Death's Desire

Many people speculate, theorise even, that there is another plain of existence, another reality within our reality and most people would call them crazy lunatics but these ‘crazy lunatics’ are spot on... there is another reality within our own but in actual fact, it is Death’s Domain. In this place resides Death, or The Grim Reaper for those of you who are more familiar with that pseudonym, where he lives in a massive house complete with lounge, 2 bedrooms (in case a person dies during the night), sauna/Jacuzzi room (should he need to unwind after a very hard day’s reaping) and most importantly, the catalogue and index room.
In the catalogue and index room, there are literally millions upon millions of autobiographies have been written or still are being written (books have now gone out of fashion and most autobiographies are being typed out on computer, however, this turns out to be a nightmare as the wiring often gets tangled up and it would take quite a while to sort them out) and on a desk made from the finest oak, lies the ledger. The ledger contains the names of those soon to expire and need to be reaped. Nearly every minute, more and more names appear on it.
The job can get fairly monotonous and repetitive... y’know someone dies, reap soul, escort soul to Heaven or Hell and the cycle continuously repeats itself however, Death, somehow, manages to take some personal time to either sit back and relax, drink a nice hot chocolate, relax in the sauna or Jacuzzi or even just watch some TV or a DVD.
Death swung open the front door and rested his scythe on a shelf he had screwed to the wall; it was a particularly hard day for him as he came home exhausted. He went up the stairs and into his bedroom where he changed out of his trademark jet black cloak and into a jet black robe and a pair of ahem... fuzzy pink slippers. Minutes later, he walked into his lounge and crashed down on the sofa in front of his 42′′ inch hi-def plasma screen television. For an entity with no visible means of support, he was doing very well for himself I mean, I’d like a 42′′ inch hi-def plasma screen television wouldn’t you?
Anyway... using his bony hand, he clicked a button on the remote and the screen flickered on then he surfed through the channels to find program he felt was suitable. Finally, he stopped on the E! Channel. An update was on... ‘Good evening, I’m Kathryn Jameson with the latest entertainment update. Carlton Edwards is getting back into the director’s chair after a two-year absence, his latest offering “The Scorpion’s Sting: The Blood of The Angels” promises to be his best film yet and he hopes it will become a blockbuster...’ Death sat up; he had always been a fan of Carlton Edwards’ movies. The reporter continued ‘... The movie is only about three days away from its premiere at the Chinese Theatre’
Death clicked the television off. ‘Hmm,’ he pondered, ‘I think it’s time to see Mr. Edwards.’ and with that thought in mind, he walked out of the room. Carlton was arriving home from the studio; he was just doing a final edit on his film, and had arrived back at his apartment. Throwing the car keys onto
the door side table, he walked into the lounge, opened his liquor cabinet and took out a bottle of Bourbon and a large glass. After pouring the drink and throwing a few ice cubes in it, he sat down on the sofa and turned on his TV with the remote.
He took a sip from his drink while surfing through the channels, nothing particularly interesting was on. ‘Nothing on, eh?’ asked a deep, booming, sinister voice. Carlton immediately sat up and swallowing hard, turned around slowly and saw a seven-foot tall figure in a jet black cloak carrying a scythe. Carlton screamed and jumped off the sofa, throwing the glass out of his hand.
‘Calm down,’ Death said hesitantly, ‘calm down!’
‘Oh my...’ Carlton exclaimed, ‘who are you?’
‘Are you really that clueless? I’m Death... The Grim Reaper’
‘I suppose you’ve come for my soul haven’t you?’
‘Nope, I want to ask you a favour’
‘Sure... I must say, I expected you to have glowing red eyes not glowing baby blue eyes’
‘Oh yeah well, most films portray me as a menacing and deadly figure especially those “Final Destination” movies... as if I’d really be that petty, I should see the writers of those films and let them know about my extreme displeasure of my portrayal,’ Death seemed a bit angry, so Carlton decided that it would be best if he steered away from the eyes topic and dive straight in with the question... ‘What’s the favour you want me to do for you?’
‘Oh yes, I was wondering if I could attend the premiere of your new movie?’ Carlton’s jaw dropped... he was shocked that Death wanted to go to a premiere of a movie, especially his movie. ‘Wouldn’t you have reapings or something that night?’ he asked.
‘Well yes, but I always have someone to fill in for me’
‘And who would that be? You don’t have a clone of yourself, do you?’ ‘Unfortunately no, God wouldn’t shell out the cash for a clone... He can be such a cheapskate sometimes. My stand-in is a guy named Bob’
‘Bob?’ Carlton asked as he raised an eyebrow. ‘Yeah, Bob,’ Death replied ‘he’s a real natural and takes pleasure in filling in from time to time’
Carlton felt they were veering off topic again and Death also had that feeling. ‘So, you want to attend my movie premiere eh?’ Carlton asked to re-adjust the conversation back to its original state.
‘Yes... I need this, I’ve got to take a break from my work,’ Death said ‘you don’t know the repetitiveness of the job’
‘I don’t know, I don’t think your attendance wouldn’t go down too well with the crowd’
‘I suppose not,’ he replied ‘but I need to escape the monotony of my job y’know’
Carlton brushed his hand through his hair and then, starting to stroke his chin. ‘True, no one works harder than you,’ he mused, ‘okay, you can come
as my guest of honour’
Death became excited. ‘Fantastic!’ he exclaimed, ‘what time shall I arrive at?’
‘Seven o’clock’
‘Will do... see you at seven then’ he said, and then he walked away and seemed to disappear. Carlton was unsure as to what to do next, so he went back to his liquor cabinet and got out the largest glass. He walked back to the sofa crashed down on it, poured the Bourbon into the glass, put the empty bottle on the table in front of him and then started drinking.
Three days had passed and passed rather quickly I might add... anyway, the big day had finally arrived and Carlton was excited, ‘Hello,’ boomed a familiar voice.
‘Look,’ Carlton said angrily, ‘you’ve gotta stop sneaking around like that’ ‘Sorry... force of habit’
‘Hey, like the outfit’
‘Thanks... I mainly wear this when I’m reaping the souls of celebrities or royalty,’ Death was wearing a jet-black robe with hundreds of diamonds and jewels sown into the lining, he was carrying a golden scythe too.
‘I’m not so sure about the scythe though’ ‘But it’s my thing!’ Death whined.
‘Okay...’ Carlton said, ‘c’mon, let’s get going or we’ll be late.’
‘Coming,’ Death said, they both left the hall and Carlton locked the door behind him. They got into Carlton’s seriously expensive sports car, buckled up, pulled out of the driveway and sped off.
Meanwhile at the Chinese Theatre, crowds of excitable fans had gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars; several paparazzi were also in attendance to get that best selling photo for those glitzy magazines and the newspapers.
The first celeb to arrive was Ariel Heath-Kieldling, the female lead, wearing a beautiful diamond studded gown, it was quite a change from the character she portrayed in the movie but in any case, she bathed in the glow of flash bulbs and reveled in the cheers from the crowd. She smiled and waved to the crowd as she traversed the red carpet, trying to make the dress sway in the gentle breeze.
Next to walk the carpet was the male lead, Tyler Harrison. He also received the same attention from the crowd as Ariel did, except there were cries of ‘Show us your abs!’ from some certain female fans. Tyler was going to oblige but he was hurried into the theatre by his bodyguard.
Several other cast members walked the carpet and they did receive the same amount of cheering and attention from the fans but the crowd was faking interest.
Just then, the car of importance pulled up... Carlton got out of the car and then helped Death out of the car. They both walked the carpet and the crowd
fell silent, they waved and smiled nervously to the crowd. ‘I told you your attendance wouldn’t be well received!’ Carlton said angrily through clenched teeth as they continued walking down the carpet.
The paparazzi still took photos and could imagine what the headlines would say in the papers but however, Death was treated like a celebrity. His diamond and jewel encrusted cloak sparkled and twinkled as the camera flashbulbs popped. Inside the ushers helped them to their seats. Death, Carlton and the other stars took their seats in the VIP box.
‘Can you do something about your eyes?’ Carlton asked
‘What?’
‘Well, the lights will be going down soon’
‘Oh yes,’ Death replied and pulled his hood over his eyes. ‘Can you see through that?’ Carlton asked.
‘Yep,’ Death replied.
The lights went down and the movie began. It began with a strange cult gathering and a ritualistic murder taking place, nothing gory was shown but the suggestion was there. Death was riveted. The movie then went to tell the story of how reporter Helen Masterson, played by Ariel Heath-Kieldling, and New York detective Andrew Morris, played by Tyler Harrison, became embroiled in a mystery where it soon became apparent that the fate of the world was at stake.
When the movie finished and as the credits rolled, the audience gave a boisterous applause which gradually became a standing ovation. In that case, Carlton and his cast stars walked down to the screen and bowed. Afterwards, Carlton and Death arrived back at Carlton’s apartment.
‘Well...’ Death started as he got out of the car, ‘thank you for that’ ‘What did you think?’ Carlton asked.
‘I loved it... I thought it was well directed and well acted’
‘Good’
‘Well I gotta go,’ Death said, ‘got a job to do and all that’
‘Okay’ Carlton got out of the car and shook Death’s hand. Death walked away.
‘I hope...’ Death said, ‘not to see you again too soon’
He said that in a sinister tone and looked back at him with intense, glowing red eyes. Carlton hastily searched his pocket and pulled out his keys; he ran to the front door and struggled to get the key into the keyhole. Eventually, he achieved this opened the door and slammed it behind him.
Death’s eyes went from red to blue and he quietly chuckled to himself and said, ‘Hah... gets them every time!’
THE END