Prompt Me

Mr. Grim Reaper

Mr. Grim Reaper (Reddit)

Song: Pierce The Veil - [Don't Fear] The Reaper [Cover]

Tell me who the grim reaper used to be.

-fuckusernamees

Frank de Mise was just like any other human man - well, except for the fact that his name sounded like "Frank Demise" when you said it aloud. In fact, everyone always assumed it was spelled like the synonym of death, which really irked him at times. But that isn't what this little tale is about. No, this story is about how and who Frank de Mise was before he became the Grim Reaper.

Before he suddenly died at the age of 24, Frank was your regular run-of-the-mill office drone. He worked nine to five and enjoyed his work just fine for the most part. The only thing he didn't like was his boss. The arrogant bastard thought everyone owed him the world on a silver platter and Frank came close to telling him exactly what he thought of his attitude on many occasions. Of course, he didn't want to lose his job, so he kept his mouth shut on the matter.

So, yes, Frank was your average twenty-four-year-old man of mixed races. He had a stellar body and devilish good looks, which always attracted the ladies, and an attitude that kept people from screwing with him too often. His light green eyes often stayed hidden behind dark-tinted sunglasses when he was outside and thick-rimmed reading glasses when he was at work or reading a book. This, of course, worked to his advantage since his eyes often struck people as an odd pairing with his complexion.

His luck ran pretty fair and his salary was good, affording him a nice home and nice car. The only thing he didn't have was someone to come home to. Well, someone of the human variety. His cat, Felix, and dog, Arnie, were always glad to see him walk through the door, but it would never be the same as walking into his house to the smell of dinner on the stove and his significant other bustling about the kitchen, humming a tune under their breath. But he wouldn't complain. He knew a husband or wife and family were lurking for him somewhere just around the bend and he was in no real hurry about it. He still had time and he knew it.

Then, everything changed one sunny afternoon on the rooftop of his office building. He had gone topside to sneak a quick break and instead came upon his coworker, Ronnie, getting ready to jump off the ledge. Naturally, this didn't sit well with him, and he tried to talk the younger man out of it.

"It isn't worth it, Ronnie," he murmured quietly, trying not to startle his rooftop companion too badly.

Ronnie glanced over at him before looking down at the city below again. "What would you know, Frank? Your life is perfect."

"No, it's not, bud. My life is far from perfect."

"Oh, really? Did you just go through a divorce and lose all rights to your seven month old daughter? Did you walk in to find the man you thought was your best friend laying flat on his back on your bed while your wife rode him like it was the Kentucky Derby?"

Frank let out a low whistle and stepped up onto the ledge with Ronnie. "No," he responded softly. "You'd have to have a spouse before anything like that could happen to you."

Ronnie let out a surprised snort and just stared at him. "What do you mean? You've constantly got women falling all over you and you're standing there telling me you don't have a wife?"

"Or husband," the taller man commented.

"Husband?"

"Ronnie, I'm bi and have had my eye on you for quite a while. The only thing that stopped me from making a move was the wedding band on your finger," Frank admitted hesitantly.

Ronnie silently gawked at him. "What?" He gasped out.

Frank sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Ronnie, you're attractive and a nice guy in general, so it would be quite a waste to throw all that away, don't you think?"

The shorter man looked down at the street thirteen stories below them. "I guess," he whispered.

"Then, give me your hand and let me help you down from here," Frank offered.

Ronnie let out a shaky breath and took the offered hand, carefully turning to face Frank. "Thanks, man."

Frank gave him a crooked grin. "Don't worry. You can make it up to me by buying us a drink at the bar tonight," he joked.

Ronnie laughed a little too hard and slipped, taking Frank over the edge with him. "I'm so sorry!" He screamed as they plummeted to their deaths.

Frank work up quite a while later to find himself sprawled out on the floor in a dark den of some sort.

"Where am I?" He asked in confusion as he sat up slowly.

A cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows and spoke quietly. "The home of the Grim Reaper."

Frank snorted in disbelief. "No, really. The last thing I remember is me trying to help Ronnie down from the ledge and us both accidentally falling over the wrong side."

The cloaked man nodded slowly. "That is correct. You have died and are now in my home. I am the Grim Reaper and I have a proposition for you, Frank de Mise."

He raised a brow. "And that would be what exactly?" Frank asked wearily.

"Take my place as Grim Reaper and I will give you your human lover back for all of eternity."

"I don't have a lover."

"The one you were trying to save."

He gave the man a dubious look. "Ronnie? You would give me a never-ending afterlife with Ronnie just for becoming Grim Reaper? What's the catch?"

"You must reap all the souls of the dead until you can find a replacement of your own after a certain length of time."

"How long?"

"Five centuries."

Frank choked on his own spit. "Five hundred years?" He asked in disbelief.

"Do we have a deal or not?" The figure before him asked impatiently.

Frank nodded in uncertaintity. "Yeah, we've got a deal," he replied and shook the outstretched skeletal hand before him.

A white hot fire blazed throughout his entire body and he watched as his flesh was melted away and his body was covered in a cloak.

The man before him clicked his fingers and Ronnie appeared next to Frank. "The transformation is complete. When you take the cloak off, your flesh will return."

Now you know who the Grim Reaper used to be.