*** INSANITY ***

Everyone has an idea of it.  You, me, your brothers, your sisters, your parents, grandparents, even down to the oldest, dead and forgotten branch of your family tree knows of it.  How so?  For the ancestors, it was hearsay and instinct.  For the more recent ones?  It was books, games, movies, videos, quite a large variety, see? 

Those called 'insane' are always shown to be the crazy types.  They'd have foaming mouths, stretching, crazed smiles that'd look like clawed beyond their heads and into the air, and other such descriptions.  Books, games, movies, they always depict them like that.  Manic lunatics, ticking time bombs in human form, that's the picture.  On occasion, the authors would portray these personified explosives as ones in need of disarming and retrieving.  That they are in need of saving and caring, and it's the protagonist's job to do it.  Real interesting, if you'd ask me.

 I thought that if I was ever to go 'insane,' I would be like the 'mad scientist'—out somewhere in the world tinkering with whatever junk I had around, and somehow making a deadly weapon.  Perhaps I'd be the 'psycho-murderer,' A character like Jack the ripper—lurking in the shadows, skulking nearby in the dimmed streets, leaving horror and carnage in the wake of my path. 

One fateful day, I got my wish.  Though, I wouldn't call it that.  So, what happened?

Did I become the big, bad villain of the story?  Did I become a maddened husk of myself—not a person, but a 'thing' that'd lash out at the world, and take the lives of the innocent with deliberance?  No.  No, that didn't happen.  In fact, I'd say I'd grown more sane, much wiser than I was before.  It was, all in all, not a curse.  No.  No.  No.  It was a blessing, with a few caveats.

What are they?  What problems did I find myself stuck with?  Nothing much.  Really, it wasn't too bad, to me at least.  All I got were vivid hallucinations.  Very, very vivid hallucinations.   Sometimes, when I blink, people's heads turn into animals—my doctor turned into an adorable dog, still wearing that white overcoat and innerwear, the stethoscope hanging by their neck.  It was quite cute.  One time, my nurse turned into a fluffy cat, and I couldn't hold back my smiles and coos over her 'fluffy fur' that'd burst out from her uniform.

Did I turn into a complete loon?  No.  I was as sane as I could be, with the exception of these hallucinations.  The nurse I'd mentioned earlier?  Back then, she gave me a sympathetic, yet sad and worried smile, uttering "Poor kid..." with a downtrodden face as she left the room and closed the door.  It wasn't too bad, I like that people cared about me, but it did feel awfully hurtful to see her say that.  Only for a moment, just for a moment.

The doctors and nurses at the psych ward used to pay a lot of attention to me—definitely a lot more effort that others got—but now?  Not so much.  I can understand them.  I did appear completely normal.  I could hold a conversation with them, behave in a 'normal' way, and cooperated with them whenever they gave me checkups on my mental health.  So, for healthcare professionals who had limited time and energy, they came to my room less often. 

Maybe I'd see them once a week?  They'd drop off a bottle of pills to help with my hallucinations, have a good bit of chit chat with me about their day—often complaining about the long hours and less-than-desirable pay and finding solace in me, for whatever reason—then leave for the net patient they needed to check up on. 

Strange, isn't it?  If I was so 'sane' and 'mentally well' as I said, then why haven't I been discharged?  I have been.  I was let out for a quick walk, then immediately thrown back into the mental hospital's clean, sterile, and white room.  I'm not quite sure why, but they never let me out of the building's grounds without a chaperone ever again.  It really is quite strange.  Isn't that right, Mr. Frog?

*** A KNOCK ON THE DOOR ***

"Isn't that right, Mr. Frog?" He said, looking at the scrunched, wrinkled bedsheet beside him.  Despite talking to someone, no one was there next to where he sat—not in reality nor in his hallucination. "This is quite weird.  I wonder... Why haven't I been seeing things these days?  It's been like this for a whole week.  Perhaps it's a gift from a god?  It is my birthday after all."  Though it was his birthday, there wasn't a celebration to be had anytime soon in the current 24 hours.

It was an early Friday morning, the sun already up and performing in the sky's stage, dancing in place and raining its gentle rays upon the earth's surface.  It was just 5:30 AM, and the buildings outside the window are already bathing in the caress of the sun's bright warmth while I watch it alone in my bland, white room—the air conditioning practically summoning icicles in the room, alongside demanding shivers from head to the tips of my toes.

By this point, He'd usually be doing something else.  He'd pick up a a comic, a book, or a manga, and start reading through it whilst imagining the situation in full inside his head—his hallucinations jumping out at the excess of thoughts, and putting him in the middle of the action; Feel, hearing, sight, smell, and taste provided for him to experience.  But today, something felt different.  Today felt peaceful.  Calm.

That feeling of stillness, that sense of peace in meditation, it stuck with him.  That specific sensation pervaded his mind today for no reason.  He'd done nothing to foster it yesterday either, so what was it?  "Why was it there?"  He questioned it for a moment, but that inquiry sunk into the depths of his mind the next.  He didn't need to question it.  He just needed to experience it, bask in it.  To stand witness to this serene feeling, that was all he needed to do.

A woody knock clanging about at the other end of the room called his attention from the window's sight and onto the door a short walk away.  "Come in." He said, then a woman wobbling from side-to-side came in—her nurse's scrub crumpled and wrinkled, disheveled to the point it was falling off her left shoulder.

*** A BRIEF VISIT ***

"Hey Aadi~..." She dusted her clothes and tugged into proper place the falling part of her tunic.  With a shoulder-slouch posture, she hobble toward Aadi with a tired, but happy-to-see-him smile.  Each step of hers was heavy.  Each time the heel of her nearly worn out sneakers struck the floor, they made a plushy squeeze as she drove them into the ground.  She herself wasn't heavy.  She was quite light in actuality.  The weight squishing her shoes into the white tiles came from another place—the very place she was in: The psych ward.

"It's been a hell of a day... Can you let me..."  Though tired, she shambled herself to Aadi's bedside.  The sheets were soft and spoke to her skin.  The white beddings called her name.  The matching colored mattress beckoned her to lay on them.  It was just a 'short break.'  That's it.   Just a 'short break.'  The 'usual visit to Aadi's room.'  Inside her subconscious mind, her heart whispered 'pleased, let me rest...' And someone did hear its plea.

"Of course.  Go ahead.  It's been a rough week, hasn't it?"  At his words, she dove head first into the dove-colored bedsheets—not a thought of hesitation or consideration left in her mind.  Thud.  Bounce.  Then another thud.  Her head trampolined off of the stiff firmness of the mattress, into the air for a short bit, then back onto the bed.  Something felt different.  It was nice and definitely softer than the mattress she boinged off of, but it felt boney.  It was warmer too. Familiar... Very familiar... Where had she felt this before?

"Aadi... Again...?" Those words, mimicking her shamble-walk, mumbled themselves out of her lips with a groggy tune.  "Yes.  It's actually..." Through her eyes, she watched him raise his right hand and slowly raise each finger in a counting step. "The 1st one was on Sunday.  The 2nd time was on Monday.  And times 3, 4, and 5 were on Wednesday, Thursday, and today."  She felt her neck lose all strength it held in its muscles, and her head conk out on the warm thing she laid on. "I'm sorry... I'm just..." Then, an interruption came from the person with her.

"It's quite alright.  I'm happy to give you my lap.  Helping a tired person is a given.  No?"  She blinked once.  She blinked twice.  Then, she didn't care about it anymore, and let her whole body flop onto the bed—laying on her left side, using his thighs as replacement pillows.  They weren't that bad.  They were soft but firm, and had a warm feeling in them. "You're talking differently again... What did you read this time...?"

She knew it was a habit of his that, whenever he read something he particularly liked, the way he talked would shift to mimic it.  If he got to something that used rough language, he'd speak like so.  If he read something full of 'flowery prose' or something 'poetic,' his words would change to fit that kind of mold. "I just listened to a few lectures of Alan Watts I procured online.  Oh, I also read a few of those 'Zen Koans.  They were quite funny." 

He giggled slightly as he stroked the hair on her head with his gentle hand. "I don't think Alan talks like that though." He continued brushing her hair with his fingers, but he put his eyes onto hers with a smile in both his gaze and his mouth. "Getting snarky, are we? I think you're all good now." Following his words, she raised quite grumble with her face digging into his thigh under the blanket. "5 more minutes..." 

"I'll give you 10." He spoke with a tone that was familiar to her by this point, but it gained something more.  It was more than familiar. It was... Familial.  It was like hearing her mother wake her from bed again.  She couldn't wake up by herself, so her mother did.  Every school day and on the days she asked her to, her mom always helped her out when she could.  All her memories of her were happy.  So, very happy. "Thanks mom..."

1 second.  2 seconds. Then, she wanted to cover her mouth, dig a hole into the pillow, and hide her face in it when she realized what she blurted out. "Don't you go motorboating my thighs.  I swear, you'll drill a hole in them." He spoke again, and slowly, she calmed down. "Finally back to normal, huh...?" Beep beep.  Beep beep.  Beep beep went the alarm she put on her smart watch.  The time she had to spend with Aadi was up.  Back to work now. "Ugh..." She groaned, rolling her head across his lap.

"It's a bit of a shame, but it is what it is.  There are other people out there who need you, after all." He returned to using that way of talking.  It sounded a bit pompous to her—like how she'd imagined how upper class, rich of the rich would talk—but this was Aadi.  He made it sound warm, friendly and funny, albeit a little cringy.  With his help, she slowly pried herself of off the bed.  She now stood up again at his bedside, still feeling groggy and tired, but a little rested and calm as well.  It didn't recharge her to full capacity, but it was better than before.  Much better now.

"Thanks Aadi."  Her body stiffened up into a straight posture, and she turned her look to the door.  Moving with a speed-walk, she dashed out of the room—not forgetting to leave a bottle of pills on the table near the fridge.  He was right.  There are other people in the hospital who needed her, who depended on her.  Her boss, her colleagues, and most of all, her patients, they are all counting on her to do her job.  Filled with a bottle's worth of vigor, she raced off to do what she needed to do.  Just as he told her to.

'Hopefully my next visit won't be as embarrassing... Who calls their own patient mom!?  He was a boy too...'

*** AN OPEN DOOR ***

I watched the open door swing from here to there quietly, without a single creak from its hinges. "She seems better now." I said that aloud as my hand waved listlessly in the air.  Since nobody was here anymore, I brushed aside the heavy blanket on my legs and tried to get up.  "Damn it." When my legs raised a tiny bit, the feeling of static shocked my lower half back onto the firm, white bedding.  I should've expected this.

I did give her my lap for a tiny bit of time.  A tiny bit of time, that was all it was, but my body disagrees.  That was made apparent.  Very, very apparent.  "Alright.  2nd time's the charm." And apparently, I'd not learned my lesson.  I tried moving my legs again.  It was better than before, as I was able to lift them higher, but I was immediately electrocuted back onto the bedcovers.  

Strange.  It was very strange.  I'm usually not this weak.  I'm not calling myself the world's strongest strongman, but I certainly don't remember losing all the blood in my legs from giving lap pillows. "Huhuhu." I chuckled a bit at the thought, but it was a fact I couldn't deny.  Something was wrong.  It wasn't all too weird.  Anything could happen in life—take for example my ridiculously vivid hallucinations—yet I couldn't find it in myself to accept it.

I was exercising properly, though it was the weirder kind of exercise.  I almost got a few additional checkups scheduled because I did them!  The nurse that came to see me at the time thought I was going through an "episode," and brought a doctor to examine me.  Thankfully, I managed to convince them.  Barely.  Judging by the faces they showed me back then, they really didn't believe me.  When I showed them a video of another person doing it too, they looked relieved that I wasn't going crazy.

Fond memories, those were.  Very fond memories.  Lying still on the bed, I looked to the ceiling and thought "What was her name again?"  She told me a week ago, but I can't seem to remember it.  She and I became quick friends when I was taken under her care, and she always treated me like a normal person.  Everyone in the psych ward has something they're going through, so maybe I was a breath of fresh air for her?  Like a short break from the often stressful and careful work she'd need to do?

I wiggled my toes a bit, and kicked my legs in the air.  Looks like they're fine again.  Adding a bit of spin to my turn, I went from laying on my bedside to standing barefoot on the white-tiled floors of my room.  She left the door open... Again.  I don't remember her name, but we got to know each other very well besides that.  When she's in a hurry, she oft forgets to do simple things like closing doors she opened, knowing where she put her things, remembering the reason why she went into a room, etc.

I wasn't better in that regard though.  I too sometimes forget where I left my phone and books, only to find it on the table next to me.  And going into rooms without a clue why I did?  I did that too, almost too often actually.  Reminiscing on the memories I made in this hospital room, my bare feet slapped a fleshy sound on the floor as I made my way to the door.  I stood in front of it.  I checked my phone as I gently pushed the door closed.  "Maybe she'll come back?"

I turned my back to the door and began walking to my bed.  Sometimes, she'd forget a few things in my room, and would have to make a round trip back to get it.  Would she do that today?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Now, where'd I put my phone?

Knock knock.  Knock knock knock.  Knock went the door with it's woody timbre tone.

Maybe she did come back after all.

She didn't seem to leave anything behind.  Usually it'd be her phone or her bag, or something else.  What she forgot would normally be on the table, but the only thing sitting on its flat wood was the bottle of pills she gave me earlier.  I wonder what she left this time?  I walked back to the door and quickly flicked it open to the side.  My gaze was on the handle as I pulled it open, so I couldn't see the person in front of me for a moment.

I expected to hear her groggy voice in my ear say 'Sorry Aadi.  Can I fetch something from your room real quick?' as she scratched the back of her head with a slight blush on her face. But that didn't happen.  The person in front of me wasn't her.  I wasn't expecting them at the moment.  However, to say I didn't expect their arrival at all would be wrong as well.

I expected them to come, but I didn't think they'd get here to day.  It was a surprise, but it was a welcome one.  I'm ready.  I've prepared myself enough.  That was what philosophy was all about, after all.

"It's about time!  I was waiting for you!"

*** THE DEATH AND THE DYING ***

Aadi stood in front of the person at the door after pulling it open to the side.  When he saw the figure standing before him, a bright smile grew on his face alongside a sunny look in his eyes.  It was like meeting an old friend.  For him, it was.  For him, it was meeting a friend he knew since forever, although he'd never met them before.  He heard of them before.  They were everywhere in the world.  To not notice them anywhere would be ridiculous.  A simple impossibility.

"It's about time!  I was waiting for quite a while!"  Aadi spoke in an excited hurry, his hand still on the door's handle. "Come in!  Come in!  I can brew us some tea while we're here!"  He ran off to the table in his room, firstly fetching two cups' worth of water from the cooler, secondly going to the kettle and throwing the water in.  He crouched down slightly and set the time to 2 minutes.  It was a little short for a boil, but it would have to do.  He didn't have much time.

The figure stood at the entrance, their body still and their black-greyish robes flowing onto the floor.  They found this person, Aadi, strange.  They were informed before.  Still, the attitude of the boy was unexpected.  Even counting the countless other experiences they had in doing their duty, there were few who were accepting of them, even fewer were those who welcomed them with such fervor.  And this one—this boy, this young man—was practically the only one to show a twinkle in their eyes when he met them.

'Perhaps this is why he was considered special?' They thought, stroking their chin with their hands.  If they had eyebrows, they'd be raised.

"Tea's ready!  It needs some time to cool off, but you can sit while we wait!"  Aadi's voice called out with an echo inside the walls of the room.  This was a first for the figure.  Nobody had done this for them before.  'Perhaps I should.'  With that thought, they walked slowly toward the table Aadi was seated at.  Clingk.  Clang.  Clangk.  There went the sound of bones lightly hitting the floor as the figure walked.  Skeletal thuds on the tiled floors sounded twice, one step's voice being followed by its own echo.

When they reached the table, they extended their skeletal hand from the baggy sleeves of their robes and pulled out a chair to take a seat.  Once they sat on the flat wood of the chair, they placed their scythe on the floor.  Now face-to-face with the young boy Aadi, they knew what had to be done, what had to be said.

"Aadi, you're dying."

*** THE REAPER AND THE BOY ***

"Aadi, You're dying."

"That's quite alright.  Now, drink some tea before it gets cold.  Matcha's a favorite of mine, and I don't want any of it to go to waste."

This was certainly a first.  In all my work—reaping the souls of man, animal, plant, and even amoebae—there were none like this.  Yes, I'd taken careful attention to be as kind as possible to each and every soul, but they never acted like this.  Some accepted me.  Some rejected me.  I brought them back all the same.  All of them had some concern about their lives.  Even the ones who came to accept me had some "profound" or "resolute" acceptance that glimmered in their eyes.  Even after they'd died.

This boy, Aadi, did not.

Something was different.  It was off.

"You're quite casual for someone just told about their death."  I couldn't help but rub my chin at this moment.  It made a scraping noise of bone scratching bone, but it didn't dissuade my curiosity.  Not one bit.  Why was this mortal so... calm?  That's not word.  That's the wrong way to describe him.  "Well, I'm dying every moment, aren't I?"  His response didn't help either.  What does that even mean?  I don't understand him.  

"What do you mean?"  I took the small mug into my hands and sipped a bit of tea.  It was calming with it's warmth and gentle taste, but the thought never left me. "Mortals like you should be somewhat worried about their end."  I want to know more about this boy.  Who was he?  What was he, to be so nonchalant in the face of death, in the face of me?  "I'll answer your questions in order."  He stated, and I nodded my head.  Due to my moving, the hood of my robes fell to my back, revealing my skeletal head.

"I read somewhere online that my cells are continually dying and replenishing.  A million die every second, and another 4 million are born in that same frame of time.  It's not too much a stretch to say I'm literally dying every other moment, yes?"   A snicker followed the breath that made his last word.  What was so humorous about this?  What did he find in that to let out such laughter?

"As for you 2nd question... Was that a question?"

"Yes!  Now, answer it!"  I nearly slammed my hands through the table.  When was the last time I felt like this?  To be so frustrated, yet so interested, with the soul of a mere mortal no less!  I must know!  I simply must, I can't let this go!

"Say the magic words~"  He giggled again.  What does that even mean? "What are these magic words you speak of?"  I knew mankind had magics and such in other worlds, but this one was rather special.  It didn't have magic, though it did keep the tradition of superstition and prayer.  What were they, these magic words?  "Say please~"  His singsong tone came out alongside a wide, amused smile.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Please?"  I couldn't believe the audacity of this human, but I also couldn't imagine I'd go through with it as well.  I wondered why exactly I was going along with his game.  Curiosity maybe?  If others tried this, I wouldn't pay them heed.  So, why him?  I would ask that, but the amount of time we have...  It's too little.

"Thanks~  Now, as for your 2nd question, it's quite obvious to me.  I'm a human.  I could die at any point in time.  It might be in a decade, a year, a month, or a week, but I'm still going to die.  And now that you're here?  It looks like I'm going to die today.  I thought it'd be tomorrow, but oh well~"  With the same snicker he showed before, filled with even more jovial joy, he laughed in front of me, in front of death.  It wasn't one of defiance either.  I could tell what those were, and this wasn't one of them.  This was acceptance.  One of a disturbing degree as well.

In my seat, still holding the mug of tea he gave me, I postured a slouch and let out a heavy sigh.  Now I knew why he was chosen.  "That reminds me, what are you here for?  Certainly not just my death.  You'd have reaped my soul if that was all."  He's fast to catch on.  "Yes.  I'm here for another reason as well.  But first, I must ask you a question."  I raised my finger in the air as I spoke.  I wonder how he'll reply?  "Alright then.  Ask away!"  

"Are you willing to help a person, even when they've done a heinous wrong?"  This was the crux.  This would decide if he was worthy or not, whether to give him the gift, or let him go on his way to whatever afterlife he believed in.  What will he say-

"Of course."

*** THE GIFT ***

When faced with the question 'Would you help a person, even when they've done wrong?' Aadi answered 'Of course.'  The reaper's jaw dropped to the floor the moment he heard the boy's answer.  He got off his seat, picked up their jaw, and handed it back to them.  They spent a moment to reattach it.  After that, they nodded slightly with a slow breath coming from their nose.  A short while passed in silence with the two sitting at the table, Aadi's head cocked to the side and sipping his tea, and the reaper who spent the ticking time to gather their thoughts.

They looked up from the table's face, and then to Aadi's eyes and said "You passed."  Aadi's mouth shot into a smile and let out a short laugh as he retorted "Literally or figuratively?"  At that joke, even the reaper couldn't hold in their chuckle, the teeth on their jaws clacking together in laughter. "So, is there a heaven and hell?  Am I going to either of them?"  Aadi took a hit of tea in his mouth as he asked.  "It depends on what you believe.  But for you?  You're going somewhere else."  The reaper responded in a light tone.

"A god came to a bargain with one of the deities here, and you have been chosen by them."  They pointed at Aadi with their long, skeletal finger.  It took not a moment before he replied "So there are gods out there."  He took another sip of his matcha tea before continuing "What was I chosen for?"  The reaper spent several seconds thinking in silence.  Aadi waited with tea-mug in hand, and as he was about to bring it to his mouth, they spoke to answer him.

"A girl, the daughter of a duke, was betrothed to a boy, the young crown prince of the royal family.  The ducal family was a family known for their mastery of magic, fire in particular.  They had made achievements in a previous war, and formed a bond with the royal family.  The girl and the boy were close in young age, but due to matters regarding their families, they grew distant.  Despite this, the girl's longing for the prince did not ebb, but become stronger.  The boy however?  His love withered, though friendship still remained."

"The growing distance between them worsened, as the girl was placed under a curse which none could dispel.  The most powerful healers, the holiest of saints, both could not help her.  The prince, though worried firstly, he lost his concern in time.  His betrothal to the girl wasn't one of love to him anymore.  It was political.  Nothing more.  Still, the girl loved him.  She longed for him, and did what she could to make herself the perfect lady for the prince."

The reaper knew this exposition wasted the little bit of time they had with Aadi.  Though it ate up so much of the sand in his hourglass, they had to tell it to him.  If they could foster a tiny bit of empathy for the girl within Aadi, it was well worth it.  It'd make things much easier.  If he could make a connection between him and the girl, he would be better ready to accept the gift.  This was for both themself and himself.  They didn't have much time, so they have to use it in the best way.

After a short pause of deeper thought, the reaper continued on as Aadi watched in silence—the coffee mug of tea sitting still on the table in his hands. 

"When the girl and boy entered the royal academy, where all nobles are obligated to attend, she found her prince was in love for another.  In escalating action, she and her followers harassed the person who stole the prince away with a sense of righteous vengeance.  They were foiled each and every time.  And the prince's opinion of the duke's daughter worsened.  Eventually, the prince and his new lover denounced her for her acts of bullying and corrupt dealings with others, and had her..."

The reaper took their finger, straightened it facing to the floor, and put it beside their neck.  They brought their finger from the left to the right side, making the gesture of a slit throat.  "Do you understand what I mean, Aadi?"  With a up and down bob after a nod, Aadi knew all he had to.  At least, he thought that.

*** A HANDSHAKE ***

"So.  Firstly, cursed by who-knows-what.  Secondly, had their love interest and probably childhood friend stolen away them.  Then finally executed by said pairing... Hooo..."  Aadi sank into the back of his seat, a resigned sigh coming from his breath.  "Now, where do I come in?  I can't do anything about someone already passed."  The reaper extended their hand out across the table, and opened their jaw bone to speak. "This is the future predicted. 

Half has already happened, but half is still left unoccurred.  A god of that world wants you to save her from that fate."  At the end of their words, they looked Aadi in the eyes with their hollow eye sockets.  No more games.  No more convincing or persuasion.  Now was the time.  They didn't have much left of it, so the moment had come. "Will you rescue this poor girl from her fate?"  The reaper's voice didn't come from in front of Aadi, nor from anywhere else.  It came to him from his thoughts. 'Will you help her?'

"Yes.  I'll do what I can, but no guarantees."

Aadi stood up from his seat and leaned one elbow onto the table.  Reaching his shoulder out, his hand grabbed that of the reaper's "I agree."  He shook their hand and sat back down onto the wooden chair.  'Weird, was the chair always this comfortable?' Aadi sank further into his seat, shrinking more and more as a serene peace enveloped his relaxed body.  His muscles mellowed out, and all tension escaped him.  All worry that poked at his mind lost their edge, and seemed to not matter anymore.

"I'm terribly tired for some reason... Is it alright if I... Take a nap?"  Aadi laid their head onto the wooden table.  He placed his arms below him to be pillows for his sleepy cranium.  In a gentle voice, one clear yet soft, one soothing like the flowing bleeps and bloops of water, the reaper silently took to the side of Aadi—gently gliding their ice-cool hand across the mortal boy's face.  "Go take a nap.  You'll wake soon enough."

"Thank... you..."

And like that, Aadi's body laid cold, seated at the chair of his hospital room table.  His mouth was curled into a slight smile, as if in a peaceful sleep, though the rest he now took was eternal.  Eternal, but one to be interrupted.  The reaper took the resting soul of Aadi into their hands—gently fruit-picking it from the air in a swift tug—and faced a wall nearby them.  There, a white door opened.  The white door expanded into a gated decorated with sea stars, long sea serpents that crawled up the quartz-white marble of the pillar.

At the head of the gate read "Ozean" inscripted in golden lettering written in wavy cursive that seamlessly looped from one letter to another with styled decorative symbols of splashing water, crashing waves, and running rivers that encased the titled name.  The reaper took a step inside the gate, entering the realm held inside.  Under their silent breath, they said "My best wishes to you, Aadi." as they made further way inside the place held within the gate.

-end