Erik and Henry sat at a café, Henry drank cup after cup of coffee while Erik tried to lift his cup of tea. He was still extremely weak. Henry said that's what happens after you die; he also said it would get better. Laughingly he told Erik about how after he had died he couldn't eat for a weak, he just kept puking everything back up. "That's what you get when you die from poison!" He said laughing so hard Erik feared he'd fall right out of his seat. To Henry, death seemed some great joke; he said that came from living over 150 years.

When Erik gave up trying to lift the tea to his mouth he sat back against the wicker chair. "What do you want with me?" he finally asked Henry, his voice almost back to normal, but it lacked the power it usually held.

Henry sobered, "Erik, you certainly know how to kill the mood." He giggled a little, "No pun intended."

"What, exactly, do you mean?" Erik was getting frustrated now.

"Well, Erik, it's a little complicated." Henry sighed and rubbed his green eyes in an agitated manner. When he looked at Erik again, Erik had managed to get into a position that Henry knew meant he was going to wait until Henry explained what was going on. "I suppose there's no reason to keep you waiting." Henry paused again, staring straight into Erik's eyes he said the words that would inevitably change Erik's life forever. "You're my replacement, the new Reaper for Paris." He paused letting it sink into Erik's mind. Henry held a hand up to silence Erik before he asked a question. "Before you ask anything let me tell you how this all works." Erik nodded even though his patience was quickly wearing thin.

"Ok, so the Death everyone thinks is going to take them to the afterlife, you know, the skeleton? That's the father of all Grim Reapers. What no one tells you is that he was popular with the ladies because before he was the skeleton he looked normal, supposedly pretty handsome, but that's beside the point. The point is that even though who or whatever gave him the job of soul collecting they gave him weekends off, which meant he could be normal and get as many ladies as he wanted on the weekends and go back to taking souls the rest of the week.

"For many years there were no problems, everything worked out perfectly, but after 100 years he began to need help, there were just too many souls that needed collecting. Well, Death managed to get some help, in the form of three sons, each of whom was born with one side of their face disfigured. Together the three sons not only helped their father, but also convinced who or whatever's out there to make Reapers' lives easier.

"The three sons made all of our lives easier, and trust me, you'll thank them one day. Now, for being the sorry sods that take souls, we get extra benefits, but I'm not even going to try and break down all of that for you right now. However there are a few important things you need to know now, one, to all others Erik the phantom is just that, a phantom, you're dead, two, you are officially immortal until you're done being a Reaper, and three, unless you are on you're two days off no one really notices you. Now, I think it's time we left." With that, Henry got up out of his seat put some money on the table and grabbed Erik. Together they slowly walked down the street to a comfortable little town house.

Erik looked at the town house. The red brick house looked extremely inviting, he could see smoke coming out of a pipe on the roof and though how nice it would be to sit in front of a fire and warm his…undead body up. He watched as Henry opened the door and invited him in, much to Erik's surprise. As they walked through the door Erik was pleased to find the whole house smelled of exquisite food that must have been cooked all day.

"Cecile! Dearest! He's here!" Henry called out into the wonderfully furbished house. Pans and silverware were heard crashing down and a young, petite, skinny, brunette woman walked into the hallway wiping off her hands on her blue stained apron.

"Erik! What a pleasure to meet you!" She said merrily as she held a hand out for him to take. Erik lifted his blood covered hand. Cecile's smile faltered slightly, but she caught herself. "Oh dear, Henry, why didn't you clean the poor man off? He hasn't been through enough that you're going to make him clean himself up?" The young woman criticized Henry.

"Darling, the Reaper I replaced made me wash my puke stained clothes after he collected me, I didn't see a reason to wash Erik off, I'm sure he is quite capable!" Henry replied with a grin on his face.

Erik could see that these two were a couple. He suddenly felt alone again. Why did his Christine leave him? He loved her with more passion than that fop could ever dream of having! Henry must have seen how upset Erik was becoming because he quickly invited Erik into the living room.

"Have seat next to the fire, I'll get you some wine to warm the death right out of your bones!" Henry left to the kitchen which was across the hall. Erik sat down in a red leather lounge chair that faced the fire. Out of the corner of his eye his caught a glimpse of Henry wrapping his arm around Cecile and kissing her neck forcing her to burst out into a fit of giggles, teasingly trying to push him off. He fell back into the chair and waited for the wine. He had never wanted to get drunk more than he did right then.

Henry handed Erik a glass of merlot and put the bottle on a table not far from Erik's reach. Erik downed the glass and picked the bottle up. He was almost too weak to lift the bottle, but he managed. Henry watched in astonishment as Erik drank most of the bottle in silence. He considered telling him to slow down, but figured it would be better if he remained silent. All Erik could think about was Christine, where did he go wrong? He had done everything for her and she betrayed him! How he loathed her! That little cooze had ruined his life! Was it even love he had felt for this girl? How could he have felt love for such a conniving little snake?! What was love anyways? Having never known love how was he to know what true love was? When Henry came back with another bottle of wine, Erik was in quite a state.

Henry handed Erik the uncorked bottle and moved to sit back down, but Erik grabbed his hand with his bloody one. "Are you…are…are you and Cecile…" Henry thought about finishing Erik's miserable, frustrated and slurred sentence for him, but let him finish. "Are you in love?" He finally managed.

Henry looked deep into Erik's agony-filled eyes, "Yes, Cecile and I are very much in love."

For a moment Henry thought Erik would begin weeping, but instead the man pushed for more information, it was as if he was desperate for answers, "How did you know?" He whispered.

"I knew because when I showed her my face and told her who I was she didn't even flinch." Tears fell from Erik's eyes. His Christine hadn't loved him. "From the moment I met her I knew that she was different, as I courted her, I fell in love with her, she made me feel perfect, finally I got up the nerve to show her my face and tell her who I was. She took me in her arms and let me kiss her for the first time, shortly after that we were married." Henry paused, almost afraid to tell his friend anymore when he was in that state. "Erik, that's why you are here now." He paused, gauging Erik's reaction to the information. "You see, when a Reaper meets the love of his life, they get married and are sent a letter with a name, address, and time. Erik, you were on my letter." Erik's tears stopped and his eyes were filled with an almost stunned confusion.

"You remember when I told you that you would thank Death's three sons, right?" Erik nodded slowly, "Well, they convinced the powers that be that even Reapers deserved love, so in return for a Reaper's service we get a place to stay, a paycheck, and a guarantee that there is someone out there meant for us and our love. When we find that person who is meant for us, we are replaced and returned to mortal status." Erik seemed to understand. "I know your heart was broken, but I promise you, no matter how strong the pain you are feeling is, it will get better." Henry touched Erik's shoulder in a loving way.

Once Erik had calmed down, Henry invited him into the dining room where Cecile had laid down a huge feast. If Erik still looked horrible, she didn't say anything and treated him as kindly as Annette Giry had. They all sat down and ate heartily, the hearts soon filled with mirth. Cecile and Henry shared humorous stories of their youth. Erik stayed the night there and found the couple to be very hospitable.

After two weeks in the couple's company, Erik had all his strength back and had begun to find the smallest amount of joy in his life. It was his 17th day of being undead when he received a letter.

Philipe Emoulle

324 Rue Reaumur

9:26February 8

That night, Henry took Erik to the address and at 9:26 the two men entered the house unnoticed. They passed the warm halls filled with children and laughter and went up the staircase, into the room that seemed to beckon them. There, on the bed was Philipe. Philipe was a large man, a seemingly happy man with grey eyes that sparkled. He watched the two men with masks shaped like skulls enter, he was about to make an outburst and tell them to go, but Henry lifted a finger to his lips and the stunned man remained silent. Erik stepped forward, the man whimpered and whispered prayers, Erik placed his deathly white hand on Philipe's shoulder and watched as Philipe's soul was pulled from his body and released into the air. The eerie green substance floated around the room and eventually found its way out of the house leaving its large body on the bed, dull eyes gazing blankly at the ceiling. The two men left the house. As they walked down the street in reverent silence, screams from the woman who had found Philipe shrieked through the air.

When Erik and Henry returned to the inviting home where Cecile waited with a cup of tea for Erik and a cup of coffee for Erik, Erik was slapped on the back by Henry. "Well done! You're officially a Reaper and I am officially retired!" The now living man had a large smile on his face. Erik plastered a fake smile on his, as much as he wished he could be happy for the couple, he couldn't bring himself to be such. He had released a man's soul so it could go to the afterlife, a place he wouldn't know for more than a hundred years. He had killed men before, but taking a man's soul was different. Now he knew something happened after death, but what? Even love awaited him, but how would he know when it came?