The Reaper's Token

Life Demands Insurance

We turned onto Valencia street. A dark sky loomed above us as if it knew we were on a mission to find Death. Leaves swirled past us, carried by a cold wind as I stopped to look down. In the dark grey circular and diamond-shaped grate, two skeletons were dancing. One was wearing a sombrero and the other a skirt.

It was odd—little skeletons dancing in grates. Dogs stopped to sniff them. It was a weird caricature of what I had thought Death was - not the depressed mailman I had come to know. It reminded me that people often make the things we are scared of funny or ridiculous.

Alice strode slightly ahead of me. Her amber curls were pulled straight by the wind as she wrapped herself more tightly into her coat. We walked up to a set of broken-down apartments. The faded white exterior and cracked stone steps sent a chill up my spine. No doubt, Death's presence lingered here.

Alice swung back the rusted iron gate with a slow creeeak! I looked from her to the lock wondering how Alice had opened the gate without a key. She glanced from me to the lock, pointing her finger up toward the sky as excitement lit up her face.

"You can open any door of the living Dominic, except for where a mentor or apprentice actually lives. L&D places a barrier of protection around our residences. Sometimes that protection can stretch for a block or more. We will need Keith to invite us into his apartment. Now... I always forget which one it is."

Alice was lost in thought as we walked past the gate and up the broken steps. When we reached the top floor, I glanced at the faded numbers of 13 and 14 on the light green doors. Door No. 13 had a pile of newspapers stacked two feet high, and a menacing growl emanated from under the door.

"It's 13!" Alice said as she raised her hand to the door and eagerly began knocking.

"Keith! Keith!" She said sternly. "We need to have a chat!"

I felt the door shudder open and saw part of Keith's face meet Alice's through the door. He groaned loudly then abruptly slammed the door shut.

"Keith! Open this door this instant! I will not say it again!" A short pause followed. "Keith!?" Alice asked.

I heard a lock slide from the inside. I thought Alice was going to implode from pure irritation as her little clenched fists shook at her sides. The door swung open, and Keith passed a defeated, groggy look between us.

"Come in," he said listlessly.

He turned back into his dim, drape-pulled apartment. I followed Alice down the dark corridor. Keith promptly sat down in his sweats and Led Zeppelin t-shirt as he resumed his round in Call of Duty.

The only light came from his computer screen, but it was enough to see that the rest of the apartment was strewn with discarded take-out and empty beer and soda cans. Death was a depressed slob, apparently. Alice grabbed a nearby folding chair and perched on the edge of it.

"So what's this about, Alice?" He asked his hand fishing around for the tray of nachos beside him.

"What's this about?! What's this is about?!... You!" Alice huffed.

"Keith, I am here to discuss your duty as a mentor and your responsibilities. Are you even listening to me?!" Alice asked, her shrill voice rising.

Keith blew up a tank and grinned delightedly. He coughed, his attention briefly switching to Alice.

"You are here to question my responsibility as a mentor, but I already have that in hand. I told the boy that I trusted his judgment. Since he wasn't ready for the truth, I told him to come find me when he was."