our half-bloods go to Reapers. We need to get our power back,”
“I understand,” I tell her.
She gets on her feet and strides to the door. She opens it and calls Lucas before directing her attention to me again. “You can take as much of your time choosing a division. Lucas and Axel will show you around. You can come to my office at any time after you made your decision,”
Lucas comes just on time, hearing what Secretary Victoria said. “Me, Mrs.?”
“Are you questioning me?” Victoria quips back at him.
Lucas pales and latches his gaze onto the floor. “No ma’am. I just thought Axel was going to do it. I have no problem doing it, ma’am,”
“Well that’s splendid to hear. You will start your tour tomorrow,”
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To: Death, CEO of Death Corp
From: Anwen, Former Assistant of Death Corp
Hello Death, It’s me Anwen.
I just wanted to let you know that I am okay. I know that I kind of just disappeared off of the face of the planet and after all you’ve done for me I decided it would be rude just to leave you hanging.
But I am safe. I am a Half-Blood. That’s why I couldn’t move on and that’s why no one ever found my body apparently. Also, I broke the circle, but I think you know that already. Anyway, I decided to stay here in the Society. I like it. I’m making friends and I fit in here.
I know you’re probably really happy now that things are back to normal for you. In a way, I did move on. You can just pretend that I turned into sea foam if that pleases you. No more inconveniences.
I guess this is more of a goodbye letter. I know you’re moving on and forward. You’ve got a lot on your plate and I’ve got a lot on mine. I’ll try to move on and move forward too.
I wish nothing but the best for you.
Anwen.
I exhale the long breath I was holding as I put the pen down. It’s only fair for me to give him an update…
Is he with her now?
Is he making her Alfredo? Are they gardening in the backyard already? What is he doing?
In between the tasks and the actions, why am I still thinking of his ass? Why can’t I stop thinking about Scarlet being all over him? I just resurrected from the dead goddamn it. Why can’t I get over this?
But, hey. Fake it until you make it.
I sign the paper and fold it in three times so it can fit into the envelope. I lift the paper from the mailbox and adjust my knitted scarf. I huff a hot breath into the cold air and put my letter inside.
I take a huge inhale in and a long exhale out, grinning from ear to ear. Today, I am going to start my new life. I am leaving my old self behind and embracing this new one.
I deserve it.
____
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