The first time I spoke with the Reaper was at my mother's funeral. "There are things in this universe that I will never understand." He said this with the sad smile before collecting my mother soul, before continuing his work.
The next time we spoke was nearly eight years later, at my sister's hospital bed as she lay dying.
"You," I whispered as he appeared.
"Hello, Lexi," he spoke. He was serious, somber, not mocking me, but speaking as though a teacher preparing to explain something relatively complex to a student. He continued, "There is one thing you need to know. The people around you will die. When they die depends on how strong they are. This is why your sister still alive."
I stared at him, not quite comprehending what he was telling me.
"Are you saying that she'll die as well?" He looked at me once more.
"That is your task to discover."
My sister was dying, after only 18 short years in this world. "Please, you can't take her. She's all I've got left."
"That's not why I'm here." I glanced up in shock. "Not yet, anyway." What could he possibly be here for if not that? "I need you to find your brother."
I gaped at him. "What brother?" As far as I knew I didn't have a brother.
"He's the key to saving your sister." He sighed. "I know you are going to ask, so I'll save you the trouble. The two of you were separated at birth, because they were scared of you and didn't know your true powers."
"How do I find him?" I glanced around nervously, realizing only now that it would appear as though I were talking to thin air. "We can't do this here, someone will see."
"Follow me. Bring your sister. I'm giving her a temporary boost. It should keep her alive for now." He turned and walked out the door.
I looked down at my sister and was surprised to see that she was waking up.
"Lexi? What's going on?"
"Sarah! Thank the Reaper! Are you ok?" I grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. Sarah nodded, still in shock. She moved to get up and winced. I immediately grabbed her hand and helped her to stand shakily. The moment Sarah was up and walking, I led her toward where the reaper had disappeared.
As soon as we stepped through the door, I knew we weren't in the hospital anymore. I look around at our new surroundings in wonder. We were standing on the shore of a lake with crystal clear water. The water was so clear I could see the strange plants that lined the lake bed.
"Over here. Quickly. We don't have much time and I have a lot to explain." I turned around and saw the reaper was sitting on a tree stump next to what looked like a fire pit. I helped Sarah over to sit down across from him. "Your brother's name is Alex. Alex Corto. He lives in London." He stood up and handed me two plane tickets and a piece of paper. "You'll need these."
More than twelve hours later, we arrived in Heathrow Airport. I pulled Sarah toward the door and out into the street. I attempted to hail a cab and had to wait several minutes before one stopped for us. I opened my bag and pulled out the piece of paper, which had Alex's address written on it.
When Sarah and I finally got into the car, I handed the driver the address. "We need to get here. As soon as possible." The driver nodded and sped off down the road.
Sarah coughed and I remembered that until a few hours ago, Sarah had been dying. The reaper had said he was giving her a boost. Was that boost wearing off?
My question was answered a couple minutes later, when Sarah needed my help to get out of the car. Yes, she was definitely getting worse. She was getting paler by the minute.
I raced up the steps and hammered on the door. "Hey, does Alex Corto live here? I need to talk to him."
I almost fell through the doorway when it was opened suddenly.
"What do you want? I'm Alex." The person who answered the door was clearly who we were looking for. "I wasn't really busy so... if you want to come in, you can. I'm guessing there's a lot to explain." He glanced at Sarah before stepping back to let us in, just like that.
Smiling weakly, I looked back at Sarah and was surprised to see that she had walked up the steps and stood comfortably behind me. The normal expression of pain on her face had vanished. She appeared to be at peace.
I smiled, feeling relaxed for the first time in a very long time, and pulled her into the house. We had a lot to talk about.
