Belief

The strongest thing in the world. It can give someone hope when everything seems lost and a feeling of power when you think that you can fight no more. Belief can make anything stronger, more alive and truer. From belief is how many religious gods got a name, how legends and stories are being formed.

It all starts with a name and one believer. The light spreads, from person to person and that name gains power. Slowly, it is more believed in and that name gets a form, then a face and then existence.

This is how the fairy tails came to be. How the protectors and the enemies of the children appeared and how they exist up until today. However, just like in every situation, there is a catch.

A small area that is not white or black but grey. There, no side can be taken, and no rules apply the same. In the case of fairy tales, you have the light side with the Guardians and the spirits; tasked to protect their children.

On the other side, you have the Boogieman and those who want to harm and terrorize the innocent bright souls of young children. And in the middle, in the grey zone, you have a single lonely figure with a task no one else wants, a task that makes them receive hatred and fear instead of admiration and love.

And that person carries it without a word of complaint. That person is Thanatos but nowadays, she goes by Grim Reaper.

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Suburbs of North England

Grey clouds decorated the afternoon sky, hiding the sun behind their thick and white bodies. A light spring breeze shook the tree branches and made the flags move. On earth, humans walked or drive their cars while going on their everyday lives.

Some rushed, others took it more slowly. Alone or with a partner, young and old. Yet, among the colourful and alive bodies that moved across the earth; a figure stood out. Leaning next to a tree at the side of the road, the figure stayed hidden and almost became one with the shadows of the trees around and above her.

Dressed in a black ripped cloak with buggy sleeves and hood, it stood there with no skin or bone to be seen. Just a standing, bodiless and invisible figure; watching and waiting. The right hand was lifted, a pale human hand came out from the giant black sleeve. With the fist closed, it held an old chain and from the other end, an hourglass was hanged.

It was old and wooden, nothing fancy. The sand inside was almost over as the name of a person was carved across the upper wooden part.

Suddenly, the shadows around her came to life and another figure emerged from them. The skin was pale and looked paper-like, black spiky hair and molten-gold eyes. Standing tall and thin, the clothing was a long robe made from shadows and black sand. With hands behind its back, the figure marched towards the hooded figure and flashed a toothy smile; sharp white teeth being a contrast to the dark environment around them.

"Hello darling," the figure said and leaned closer to the figure. A yelp of surprise escaped his lips as a dark black almost cut him in half. He jumped back, keeping a safer distance while eyeing the scythe which was held by the other hand. "Is this how you greet an old friend?"

"Leave," the voice said, oddly feminine and slightly young. "Leave or die"

"And here I thought that after all those years you would be happier to see me"

The hooded figure turned their head to look at the taller figure, the sun faintly reflecting on the lower part of a pale face. The hood was big and so the figure's face was not seen but merely a skinny chin, pale skin and pink lips.

"Try to cause me trouble again and there will no more returns" she spat, her tone stable but the annoyance loud and clear.

"Tch" the person explained. "The offer still stands. You will know where to find me"

With those words, the figure back walked to the nearby shadows and let its body be consumed by them before disappearing for good. The figure left out a sigh and turned its attention on the hourglass which had been held in the same place.

The last pieces of sand fell, and the time was up. On cue, the sound of a speeding car echoed across the area while a 14-year-old student crossed the zebra lines. It took only a second for the car to honk and then hit the child.

Her body was tossed up, over the car and landed on the hard-pave walk. The car kept driving away and as it took a sharp right turn, time stopped. The hooded figure hanged the hourglass on their waist were a simple black ribbon was loosely tied and made their way towards the body. The cloak covered their legs and it gave the impression that the figure was floating instead of walking.

The scythe was placed on the other hand, freezing the occupant one. Lifting the sleeve, it showed pitch-black skin with white lines in the shapes of the bones and on the proper places. 

Bending slightly and using the scythe for support, the figure brought the skeletal drawn black hand and grabbed the girl's arm.

It grabbed something almost ethereal and as the figure stood up, so did a slightly translucent blurry entity. It was the exact image of the deceased girl and it looked shocked at the lifeless body on the road. Then at the hooded figure, quickly pulling her hand back in fright and the figure didn't stop her.

"D-dea-death?" she stuttered, holding her ghostly hand close to her chest. The figure gave a nod but didn't speak. It extended the same hand from before and waited for her to take it. The girl looked back at her body, her eyes getting misty, but no tears seemed to be able to come from them. "Bu-but..."

"Come," Death said, her female voice calming and oddly soft.

The girl's bottom lip trembled and slowly, she spread her hand. Death waited for her patiently, not moving or saying anything. At last, the two hands holding each other, and the Grim Reaper lifted its scythe on the air.

The teen flinched, believing it was meant for her like the stories she had been told but instead the figure sliced the air. A sort of crack appeared, and it slowly expanded, allowing the girl to see the other side.

It was a hospital room where a pregnant woman was lying on the bed. Nurses were around her and were telling her things in Spanish. She grabbed the bedsheets and tossed her head back, trying to follow the instructions of the nurses.

Confused, the girl looked at the Reaper who simply walked inside and she followed. Once they passed through the other side, time sped up again where they stood, and people gathered around the lifeless body of the teen.

Now in the hospital room, the duo watched as the woman tried to push, her belly big from the size of the child within.

"I do not understand," the soul said and looked at the taller figure, no more afraid.

"Where one life ends, another begins" she replied and motioned with her scythe towards the pregnant woman.

Slowly, the teenage girl let go of the dark hand and walked towards the panting woman. An odd sensation filled her very core as warmth spread across her ghostly body for the first time since she died.

Her body glowed before being turned into a light blue ball of light and floated on the air. The figure waited and watched as the ball of light made its way towards the woman before landing on the blown stomach. It was quickly absorbed into the body and a few seconds later, the sound of a crying child echoed in the room.

The head nurse smiled and carefully held the newborn baby boy while others went to cut the umbilical cord and clean it. Now peaceful, the mother smiled and under the hood; the figure did as well.

"Good luck little one," she said practically to no one and was about to melt into the shadows when something caught her attention.

Looking out of the window, she noticed the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights flashing across the night sky. Visible only to special and few, a message was hidden behind the magnificent phenomenon. Leaving out a sigh, the hooded head was lowered before both hands grab the scythe.

They shook slightly as the person tried to gain some comfort by the eternal life-long friend that served by her side. Once calm, she lifted it up and sliced the air, creating another portal. This one overlooked an endless white wasteland made of snow and ice.

The cold air barely seemed to affect the Reaper as she slowly made her way into the portal and into the new world.