Afternoon With Grim
By: Shehryar Shaikh
Tags: Love, Fiction Writing, Existentialism, Short Story

“Can we go inside? It’s too cold for me here” Clara tugged on her brothers’ jacket again hoping he’d say they didn’t need to wait anymore. Logan took off his jacket and put it on his baby sisters’ shoulders. The church courtyard in the afternoon was quiet place, unusually quiet for a Sunday Clara thought. No priests or nuns around just incredible amount of silence.

“Do you ever think about what’s beyond this place, life I mean what’s after all of this?” Logan turned his face away from the church door he was staring at to look at his sister. Clara was caught off guard but didn’t think it was weird, Logan was a philosophy major after all asking these type of questions was all he ever did “I think there’s a heaven, or at least I hope there is one or maybe there is no heaven we just get born all over again as a new person and live life again, that would explain déjà vu though” she said smiling to herself thinking how cool would it be if she was born as a general or a president or someone important or maybe even a dog. “You’re thinking about being born again as a dog aren’t you?” Logan asked smirking a little. “How did you even?…” Clara burst out laughing, her brother knew her too well.

Clara looked up to the sky, strangely enough she couldn’t see any of the clouds moving it was like looking at a painting nothing’s happening yet extremely beautiful to look at. She felt a chill at the back of her neck which ran down her spine. She put her arms through her brothers’ jacket and buttoned it up a strong breeze now started to blow. Suddenly the clouds started moving, blocking out the sun removing all the sunshine they were baking in.

Clara started looking around and almost out of nowhere the courtyard was full of people, nuns, and priests all around the courtyard instantly. The silence was gone, Clara’s ears started to hurt because of all the noise as if a million people just instantly started talking inside her head. She started cupping her ears with her hands and tears started rolling down her face because of the intense pain the she felt. She looked around Logan was siting as still as ever just looking at that church door not moving an inch even though her sisters wincing and shifting around right beside her.

Clara starts screaming “LOGAN! LOGAN! HEEEEEEEELLLLPPPPPP!!!!” Logan doesn’t budge an inch, not even to look at her. Was she crazy? Was she having a nervous breakdown? What was happening to her? All those questions and voices swarmed inside her head too much to handle. She fell down from the bench and curled up into a little ball and screamed hysterically hoping something, someone would save her.

Silence. The voices were gone, it was all over. Clara opened her eyes and to her surprise what she saw scared her more than she ever thought was possible. Every single one of those nuns and priests that were in the courtyard surrounded her and just stared then one by one each one of them stuck out their hands to grab her she keeps screaming as they tug at the jacket but suddenly it stops.

She opens her eyes and now she’s in one of the pews inside the church she gets up and looks around, she sees her brother sitting in the front pew. She got up and ran towards him and starts screaming “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU DIDN’T YOU SEE ME DYING OUT THERE?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! WHY AREN’T YOU SAYING ANYTHING?!” Logan responds with the same blank stare he had all afternoon just looking forward at the glass mural of Mary and baby Christ and a bunch of winged angels around them, not a care in the world it seemed.

“How did we get here…to the church I mean in the first place do you remember how?” Logan asked breaking his silence. Clara was fuming but after hearing his question she stopped and her mind went blank “We……” “It was…..we just….” She couldn’t find her thoughts she didn’t know what was going on or how they arrived at the church or why they arrived there in the first place.

“Don’t you think it’s a little odd for it to be so cold in the middle of August?” she had no answers for him just questions piling up in her head. “Sit down Clara” he said in the softest tone possible. She sat down now her gaze fixed at the mural the same question in her head over and over ‘what was happening?’

“All of this is real, it’s very real but I’m not Logan I’m not” She looked up at him with this look of sheer anger and frustration thinking to herself ‘what the hell do you mean you aren’t Logan, you’re Logan’. “There’s a reason you don’t remember how we got here or why you there were so many voices inside your head before and why those nuns attacked you” he got up and started pacing about.

“Logan you’re scaring me” her eyes became heavy and red she was about to break down again

“You need to listen to me very carefully Clara because what I’m about to say next you’re not going to believe me but I need you to” he reaffirmed

“Just tell me! Who are you?!”

“When did Logan die Clara?” Clara’s face went blank her memories came back there was no way possible this man before her was Logan because her brother died 4 years ago in a car accident, her mom went into depression, her dad almost drank himself to death

“Who are you?” Clara started moving a bit back

“I have many names in many cultures people mistake me for the devil but the thing is the devil comes in the form of what you want most I come in the form of what you love most. I am Death” Clara heard these words and before she knew it the person who was her brother turned into the black being with a scythe.

“The Grim Reaper or just Grim for short” he added.

“You’re telling me I’m dead? HA! This is some kind of hoax right funny cameras and I’m obviously drugged or something!” Clara started shouting forgetting her manners her mom taught her about churches

“See for yourself” The reaper moved his scythe and they weren’t in the church anymore they were standing in a hospital room. Clara could see the truth now her dead body on a bed her parents kneeling besides her crying, doctors consoling them.

“You died falling into the ice while skating, you didn’t feel a thing”

The memories, the fear it all came tumbling back in. It hurt so much, it was unbearable.

“This can’t this can’t be happening I can’t I can’t” tears started rolling down her face her voice shrieking. Grimm moved his scythe again they weren’t in the hospital anymore they were standing in nothing just pitch black only thing she could see was the reaper here for her soul and a white light towards a door just like the door ‘Logan’ kept staring at.

“Is that heaven?” she asked, scared

“People have a notion the death is the enemy, I’m not the enemy I’m here to take you on another journey I’m here to give you true life. Not pain child” his voice was hollow just as she imagined as a kid but much less frightening coming to terms with her death seemed impossible.

“Go towards the light child. He’s waiting for you”

“Who’s waiting for me?” she asked immediately but he was gone the only thing let was the light on sound no object just the light it seemed so peaceful almost transient as if she was being pulled towards it inch by inch until she was right at the doorway she started hearing a slight white noise, a deafening sound and that is when she remembered the one thing her brother said that always confused her adolescent mind.

“The fear of dying is painful but after is just Nirvana”