Chapter 2

Seattle is not kind of big of a city but it's certainly not a small one too. So I don't know what kind of a Universal Energy is screwing up with me that I find myself bumping into Mark in an almost daily manner. It had been a week since we'd met at the park where he'd also unwarily helped me with my Reap and then invite me for a coffee. That encounter had been short but I enjoyed it.

Mark is a nice guy. Sweet, charming, handsome, and not an asshole, defective, or unstable like some of the guys that I'd met before. Another thing is that I see myself on him. He's like a male version of me just a little more composed, calm, and mature but in the overall, I can see myself somewhere in him.

I was just done with my Reap that day when I cross path with him again.

"You following me?" he teased.

"No," I replied, half-amused and faintly offended. "You following me?"

"I got here first," he said, sending us both laughing. "It's the fourth time, right?"

"Yeah," I said and we started to have a walk. "What are you doing here?"

"Working."

My eyes darted on his hand that holds that small notebook that he always carries around. "What kind of work?"

"Arranging schedules, estimating times, listing names of people, etc.," he groaned, inserting his notebook under his jacket. "It sucks."

"It's that bad?"

"Not really. Actually, it's not the job which is the problem, it's me. I don't like doing it. I believe I'm supposed to be doing something else, something more…something I want. And it sucks that I'm stuck in this sickass job just because it's what people are expecting me to do."

"Then why don't you quit?"

He laughed, flashing those white teeth. "I wish I can but my job is kind of compulsory."

Just like my job. No paycheck, no insurance, and very compulsory. I know I'd said this before but I mean what kind of Universe would give me the ability to pull out people's soul if I still need to be stuck in a sickass job if I wanted to eat.

"Hey," he tapped my shoulder, urging me to turn my head to him.

"Yeah?"

He pointed into an ice cream van parked in a sidewalk ahead of us. "Let's have some ice cream, my treat."

But before I could answer, he took my hand and dragged me towards the ice cream van. It was the first time that he'd held me for a long time especially on my hand and it feel so fucking good. His hand is soft and strong and it emits a weird mixture of heat and coldness that send a lot of shivers through me. My heart pound and my pulse raced as he walk me to the van, I don't know how long it took us to reach there, maybe a few second but it feels longer on my personal clock.

I only snapped from my state of trance when I heard his voice again. "What flavor do you want?"

"Huh?…W-what? What did you say?"

"I said what flavor do you want?"

I looked up, flinched a bit upon meeting the apathetic, zombie-like gaze of the overweight ice cream vendor. "Chocolate please," I grinned sardonically. He glared back at me and then served our orders.

"What a weird guy," Mark commented when we left, taking a nibble on his ice cream.

"He reminds me someone," I chuckled.

"Who?"

"A co-worker. They have the same stare."

"As bad?"

"Lot worst."

1, 2, 3. Arghhh! My tapping on the table is bringing me more annoyance than relief. It's like I'm intensifying the invisible click of time using my fingers in order to purposely torture myself.

What's taking it so long? I glanced on the door again. Still no sign of him and I'm going to be late to my work if he won't show up any sooner.

"Just give me that fucking list already."

Finally, a shadow emits from the small gap between the bottom of the door and floor. At last! I breathed in relief. But as I make my way to the door I was taken aback when the person from the outside didn't slid an envelope under the door as what I would expect it to do but instead it knocks.

That's weird. He doesn't knock. Damn! He doesn't even want to be noticed if possible. But curiosity wins, so I still went to the door and opened it. At first I thought that I'm finally going to meet the messenger face to face, to know what he looks like, or if he is scary or not. But no, it wasn't him. The person behind that door was someone a lot scarier having around.

"Hi George," my sister smiled at me.

I was frozen for a few seconds trying to absorb everything, and then realization hits me, the ugly reality hits me, and the fact that my little sister in my front door hits me. So I snapped. "Reggie!" I exclaimed, my eyes darting to the luggages beside her. "What the fuck!"

"Can I stay here?"

"NO!"

"Please," she pleaded.

"Wait the minute. What the fuck are you doing here? I thought you're in Canada with Mom?"

"We were?" she said, feigning an innocent face which I didn't buy. Fuck! I didn't even know she's capable of doing that. Teenage years sure do some weird things on kids.

"REGGIE!"

"Okay, okay, I'll explain everything…but can you let me in first. I'm tired from the trip and my legs hurts you know."

I sighed, gathering my calm. I stepped aside and let her inside. She walked immediately towards the couch where she rested her legs. "What happened?" I crossed my arms on my chest, glaring at her intently. "Did you have a fight with Mom?"

"No…actually it was the opposite, we did great in Canada."

"If it's great, why are you here?"

"Because the publisher of Mom's book called and they said that they want to hire her as a column writer on their Magazine about lives of Moms. She's kind of on the 'giving advice' part of that."

Advice? From Mom? What the hell! "That sounds good."

"Yeah, it is."

Yeah, that sounds pretty good. I mean Mom had never really been that much good in anything except putting too much order over things. So I'm glad that she finally found something where she knows she's good at. But of course even though it appears to be a good thing, Reggie won't be here in my apartment if there's no 'but' involved on it. "But…"

"But a part of the job is that Mom has to live near their office and that office is in New York."

"They're demanding a permanent residence?" I asked. Reggie nodded. "And that's a bad thing because…" There were dints of teasing on my way of delivering my sentence.

Reggie rolled her eyes, raising her hands in surrender. "Okay, fine. I admit it. I can't stay away from you. Yes, I said that I should be and I really mean that. But when Mom said that we're going to be away for good, I started to have doubts. I realize that I can't stay away from you especially now that we're finally starting becoming sisters after ignoring each other for almost the rest our lives."

I really don't want her around, that's part of the Grim Reaper job description. But after what I'd just heard, I'm willing to break any fucking laws. I sighed. "You'll help on the cleaning here."

Reggie's face lit up. "So you're cool having me?"

"Yeah, I'm cool with it but what about Mom?"

"Well I told her that I'm not yet sure if I can really live there with her, so I asked her to give me some time to think about it. After all I'm 17. I'm only a year behind from moving my ass out of her house."

"Are you really sure about this? Remember, I don't live a normal Apple Pie life."

"And I'm no longer living in a normal world anymore, George. Of all the people, you should know that."

Yeah, of course. That very moment that I'd exposed myself to her and reaped her boyfriend I'd already snatch away her normal world. "Yeah, I know." Tears started to pool from the back of my eyes, I smiled and opened my arms wide for my little sister. "Come over here."

I hugged Reggie so tightly that it almost got her breathless. I'd never been a big sister to her when I was still alive and the time that we spend recently had been short for me to make it up to her. Now I was given another chance and I'll be a fool if I refuse to grab it.

"I miss you so much."

"I miss you too," Reggie sniffled back her tears. "By the way," she said as we pulled away from each other. "I found this on your doorstep," she raised an envelope towards me.

"Ah shit!" I immediately snatched it away from her hand and looked at the time. "I'm late!" I scrambled to gather my stuff. "I need to go Reg. Just arrange your stuffs. Use the vacant room next to mine. There's food on fridge. You can handle yourself, right?"

"Of course."

"What the hell?" Okay, this is weird, I rechecked the schedules of deaths on my notebook and there's no one expected to die here in Happy Time. So what the fuck are those Gravelings up to? They are almost everywhere around me with a number above the ordinary. Usually 3 up to 4 of them in the max showed up in a single place, but right now there about a dozen lurking all over our office. So what the hell is going on? This is pretty weird even for me.

"Millie?" The Gravelings disintegrated into smokes when they saw Delores approaching to my table. Now, that's even weirder! "Someone's looking for you."

Before I could ask who, it was answered when Mark materialized from behind Delores and approached me carrying a bouquet of flower and a box of chocolate. "Hi Millie."

"Mark?" I instantly bounced up from my seat. He didn't pause until he stood before me and give me a light, gentle kiss on the cheek.

Delores stood beside us and cleared her throat. "Millie," she was beaming like a teasing dog with rabies. "Why don't you take a break so you can entertain your friend?" And then she gave me that familiar wink that always makes me shudder before she left.

Mark raised his eyebrow, "Should I know what that mean?"

I grinned nervously. "No. I definitely prefer that you didn't."

"Well, I got this for you," he handed me the flowers and candy.

It was corny and clichéd and yet it made my heart pound, no man had ever given me flowers and chocolates before. "Thanks." I leaned slightly to scent the roses. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled sheepishly. "I'm here to invite you."

"What?" Oh boy, I hope I didn't hear that right.

"I was wondering if I can invite you for dinner tomorrow."

Ah shit! I really heard it right. Damn it! This is what I hate so much when making connection to the opposite sex especially if they're at the same age as mine. It starts a faint correlation and then it grows. I started to like the guy, it turns out he likes me too, and then there it is, I'll start to forget and get swayed by the moment until the bitter reality struck my ass painfully again.

He's human and alive while I'm a fucking Reaper and dead. He'll progress and then wither while my age remained untouched.

"Oh, dinner…like a date?" I breathed out the words quite painfully.

Mark looked down sheepishly. "Yeah."

"Sure, that sounds nice." That's the answer that I wanted to then this is reality. "I…can't," I almost choked out the words.

His face was immediately tainted with defeat and disappointment. "Why not?"

"I…I-I have a lots of errands tomorrow…Yeah, errands. My sister just moved in with me so I have to take care of her for a while."

"Oh, I see," he said, trying to mask his expression, his disappointment, and most of all his feeling of rejection especially that it was evident on me that I was just making excuses. "Okay, maybe next time."

I really hope that there will be a next time. If only I can just say yes. "Sure…if I have some free time."

"Just call me if you change your mind."

"Of course."

As I watch him leave, it feels like my undead heart is shattering piece by piece. It's a 'one in a million' chance that any girl will find a decent man in this screwed up universe and I somehow got that. However, that kind of offered chances are only meant for a living girl not someone who is dead like me.

END OF CHAPTER 2