As I park my car on the street I know that I am half an hour early. I look at the house, a brown colored brick house with a darker shade of the same colored roof. It mostly stands inconspicuous among others of similar kind but what’s unique is that it has a certain alluring pull that can’t be explained. I step out of the car and pull up the sleeves of my long sleeved tee to my elbows and feel the amulet on my arm fall into the folds of the tee concealing it from sight as well as feel. I take a deep breath fighting my urge to yank it out and throw it down but instead concentrate on the surrounding. The hot summer air is quite soothing. Somehow I have never liked cool air; I especially hate it when I have to use the AC – when left alone; I would never turn it on either in my house or in my car.

I stand there for a moment and decide to walk the either side of the street just to bid time rather than walking up and knock on the door. I look to the left, but there is a woman in a blue skirt and a white see through shirt crossing the road so I take the right first – through the patches of shade and sun on the sidewalk just to avoid her. I just can’t stand people and I interact to only such extent that which is absolutely required of me.

At exactly when my watch strikes 12 at noon, I grab my shoulder bag from the back seat of the car, open the creaky little green gates, walk the length of the paved walkway through the garden that overwhelms me with the scent of the summer lilies bringing with it long suppressed memories. I stand in front of the door, take a deep breath and shake my head to bury the memories again and as I lift my hand to ring the bell, the door opens suddenly, blasting a force of air out which I am sure is the shock waves from the traps around the house. Next thing I know is that Victor pulls me into a tight hug saying -“You haven’t changed in the least bit have you?”

“Not in the least bit and neither have you.” I answer as I sense the happiness of seeing my old friend spreads across my face.

We have been in contact mostly on the phone. He calls me diligently every week and he has been doing that for the past fifteen years and I on my part never return them.

“I watched you for at least five minutes. You could have knocked man! How long have you been doing that?” he asks still beaming with happiness.

“And you could have opened the door and called me in.” I want to reply but just say “Ah… not long and you know me.” And I force a smile.

“Yea, I know you. How long was it last time? When you visited me at my parents?” His head deepens in thought “Four hours?” Both of us smile and he looks me up and down smiling with satisfaction and says “Come on in. My dear wife is busy preparing the meal.”

My dear wife: that part of the sentence appears to hang in there between us.

As we enter the kitchen, Sara is busy cooking. It is evident from all the cooking utensils spread across the counter and the island of the kitchen. That is the typical cooking style of Sara. She can’t cook small. We both stand there in silence watching her. I don’t know what went through Victor’s mind but all my mistakes that led us here flash through my mind. Generally, my eyes should have turned moist but not today. All I can feel now is acceptance.

She finally turns pushing a loose hair over her forehead with the back of her hands that were covered in flour. When she sees me, her face beams up she runs to me and gives a quick hug holding up the flour covered hands so as not to ruin my tee. Two hugs in two minutes – I think that was the right decision to put the amulet into the folds of the tee. Thinking of amulet makes me want to yank it out again so instead I concentrate on Sara. She smells mostly of the flour but there is a waft of same lilies as in the garden. I struggle again to push back the memories that threaten to resurface while she steps back and says “Ah… It’s so good to see you again.” I beam in happiness.

She looks down at my tee and says “Oops! Sorry…” She covers her mouth with the back of her hand and smiles sheepishly.

I look down to see my tee covered in flour not from her hands but from her bright yellow apron.

“It’s good to see you too Sara.” I smile looking down at my shirt.

Victor gets me some napkins and as I brush my shirt off the flour there is an awkward silence. After I wipe she turns to her husband and says “Why don’t you show him his room. It is going to take me rest of the evening to prepare the dinner for all our guests.”

“What other guests?” I turn to him enquiringly.

Before he can answer Sara turns to him furiously “Zany you didn’t tell him?” Zany is what Sara calls Victor.

He just shrugs “He wouldn’t have come if I told him.”

Sara drops her hands in frustration “You told me he knew.”

He shakes his head with a sheepish smile “You inferred he knew.” He turns to me and says “Sorry man, it is our first decade anniversary and I didn’t want to miss my best friend. It’s been so long. You always make up one excuse or the other when there are guests.”

Sara shouts “Zany! How could you? You know all about it and you still?”

“It’s okay Sara. I can manage for a day.” I say as he is looking at his wife timidly. As Sara glares at him I say to him “Why don’t you show me my room.”

He looks at me with that stare which says he knows what I mean. He knows I am not okay and he knows I am bubbling with anger but he nods, turns towards the refrigerator, picks up two cans of beer and throws one at me.  As I catch it he looks at Sara and shrugs who is still glaring. She shakes her head and goes back to cooking saying to no one in particular “I don’t know when he is going to learn.” while I follow Victor up the stairs with the shoulder bag, still trying hard to suppress and sort my memories.

As we reach the first landing of the stairs, he opens a door on his right I hear the unmistakable sound of some sort of shooting videogame. He puts his head in and says “Hey buddy, want to say hi to our guest, he is right here?”

The game is paused and a question is asked as a boy walks to the door “Who is he? Is he my age?”

His father laughs and says “No buddy, he is my age and he is a best friend of mine.”

A boy of about six years peeks from behind the door at me “Hello daddy’s best friend.” He surveys me up and down, looks around “Do you have a kid?” he asks looking up at me.

I shake my head with a smile as pain long suppressed shoots through. I swallow, still smiling and say “Hello Brent and no I don’t have a kid.”

“Why?” He asks with all the frustration in the world showing on his face.

I want to shout that it’s none of his business but instead say “Well, probably the baby-delivering-swans misplaced my address.”

Victor smiles but Brent considers that for a moment “Swans don’t deliver babies, the mailman delivers them.” Like that had to be the obvious.

Victor laughs and pats on his kids back. “Now Brent, go and play. Let daddy take our guest to his room”

Brent turns back to his door saying “See you later Daddy’s best friend.”

“See you Brent.” I say as he goes back to his room.

Victor looks at me I would have said apologetically but I doubt it. I am not sure if he is amused. After climbing up a few stairs he says “I wish I could do something about it man! We keep moving because of my work and he makes very few friends and we moved here only two weeks ago and there are not many kids in the community.” He looks at the closed door “He feels so lonely.”

“I understand man.” I say and I am not lying.

We reach the second landing and he leads me into the only room on the third floor. The room is well lit and not to my liking. I look at the windows and see that they are decorated with heavy green curtains. A relief, I can pull them shut. As I put my shoulder bag on the dressing table I notice his family picture all smiling with cheerful faces in an ornate photo frame. He pulls a stool at the other end of the room, sits down stretching his legs and pops open his beer can and I sit on the bed and pop my beer can.

We sit in silence for a moment, sipping the beer and observing the cheerfully decorated room. He asks “You don’t like your room. Do you?”

I look at him and shake my head as I wipe my mouth with the back of my sleeve “Too bright.”

“You haven’t changed.” he says.

“You already observed that” I say uninterested when he shakes his head and says “Not that.”

I raise an eyebrow and he continues “I mean you look the same as you were when we last met eight years ago. You haven’t aged a day.”

“You haven’t either.” I retort and immediately realize my mistake. I almost catch myself in mid of feeling the amulet to make sure it is there. He looks at me sharply and I attempt to cover my tracks.

With an affected sigh I say “May be its work out man.”

He stops drinking and looks at me with a mocking smile. I feign disappointment and say “Normal people have to think about their health. Not all have the gift like you.”

He observes me in silence with the beer to his cheek and says “Hmm…” He sits there thinking. After a moment’s silence he says “I thought we decided never to discuss it again.””Sorry.” I say not at all sorry.

“Sorry.” I say not at all sorry.

He tilts his head and listens to something only he can and says “Get some shut eye. I got to do something before the guests show up.”

The moment he leaves I pull the curtains to shut the window; shutting out most of the sunlight and take a deep breath as a sigh of relief. I lock the door. Then as planned, I walk up to the dressing table, pick up the photo frame, I carefully prize open the photo frame and take out the picture.

Next I see the bits and pieces of three different pair of eyes, noses and mouths – flushing down the toilet. Now I know that I can peacefully do my work.

***

Its half past ten and I know I can’t postpone my doom anymore. I look at myself in the mirror, the blue dinner jacket perfectly covers the amulet I am wearing on my hand. Satisfied, I walk down to the hall on the ground floor and out into the garden and immediately hate it, there are about twenty people. The crowd, the talk, the noise, and the smell, well everything is really overwhelming. Sara spots me standing at the doors, excuses herself from one of the old guests and comes up to me. She takes my arm all the while saying “It’s okay buddy. You are going to be all right.”

“I can manage Sara” I say looking down at her with a smile. She didn’t know I had come a long way since that day.

“I know. But still for putting you through this; just remind me to murder my husband after this party.”

“A decade has been too long for you? If you think so I can help you to dispose his body.” I say truthfully but she laughs and there I see the free spirit that she is and I regret my words. She places a glass of wine in my hand and leaves me to welcome another guest.

As I see her walk away I can feel the emptiness in my stomach which threatens to burst out in anger. I check myself as Victor walks up to me “will you be alright?”

I nod and he asks “Did I hear about a body? Is it about a dead body?”

I nod again and he says “I hope it’s not mine.” He has clearly heard the whole conversation. I turn to him to give him a grin but spot the twins, the shock should have shown on my face for he looks behind him, turns back to me and says apologetically “Um… I think you have every right to murder me now man but I had to invite them. You know family friends and all that.” He shrugs.

I recover to say “No problem. It was me who had scuff with them not you.” and drown the whole glass of wine in one gulp. The lack of conviction in my voice couldn’t have fooled even a kid.

He pats me on the back and says “I am really sorry man but I had a strong feeling that I couldn’t resist. I wanted to see you here today and I wanted you by my side.”

I smiled inwardly, the plan had worked and he had not even an ounce of doubt. Good, very good.

Its two hours later in the night as I am sitting alone bored on one of the chairs with a glass of water that I get my cue. The twins nod at an elderly gentleman and one of the twin – Kathy – walks up to Sara and they start talking. The gentleman walks up to me and smiles “How are you doing?”

“Why wasn’t I told it was the twins?” I ask him sipping on the water.

“Does it change anything?” He asks as we both watch Sara and Kathy leave to the other side of the garden.

“I don’t like them” I say.

“Tell me something that would surprise me.” He says waving to one of his friends.

“Did they know it was me?” I ask.

“Judging by the look on Gio’s face when I came and stood beside you I don’t think they knew either.” Gio is the other twin. He continues “I am proud to call myself your mentor. Don’t ruin it because you hate everybody.” as he leaves to join some old lady. I stare at him, he knows but decides to ignore.

After sometime Gio walks up to me and says “Hello there.”

Victor sees this and starts, I shake my head, he stops and after a hesitant moment he turns away but I am sure he is listening. It’s his house after all.

“Hello” I return Gio’s greeting.

“Didn’t you go off to some secluded place and die? Imagine my surprise to see you here.”

“I am known to surprise people from time to time.” I reply tartly and we both see Victor walk away to talk to some other guest. When he is sure Victor isn’t listening he asks “Grim reaper. They callyou reaper? If only my sister knew” He laughs.

I want to break his neck but I refrain myself. He suddenly stops laughing all of a sudden and asks “and here you are to take part in the murder of the very girl you loved more than your life? And to kill the only person you can call friend and their only son?” He realizes the true reason why people call me the grim reaper.

I put the water glass down with that satisfaction that you get when you know you have beaten your opponent, pushed him into a corner and there is nothing he can do to escape. We both wait for our next cue in silence.

Not even five minutes have passed when we have it. Victor who is opening a new ice sac snaps his head searching. Not finding Sara, he puts the ice sac down and walks into the house briskly, anxiety clearly written on his face. I and Gio follow. As soon as we enter the house, we close the door and I turn on the traps around the house in few seconds so that nobody else can come in. After all I didn’t spend the whole afternoon studying the traps for nothing. I indicate towards the stairs to the twin. As we climb up the stairs in silence, I take out my dinner jacket to remove the amulet and the relief is immediate. As the energy flows freely I feel like I am breathing for the first time that day.

Victor comes out of the room with Brent who is sleepy and cranky at being waked up at this late hour. As soon as he sees the both of us, he pushes Brent behind but relaxes when he realizes it’s us and says almost teary eyed “Guys, I think Sara is gone. I can’t feel her. We took every precaution…”  His eyes narrow down on me as he realizes “You have the energy.” and he is quick. Gio is quick too and tries to jump avoiding the energy blast from Victor but I am faster. I pin down Gio in his place, in front of me and he takes the full force of the blast but the blast pushes me back about three steps. Gio’s body goes limp, I am sure of the surprise that must have been on his face which is now reflecting on Victor’s face.

He has another bout of blast ready in his hand but asks “What’s going on?”

At exactly that moment the house shakes. Kathy must have sensed the fate of her twin and is now trying to blast open the door.

I look at him with cool, throw the amulet and tap on the inked rune on my hand. The portal opens and I gesture him to go first. He is confused, the house shakes with even more vigor as the traps are coming down I say “If you want to save your son, leave now.” He takes a look at the door, which is splintered now; with no other option he takes Brent’s hand and leaves. I follow closing the portal behind me. We come out of a dark alley. He is standing and thinking with head buried in his hands while Brent is looking around him in confusion. When he hears me, he turns and asks not of my powers “You knew all about the plot from the beginning?” I nod.

“Is Sara…?”

“She is dead.” I say clearly squashing all his hopes.

“You knew of the plot. You could have warned us. You could have saved her.” I nod again

“But you didn’t. Why?”

I shake my head as a slow smile of satisfaction automatically spreads on my face and I look him in his surprised face and say “It was personal Zany.”

The transformation on his face from distressed, helpless man to that of anger and madness at the mention of what Sara used to call him is dramatic.

He knocks me with all his strength on my nose. I was expecting it but the speed definitely startled me. I reel back as stars start to dance before my eyes and I feel the trickle of blood flowing from my nose. As I wipe it with the back of my hand, he says between clenched teeth “You loved her man; for god’s sake you loved her. I thought your love for her was greater than the need for revenge over me you brute!” He shouts.

I look up at him and he understands, as the full force of realization hits him he falls to his knees clutching at his hair “Oh Sara, what have I done? I am sorry.” Brent walks up to his dad “Daddy where’s mommy?” He asks with innocence.

I look at Victor. He hugs his son, looks to the heavens as tears roll down his eyes. I turn around and leave without looking back. I know he will kill me the next time he sees me but I don’t care. Now I get to see if he is going to give in to his revenge. My heart feels light and I smile as I know the outcome.