To Save a Soul

Notes: This is only a section of a much longer piece that I'm working on; that's why this section cuts off without a complete ending/resolution.

To Save a Soul

When Maeve awoke after taking her final breath she was surrounded by fog. It was as if her mental state was being displayed all around her. The faint light illuminating from seemingly nowhere made the fog around her seem infinite, spreading across the space without bounds.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Maeve called out to the stormy void, praying that someone would hear her. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she was just seeing things- 'Cause that's all it was... right? Her mind has to be playing tricks on her.

As soon as she removed her hands from her eyes she blinked the blurriness away. Once her vision focused again she scanned the area in hopes of seeing a difference. There wasn't.

"Fuck... What's going on?" Maeve's thoughts ran through her mind like a cat running after a feathered toy. Nothing looked familiar to her and she couldn't remember how she got here in the first place, let alone anything before she woke up.

"Hello?" A voice resounded through the void. Startled, Maeve whipped her head around, trying to figure out where the voice came from. As she continued to look around her, the concrete under her feet bobbed and rippled, turning into hardwood slabs. The fog surrounding her swirled around, forming tall walls. Bookshelves slid into place, lining the walls from floor to ceiling, as a large desk fazed up into the center of the room. Stacks of books upon books surrounded its surface with ink jars thrown around on top as well. It's as if Maeve stepped into a grand study in an esteemed estate. Maeve could hear small crackles of wood in a fireplace and as she looked around some more, she noticed a large chandelier hung from the tall ceilings right above the cluttered desk. She could make out the small flickers of flames from the candles that lined its arms.

Suddenly, a towering hooded figure stepped out of the shadows in front of Maeve. Its robes fell to the floor, leaving a long but manageable train behind them. Inside the hood sat a perfectly white skull that had long black waves that swirled their way down the figure's head. A faint amethyst glow resided deep in the eye sockets, giving the figure a purple glow. The figure's entire body was draped in black fabric except for the figure's exposed hands. Their phalanges and carpal bones shined just as white as their skull and were highlighted by the same amethyst glow that resided in their sockets.

"Maeve, is it?" The figure took a step towards Maeve, extending their exposed phalanges. Maeve instinctively took a step back from the figure. Everything inside of her was telling her to flee, but she stood paralyzed under the figure's gaze. The figure took their hood off, letting their long black hair loosely fall off their shoulders. Maeve stood as still as a mountain.

"Wh-Who... What are you-" Maeve flinched at her wavering voice. The figure clasped their hands together, a faint tapping resounded from their bones clanking together.

"The name's Grim. I'm here to reap your sooouuulll." The figure proceeded to unclasp their hands and wiggled their fingers at Maeve. Maeve's brow twitched. "C'mon, I'm just messing with you-" Grim smiled at Maeve, which caused a wave of confusion to wash over her. Since Grim has no visible flesh, they're open jaws formed from their smile gawked down at Maeve. The silence that followed was so loud you could just about hear the swishing of Grim's robe as they dropped their arms to their side.

"What? Don't got a funny bone? Do I have something in my teeth?" Grim reached out to take Maeve's hand yet again but stopped after Maeve flinched. They paused for a moment in thought.

"P-Please don't touch me-" Grim slouched in defeat, their gaze shifted to the floor. They looked like a child who just got scolded for not eating their vegetables. Maeve furrowed her brows, confused with the complete one-eighty that Grim's demeanor took. She almost felt bad for them.

"Listen, I get it. My appearance may say otherwise- But, I promise you I'm not going to harm you." Grim straightened out their posture, fiddling with one of their sleeves. Maeve didn't know how to feel at this point. This... person? What even was the figure that stood in front of her? Whatever it was, it was utterly terrifying to look at and for some reason, Maeve felt like she hurt its feelings. Thinking about the contrast between the figure's appearance and their reactions and the things they were saying to her made Maeve laugh to herself. In a way, the figure was cute; they had a nightmarish look yet they acted so childishly. Whatever fear she felt before completely dissipated as she looked back at the figure.

"Grim, right?" Grim tilted their head, seemingly surprised, and then nodded in response. "Can you tell me where we are? I can't remember how I got here in the first place-"

"You... don't remember?" The confusion in Grim's tone made Maeve think twice about what she just said. Was it a bad thing that she didn't remember?

"Well... no. My memory stops at me waking up in this place."

"Peculiar-" Grim strode over to the desk in the center of the room and grabbed one of the books. They reached into their pocket, pulled out a quill, and immediately dabbed it into one of the ink jars. They then proceeded to scribble something down and paused for a moment in thought.

"What do you mean? I-Is something wrong? You also never answered my-"

"Maeve... please. I need a moment to think." Grim hushed her as they continued scribbling something down. They periodically paused and tapped the feather against their mandible. "You do know that your life on earth ended, right?" Maeve froze.

"I... died?" Confused, Maeve didn't blink as she waited for Grim to answer. All they did was twirl their quill in their hand before continuing to write some more.

"Yes, but life doesn't end after death, my sweet. There's so much more to come for you as soon as we can figure out what's holding you from fully passing on"

"Wait- Then... Where am I now? This can't be my final resting place... is it?" Maeve shuddered at the thought of staying here for eternity. She still didn't know how to feel about Grim either.

"Stars no, dear. This is Limbo; it's where all the souls that have unfinished business come to have guidance with moving on to their next life."

"And, that makes you...?"

"I'm a reaper, darling. I'm the sole soul that's here to help whatever soul finds themself in my office. That just leads us right back to you. So... you really don't remember anything about your past life?" Grim put the notebook back down on the desk and continued to fiddle with the feather in their hand. They then proceeded to snap their fingers at Maeve a few times before lowering their head and returning to fiddling with their quill.

"I really don't know how else to describe it. I know that my name is Maeve but I can't remember much else. I just kinda... appeared here-" Grim nodded to themself as they moved some books around on the desk. Seeming to be unhappy with the assortment of books already out, they muttered something to themselves as they traversed the room, picking up different books from a few of the scattered bookshelves around. Flipping through a few pages from each, they tossed the unnecessary books onto the desk. It worried Maeve how confused Grim looked. However, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang.

"Nyeh!" Grim clinked as a large stack of books toppled off of the desk, scattering all over the ground. Feeling something bump against the sole of her shoe, Maeve looked down and found one of the books that Grim was in the process of putting back onto the desk. She picked it up and kneeled to hand it to Grim. "Thank you... foolish of me to be as clumsy as I am.", Grim stood and brushed their hands down their robe, smoothing out any creases that formed while they were kneeling.

Suddenly, a chime resounded throughout the office. Grim perked up, their bones clanking together as they strode over to Maeve. She watched Grim as they waved their arms in front of them.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Grim's voice echoed out as the wall facing Maeve faded away and opened up to the void she was surrounded by moments before. She could physically feel the hardwood floor under her start to shake as the room itself spread out and pulled whoever was in that inescapable void into the room with her. Once the shaking subsided and the room became whole once again, Maeve saw a young girl standing in front of her. Her arms were snug against her torso, hugging herself. The little girl had dark, cloud-like hair that formed a halo around her brown face. Maeve cringed as she watched the girl's expression contort as she met Grim's gaze. However, what surprised Maeve was the fact that the girl wasn't frightened whatsoever by Grim; she almost seemed relieved to see them. Maeve returned her gaze to Grim, noticing that they were beckoning her over.

"Say, I think I know how to make you useful while I'm figuring out how I can help you-" Grim spoke lowly, trying to hide what they were saying from the girl who stood in front of them. "Just stay here for a moment, I'll catch you up to speed soon." Maeve pursed her lips as she watched Grim approach the young girl, shake her hand, and then guide her to a corner of the office. Grim waved their arms, making the bookshelves on the walls move away, the wall behind them replacing itself with a white projection screen. Grim then snapped their fingers as a film started to play on the newfound screen in the office. As they made their way back to Maeve, she focused on the screen in front of the girl, puzzled by the fact that everything was shot as if you were looking through the eyes of a child. The camera constantly darted around, looking predominantly up, as if the world was a bit too big for the cameraman. As Grim made their way back over to Maeve, she continued to focus on the screen.

"What's being played over there?" Maeve continued to focus on the display. Grim stood, fixing their sleeves over their hands.

"I'm letting the girl watch her past life so that she can fully grasp what she needs to do to successfully move forward." Intrigued by Grim's response, Maeve locked eyes with Grim.

"Wait... so, we're watching her life through her own eyes?"

"In simple terms, yes. However, I need your focus elsewhere. Follow me..." Grim guided Maeve over to their desk, pulling out the center drawer above their chair. Inside sat a manilla folder, they immediately grabbed it and flipped it open on the desk. Inside sat a stack of documents; the first page was laminated and held a picture of the same little girl that stood in the office with them. Grim adjusted the folder so it was in perfect view for Maeve.

"What... is this?" Maeve thumbed through the documents, hearing the pages crinkle with each movement.

"It's Miss Maggie's past life archive. Every time a soul finds their way to me, I get sent their most recent archive to get a general gist of who they were and figure out a way to successfully aid them to their next life."

"Wait, so- Did you get one for me?" Maeve tried to lock their gaze with Grim's but found Grim focusing on the girl as she continued to watch her life on screen. Glancing at the screen, Maeve noticed that the usual day-to-day things that the girl was doing earlier in the film were now replaced with passing moments of being stuck in hospital beds, hooked up to an assortment of machines. However, what stuck out to her was how frequently the young girl was in and out of the hospital; until there was one final long period that ended the film with the girl still being in the hospital. Maeve couldn't believe that someone so young had their life cut off so suddenly without having experienced much of what the world had to offer them. She had so much to offer the world, yet couldn't any longer. Maeve's thoughts were interrupted by Grim resting their poky hand on her shoulder.

"Come help her with me. I can see it in your eyes. Go ahead, join me." Grim patted Maeve on the shoulder to get her to follow them. As she got closer to the girl, Maeve could hear faint crying, and sniffles interrupting long pauses as the girl softly wept. All Maeve wanted to do was hold her and tell her everything would be okay. She had so much life left for her to live. How could something like that happen to someone as young as she was? "Maeve, go talk to her. Help me figure out what she needs." Grim squeezed Maeve's shoulder as they lightly pushed her to make her way towards the young girl.

As Maeve got closer to the girl she saw streaks of tears running down her face. Her face, just like her eyes were puffy and red making it look like she had just got the worst sunburn. Maeve wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulder which made the girl ease into Maeve's embrace. The girl hunched over as her sobs waved through her entire body. Rubbing her hand up and down the girl's bicep, Maeve gave the girl an empathetic squeeze in hopes of letting the girl know that she was there for her without physically saying it.

"I had so much I wanted to say to her-" The girl's voice wavered through each sob.

"To whom?" Maeve kept her voice soft, trying to keep the girl calm enough to continue speaking.

"My mom- She gave up everything just so that I could be happy during my last few months. I...I wasn't ready to say goodbye." The girl covered her face with both of her hands and continued to wail. Maeve

"Shhh... hey, no one's ever ready for that. Tell me. What did you want to say to her?"

"So- Much. I don't think she ever understood how much I loved her. How grateful I was for everything she did for me. How strong I think she is. Everything... I just... want to know that she's okay. That, she's still going to push forward even without me-" Maeve could feel the pain in every breath that the girl took. "Please... tell me that she's okay. Tell me she's not lost without me." Maeve squeezed the girl's shoulders once more, really trying to focus all of the loving energy she could muster into this girl. She just wanted to hold her until the never-ending clock of time stopped ticking. However, before long Grim made their way over and ended the embrace they were sharing as they knelt to face the crumpled girl.

"Is that what you fully desire at this moment?" Grim met the girl's gaze, her expression illuminated by the amethyst glow that resided inside of Grim.

"Yes- Please tell me that my mom continues on with her life. I don't think I could live with myself knowing that I caused her downfall. She deserves the world-" The girl wiped the tears off of her face as she continued to look at Grim. Grim nodded to themself as they sat in thought.

"Please bring your attention back to the screen then." Grim stood as they snapped their fingers at the white screen. Immediately a new film started to roll; a woman was seen in a teen's room holding a pillow sobbing to themself. The young girl's eyes welled up once more as tears threatened to roll down her cheeks. Grim handed the girl a remote which caused the girl to look up at Grim through furrowed brows. "You can fast forward through time with this. Take as long as you need. My assistant will stay with you if you have any questions." The girl nodded as a wavering grin spread across her face. As quickly as it appeared, it whisked itself away as the girl regained her focus on the screen, tapping the fast-forward button on the remote.

Maeve watched as the woman on the screen went on through her days. Some were filled with stagnation, other times the woman was a lot more serendipitous, finding moments where she could breathe and be happy. As time went on, the woman seemed to have found her footing until days would go on without her crying as frequently. The young girl's expression softened over time as she watched the woman pick her life back up and find happiness once more. However, the girl froze for a moment after watching the woman drag a box out of her house filled with canvases and toss it to the side of the road.

"Why...? She loved painting. Wh-Why?" the girl's face creased as she shook her head.

"Hey... maybe she needed more room to put new ones? It's-"

"No- those were the special ones she was saving for her big break. I made her promise me that once I was gone she would continue painting and put her favorites up in her own gallery. She... promised-" The girl's whole body started to shake once more until she paused the film entirely when she saw the woman throw a box of brushes and paints to the road. "No- She can't be... She had so much to show the world. Why- Why throw it all away now?" The girl's wails turned into full-blown sobs, some of them being so forceful that her whole body rocked as they crashed through her.

"Hey... we can fix this. I promise-" Maeve whipped her head around to find Grim, she flinched as she realized that Grim was already approaching the two of them. Maeve raised her brows at Grim trying to ask if she was saying anything that resembled the truth and Grim returned it with a quick nod.

"Painting, aye? She must really be something if that's the one thing you're caught up on." The girl wiped away the fluids dripping off her face as she nodded at Grim. "Well, do you think she'd be likely to submit to a local gallery if given the opportunity?" The girl pondered for a moment, her face becoming even more red as she continued to wipe her face with her sleeve. She then quickly nodded at Grim once more. Grim tapped one of their phalanges against their femur as they continued to think. The amethyst sparked inside their eyes as they perked up with an idea. They quickly moved to face the screen and waved one of their hands, directing a snap towards the film. In an instant a gust of wind blew through the street causing a flyer to blow through the street, slapping against the shin of the woman as she lined the boxes up along the road. Maeve continued to watch as she saw the woman pick up the flyer, look at the boxes she just brought out, look back at the flyer again, and then stuff the paper into one of her pockets. The woman then spun around, picked up the boxes once more and then brought them back inside. Soon after, the film ended and the screen turned back to white like before.

"What did she see?" The girl looked up at Grim in disbelief.

"Like I asked you, she saw what you wanted her to see. It simply was a flyer for an opening in a local gallery. Coincidence... right?"

"You- She... Is she going to apply?" The girl's eyes blew holes through Grim's exposed skull.

"Only time will tell, my dear. Unfortunately, that's all I can show you-" The girl slumped her shoulders but nodded after she took in a long breath.

"Thank you. Thank you for helping her. Thank you-" The girl smiled as Grim reached out to take her hand. Maeve watched as Grim guided her to the back door of the office. Once the girl stepped out, Grim closed the door behind her and nodded to themself. Maeve could feel the accomplishment that Grim felt. Her soul warmed from the thought of helping that girl. She was finally well enough to move on.