The Good Reaper

by Dennis J Butler

  “Remember what we were talking about the other day Joe?”

  “Yes, I think I know what you mean.”

  “You said you may be able to help me. Have you thought about it?” Blair asked.

  Joe didn’t speak for at least two minutes. He just looked down at the floor as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Yes Blair. I have thought about it. I have thought about almost nothing else.”

  “I don’t know exactly who you are Joe but I do know that you are masquerading here as an orderly. It’s not that I mean there is anything wrong with being an orderly. I just see in your eyes that there is much, much more.”

  “You don’t need to tell me, or maybe you could since there is very little chance that I will reveal your deep dark secret. But the main thing is that I get this feeling that you could take me on that journey and it would be beautiful and painless.”

  “Yes and no Blair. It would be painless but I don’t actually know if it would be beautiful. I know you are religious and you believe in an afterlife. I don’t know if that is what happens when we pass on. If you think about all the beliefs of all the religions of all the worlds, they can’t all be right.”

  “All the worlds? What does that mean Joe?”

  “At this point, it doesn’t matter what happens when we die. It will happen anyway. It is inevitable. I think deep inside we know. We know when it is time.” Blair paused for a moment and continued, “It is my time Joe.”

  Joe reached for Blair’s hand and began massaging her arm from her wrist to her elbow as he spoke. “I have made my decision. My decision is to fulfill your wish.”

  “You do have a humane way of doing it, don’t you? And you have done this before, haven’t you? I mean, it wouldn’t be like one of those botched state executions where the condemned suffers for a half hour while his eyes melt, would it?”

  “It has been done before. I promise you that there will be no suffering. I have administered the injections myself several times.”

  “Tell me more please.”

  “The process consists of three injections. After the injections you will feel quite good for a few days. On the fourth day, you will become tired. Eventually you will slip into a beautiful sleep. That’s it. You simply fall asleep and you don’t wake up. It’s very final so it is not something to take lightly. Once the injections are done, there is no turning back.”

  “Do you want to tell me where these injections come from? If you don’t want to, I guess that’s okay. I’m just curious. If you have done this many times before, how have you been able to keep it a secret? I have never seen anything on the news about it. It is still illegal in most countries of the world.”

  “Yes Blair. It is illegal in most countries of this world.”

  Blair stared wide-eyed at Joe. A mystery was unfolding. “That’s the second time you used the word ‘worlds’ as if you are referring to a world beyond our own world. Please be straight with me. I want to know the truth.”

  “Where I come from, it is not illegal. Death and dying are a natural part of life. People should not have to spend their last days suffering. We should all die in peace and dignity.”

  “Joe, there is still that glaring question that you need to answer. Where do you come from? Are you from some secret cult from Europe?” It was the first time Joe had seen Blair smile in weeks.

  “I don’t have to tell you the obvious.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone and I will take your secret to my grave and I don’t think that will be long from now.”

  Joe leaned in and whispered, “It’s a bit further away than Europe. It’s actually about 9,000 light years away.”

  7 - Blair McFadden

  Blair’s eyes widened but she didn’t seem shocked. She seemed to understand. “I knew you were special Joe. I didn’t expect that, but I am not too surprised. I’m not even sure why I believe you and yet I do. As you might expect, I have done a lot of thinking about life and death and where we come from. I have naturally spent endless hours wondering what it is all for; you know those heavy topics like the meaning of life.”

  “But you look and act human. My head is spinning with questions but for now I am just so happy you shared this with me. It is such a revelation to finally know the truth about our place in the universe.”

  Blair paused for a moment and continued, “How can you be from so far away and still look like us? Do you have some kind of disguise? Do you really look like a lizard or that thing from the Predator movie without your disguise?” Blair began to laugh but she started coughing immediately.

  “I’m from a planet called Ranjisan. We are almost identical to humans. We have some differences in our biology, mostly our digestive systems but aside from that, we are the same. The gravity on Ranjisan is about half what it is here so we Ranjisi may seem physically weak, especially in the legs.”

  “That’s why you lose your breath when you have to help me into the wheelchair and you sometimes seem winded when you have to wheel me up that incline between the two buildings.”

  “You figured it out Blair. You’ve got me. Guilty as charged.”

  “So all those UFOs people have been seeing for the last fifty years, they are real? They are your people?”

  “Yes and no. I have another revelation for you. We aren’t the only travelers to visit Earth.”

  “You mean there are visitors from other planets besides you? What did you call yourself? Was it Ranjisi?”

  “The rounded ships that look like dinner plates are us. They are relatively small. The mammoth boomerang shaped ships are from an odd species from another galaxy. They do not resemble humans and they are almost impossible to communicate with. They are highly intelligent although they are not very smart at concealment. Humans have been photographing the Grey people for decades. They are very strange.”

  “So they are real and they are really here?”

  “Yes.”

  “What do they want? Come to think of it, that’s not that important. I would really like to know more about you and your planet.”

  “Joe I have a favor to ask before we agree on a timeline for my journey. Please spend as much time with me as you can. I want to know about the other species but first I want to know everything there is about your home. Tell me about the people and the culture and the planet. Tell me everything. I don’t know if you will understand this, but it will make my journey easier.”

  “There are so many similarities, it makes me wonder if you are correct,” Joe said.

  “Correct about what?”

  “About religion, about a master plan, about a creator or god.”

  Joe sat quietly staring out the window for a few moments. “We all want the same thing. It’s a part of our instinct to procreate and that instinct is at the heart of the formation of the family. So my point is that higher life forms are very similar in their basic instinctive characteristics. The differences come from their environment and culture.”

  “Ranjisi culture is blander than human culture. By that I mean that we aren’t as impulsive or spontaneous. Compared to humans, we are boring. We do have sports on Ranjisan but we don’t have extreme daredevil sports. Our sports are mostly just entertainment without danger. We don’t have the same emotional sports rivalry like you have here. When I saw a football match in Chile a few months ago, I couldn’t believe how insane the crowd was. I admit, I guess I’m kind of envious. I wish Ranjisi could be that emotional about cultural events.”

  “Tell me more about the planet. Do you have pets like dogs and cats?”

  “Funny you should ask that. We don’t, but there is another race who I consider superior to us that does. One reason we don’t have pets might be because on Ranjisan, tamed animals are large.”

  “You mean in relation to people? How large is large?”

  “The porrima is about half the size of a city bus. It resembles an Earthly horse in some ways except that it is so large. It’s white or light brown and the hair is long and matted. It
lives in cold, primitive climates.”

  “What does the animal do? Is it a hunter? Will it attack people?”

  “Here’s the interesting part. It’s not a hunter but it eats fish. We do have sea life on Ranjisan. We have fish-like creatures and eels and numerous bizarre sea creatures. The porrima won’t attack people. The brutal climate of the Nusakan and Sualocin regions produce violent storms. They are usually over water and are something like Earthly waterspouts. Fish are sucked up into the storm. When they reach the icy temperatures in the low clouds, they begin to drop like rain but they are blown back up and coated with ice water. This cycle continues until it finally is heavy enough to drop to the ground, usually over land. So it’s kind of like ‘fish hail’ and the porrima just waits and listens for the loud thump of the fish hail hitting the ground. So it’s not a bad life as long as you are cold blooded.”

  Blair looked amazed. Joe could tell she was trying to visualize the entire scene of the fish hail falling to the surface and the big beautiful porrima feasting on the frozen fish. “Fascinating,” Blair said.

  “Ranjisan is much older than Earth so the mountains are flatter and for the most part, the scenery is less dramatic than Earth. But Ranjisan’s signature beauty is in the six moons which may appear as different colors depending on how our sun’s light is hitting them. Sometimes you can see two or three moons in the sky at the same time.”

  “Also, on Earth you have volcanos and at sea you have tsunamis. Imagine a combination of both.”

  “Ranjisan is full of underground rivers and even oceans. When there is the right kind of geographic moving or shifting, the rivers turn into raging underground waves. Like lightning, they need a place to end or release so over the centuries they have gouged out volcano-like release points. The river eventually spurts out of the volcano-like mountain like a gigantic fountain. These mountains are called asteropes. They look similar to a volcano except instead of lava spurting out, it’s just water. However, water can do plenty of damage. People know better than to live at the base of an asterope.”

  “How does the government work there?” Blair asked.

  “Government is volunteer based. That is, people in government don’t get paid. It’s more of something we do to make our ‘life profile’ look good. It shows you are a community minded person. It’s the first thing employers look for when hiring people. So if you spent two years as a volunteer government law maker, it appears at the top of your profile when you apply for a job.”

  “So what’s to stop volunteers from writing laws that don’t make sense or laws that will only benefit specific people or regions?”

  “Ranjisi are involved in government, that is, people generally know what’s going on. If someone were to attempt to write a stupid law, it wouldn’t be approved and they would probably be asked to resign.”

  Joe continued rambling on about Ranjisan government, knowing that it would eventually put Blair to sleep. “There’s nothing like talk of government and politics to put people to sleep,” Joe thought as he looked at Blair sleeping peacefully.

  It had become obvious that Joe Moretti was spending more time with Blair than with any of the other patients but the staff understood. People who work with terminally ill patients may try not to become emotionally involved, but it still happens. Humans are human. Ranjisi are human in some ways.

  Blair opened her eyes again. “So Joe, do we want to set a date for, you know?” Blair asked.

  “I was waiting for you to ask.”

  “My family comes in at random times during the week but they never come in around dinner time, so I’m not sure.”

  “I was thinking that when I am taking you to the infusion room, we can make a short detour. Along the hallway that leads to that small courtyard where employees sometimes sneak cigarettes, there is a wheelchair accessible restroom. We would be safe inside the restroom. Just let me know when.”

  “My family will be in Sunday. How about Monday morning?”

  ***

  The Tseen Ke kit is about the size of a small fishing lure container and fit in Joe’s scrub pocket. Joe felt like a criminal on the way up to Blair’s room. “How’d it go yesterday?” Joe asked as he entered Blair’s room.

  “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do Joe.”

  “I can only imagine what it was like, trying to conceal your emotions.”

  “I just wanted to scream, ‘I love you,’ or ‘I’ll meet you in heaven’ or something but all I did was hug everyone while trying not to break down.”

  “Any second thoughts or regrets Blair?”

  “No,” Blair said just before an audible moan. “I feel like I have a high fever again and I feel like vomiting. I’m done with all of this Joe.”

  Joe and Blair tried to act normal while passing the nurse’s station on the way to the elevator. When they got to the first floor, one of the nurses from the chemo room was waiting for another elevator. “Good morning Blair. How are you feeling?” Nurse Karen asked.

  “I’m feeling okay. I’ll see you in a little while Karen.”

  “Where are you guys going?” Karen asked.

  “We’re early so we’re going out to the courtyard for a few minutes,” Blair said.

  Karen looked quickly at Joe and then back to Blair. She could see there was something more to the relationship than just patient and transporter. But whatever it was, it gave her a positive feeling. “Good for you guys. It’s a beautiful morning. Enjoy and I’ll see you later.”

  Joe and Blair reached the hallway that led to the courtyard. “Good, it’s quiet. I’ll stop at the restroom. If someone happens to appear in the hallway, just act normal,” Joe said.

  Just to add to the stress, two doctors stepped from the courtyard to the hallway just as the automatic restroom door opened. “Go ahead Blair,” Joe whispered. “Remember, there will be no symptoms when it’s done. There is no way anyone will ever know what we did here this morning.”

  Blair entered the restroom and closed the door. Joe waited for the two doctors to disappear around the corner. Knowing that someone could appear at any moment, he opened the restroom door about ten inches and slipped inside. Blair had tears in her eyes as she looked up at Joe. “I’m not scared Joe. I think I’m just crying because I am leaving you. I wish we could have met and become friends in another lifetime or something.”

  “I feel the same way Blair,” Joe said. “Life is so unfair and it is always the timing that is off. I wish we could just travel back to Ranjisan.” Joe stopped in the middle of his thoughts. There wasn’t much point in considering all the “what if” possibilities. The time was up. Joe wasn’t sure how long he spent kneeling down hugging Blair. They were snapped out of their private world by the sound of voices outside of the restroom.

  “Last chance Blair.”

  “I’m ready.”

  Joe took the small case out of his scrub pocket and set up the needles on a handkerchief on the sink counter. After wiping his eyes with several inches of toilet paper, Joe prepared the first needle. Joe mumbled something in a language that Blair had never heard before. “I thought your people didn’t pray,” Blair said.

  “It’s not really religious so we don’t think of it as prayer,” Joe said as he kept eye contact with Blair and stuck the needle in, near the inside of her elbow. “The English translation would be something like, ‘For you who have fulfilled a life of love and compassion. For you who have reached the final destination, we thank you for all you have done during your time here. Thank you for leaving us with your passion for this worldly life. You are the inspiration to carry on’.”

  By the time Blair had a moment to consider the Ranjisan “passing on” prayer, Joe had already inserted the third needle. Blair watched in amazement as Joe’s hands moved with skilled efficiency. The needles were packed up in the case in a matter of seconds. “That’s it Blair. We are done.”

  “Not quite,” Blair said as she pulled Joe closer to her. The hallway was silent while Blair
and Joe continued hugging for several more minutes. Joe’s cheek rested on Blair’s forehead where he kissed her lightly, slipping down to Blair’s lips. It would be their first and last kiss.

  ***

  When Joe returned to Blair’s room at the end of his shift, she was sitting up eating a third slice of apple pie. He could see her color had returned and she looked like the drugs were already having an effect. Blair stopped chewing for a moment. “Your people are not into sweets, are they?” Blair asked.

  “No I guess not Blair. We’re too boring,” Joe said with a big smile.

  “Try some of this,” Blair said as she lifted a big spoonful of pie up toward Joe.

  Joe swallowed the big mouthful and smiled. “Not bad. Has your family been in today?”

  “No. They should be in tomorrow,” Blair said, paused for a moment and continued, “I know, it will be Friday or Saturday right?”

  “Yes Blair.”

  Over the next three days, Joe spent every free moment he could with Blair. He waited until after her family left, around 9:00 PM and returned each night. Friday morning came and she still looked good. “I see you’re still eating like a football player,” Joe said. “How are you feeling otherwise?”

  “You mean mentally? I’m fine. My family will be in today.”

  “I was wondering, do you think it would be better if they were here? Is there any way of letting them know, without drawing suspicion?”

  “I guess that’s up to you. You could tell them that you think your time is near and you want them to stay with you. Let me know if that’s what you want to do. It would be better if I wasn’t here. You can spend your last moments with your family.”