The Reaper's Mission- 2013

Chapter Four- Dimples, Smoothies and Shakes

"So, what is this place anyway?" I asked as I walked near Karolyn, Tracy, and about seven others. They chattered wildly about school, life, dates, and other things while occasionally saying something to me. I wasn't much interested in the majority of the group though. I mostly paid attention to my thought-provoking assignment.

Karolyn, unlike the rest of the group, didn't talk so much; instead, she simply listened to what others were saying, smiling and laughing when the moment called for it. She seemed to be taking in every detail of the conversations happening around her and committing them to memory.

"Dimples," Karolyn replied, moving closer to me as we walked along for better conversation. "Just a little smoothie place with a lot of personality. I think you'll like it."

"Interesting," I said. "Burlington seems like the kind of town with a lot of character."

Karolyn laughed and something inside me seemed to startle to attention; her laugh was something like bells ringing, clear and musical. It was the kind of laugh that drew people in; it was the kind of laugh that drew me in. Strange.

"How is it comparing to other places you've lived before?" she asked with an inquisitive smile. A thousand blurred images flashed through my mind in the time it took for me to blink.

"Not sure yet," I told her honestly. I couldn't decide whether choosing Burlington would be anything of a memorable experience just yet. I couldn't imagine I'd ever forget the way Karolyn smiled, but at the same time, after a few hundred years of reaping souls and living literally everywhere in this world, nothing much stuck out. I could barely remember the last mission I'd been on, and that ended in Bora Bora only a week before this one started.

"Well let me know when you figure that out," she said with a friendly wink in my direction. I smiled back and was surprised by how natural it felt. I was used to just smiling because it was the socially acceptable thing to do, but smiling at Karolyn felt more... genuine, and almost human.

I stopped that thought as soon as it started. I wasn't human. Not for centuries. I shook the idea of feeling human and distracted myself by questioning Karolyn.

"So do you guys go to this place... Dimples or whatever very often?"

Karolyn shrugged and thought for a moment, absentmindedly adjusting the loose collar on her button-up blouse and showing a hint of cleavage. I forced myself to look away when I glimpsed a bit of her silky bra.

"We come here at least once a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays the most, but sometimes we'll go a bunch of days in a row if we're all free for some reason." She shrugged and laughed a little. "I mean, we go enough that it's like a second home."

I nodded, trying to remember if I'd ever done anything like that in my years. It was strange, thinking about my past that is. I tried not to form strong memories often, so it'd be easier to move from place to place, so searching through them was a new concept.

"I once lived in Texas," I began, finally remembering something worth bringing up. "A small town called Kilgore, if I remember correctly. I'd visit this... restaurant, about twice a week. I ended up getting to know the owner really well. He had some interesting war stories to tell, and I always liked listening to them." In reality, the restaurant had been a bar, but the rest was true. The owner had been one of the few truly memorable people I'd met over the years. He was dead now, I'm sure. He'd been nearly eighty when I'd been on my assignment in Kilgore, and that was a good thirty-five years ago.

"I would love to meet him," Karolyn said, her eyes lighting up. "I'm a sucker for a good story... Well, any story someone will tell me, really. I just love listening to people's accounts of their past, their history... I might have said that before. That's awkward. Hm."