Shards of life

The Grimm Reaper was at the bar enjoying a cocktail. Aera hadn't climbed down yet and Chan-sung was gone who-knows-where. Like usual. He hadn't gotten used to the idea of being captive there. At least he hadn't stopped caring for his guests.

The Grimm Reaper was glad that the war had stopped long ago. Well, at least in the areas he was responsible for. He still remembered that time. He hardly had a few seconds for himself during then. There were so many souls to take to the bridge. Soldiers and civilians as well. He couldn't understand why people assumed he enjoyed such events. Contrary he preferred to stay at the bar and drink his cocktail in peace. He heard other Grimm Reapers complain about the hard work they carried every day in arias affected by famine or war or both.

A scream echoed through the hotel just as he was thinking about all the injustice and evil in the world. It was Aera's. Without any further delay, he hurried towards her room only to find her in her nightgown surrounded by loads of dresses, ribbons and hats.

"What's happened?"

"I have nothing to wear." She cried. The Grimm Reaper watched her flabbergasted. He'd seen a lot of things in his life and yet had the slightest idea what to say.

"You cried because you don't know what to wear!" He exclaimed.

Marzipan, the dog they'd welcomed a month ago and which refused to leave, entered the room. The white cat lifted her head as if signalling him he hurried in vain and it was no need to come. The dog's eyes were as full of confusion as the Grimm Reaper's.

"This is serious." Aera cried. "I was so miserable those months that I couldn't think about new dresses and now...this is a disaster. How will I greet the guests? And if I don't welcome the guests Chang-sung will be furious."

"He will be furious whatever you do." The Grimm Reaper couldn't help commenting. The smile died on his lips as he realized he was watched by three pairs of eyes. "Do they understand?"

"I suppose."

"I go back to my cocktail."

"You can drink the cocktail on the beach."

"Why will I drink the cocktail on the beach?"

"Because Marzipan wants to swim."

"Can't he go alone?"

"Of course, he can't. He hates to be alone."

"Why don't you take him there? I'm busy."

"Haven't you paid attention to me? I have nothing to wear."

"What's wrong with this?" He showed the first dress he spotted. "Green suites you."

"Really? Thanks. Do you like this dress?"

"It's...nice."

He was a Grimm Reaper, not a fashion designer. Clothes had little importance in his job. But this was Aera and he needed to say something. Anything to make her leave her room. And it wasn't a lie. She looked gorgeous in whatever she decided to wear. But, as he didn't know how to put it into words and so he only said that the dress was nice.

"Do you want to go out? I can take you." He suggested.

"No, it reminds me I'm dead and it makes me feel sad. Don't you feel sad...sometimes? You were alive, too, don't you? How did you become a Grimm Reaper?"

"Let's go to the beach. Marzipan seems to get impatient." He tried to avoid the question. It helped that Marzipa kept watching them with pleading eyes.

He'd understood what they had been talking about. The words such as water, swimming and walking had such an energizing effect on him, causing him to spin around like a ball and wag his tail.

"Alright. You can go first."

Marzipan hardly touched the sand of the beach when he started to run towards the water. Moments later he was in the water, chasing waves and then running happily on the beach, rolling on the sand until he looked like a huge fat schnitzel ready to be put in a frying pan.

The Grimm Reaper got closer to the sea. It was so long since he'd been to that place. If it hadn't been for that Rottweiler-Dachshund metis, he wouldn't have gone there that day either. The water seemed so calm. It was normally agitated every time he got summoned on the shore to take another soul. At least that's how it looked to him not that he usually paid much attention to the surroundings. His job was to find the soul and conduct them to the bridge or to the hotel.

Aera's question had arisen something inside of him. A part he didn't know to have existed. He'd been there for millennia, but he'd never experienced life. It was funny that the girl who decided to put an end to her life was the one to have caused that. Yet he had no right to question his existence or desire things that weren't for him to have.

Then, out of the blue, as he was standing so close to the water he felt Marzipan's heavy body jumping on him and pushing him into the water. He had no time to realize what was happening, his body lost balance and splash he fell into the water. Marzipan ran happily on the shore as if he was proud of his accomplishment.

Aera, who'd just come on the beach tried her best to hold her laughter. Even the white cat seemed to enjoy it, but she stood as far as possible from the sea. Useless. The cat was soon noticed and she had to hide from her fluffy friend. She didn't seem to be scared, but he was wet and full of sand while she was so white and clean and the last thing she wanted was to get her precious fur dirty or wet. But there was no place to hide and finding a refugee in Aera's lap wasn't a solution as Marzipan was notorious for his jealousy. The cat wasn't stupid. She knew pretty well that he would get nuts if she were to try to get too close to Aera. Aera wasn't in the mood to have a heavy dog on her lap, either. She enjoyed when he put his head on her lap and she petted his smooth fur, but having him jump there. Plus, there was hardly enough space for him to stay there. So the two fury friends-enemies started to run around her while the Grimm Reaper struggled to get out of the water. Aera was laughing. Genuinely. Like she hadn't for such a very long time.

"Is this how being alive feels like?" The Grimm Reaper wonders as he watched Aera laughing surrounded by the two pets.