Between Heaven and Hell

THE GRIM reaper stood on top of a building across the street and watched his target close the coffee shop.

The guy was Jonathan San Miguel, a twenty-two-year-old self-supporting student who worked as a part-time barista.

He fished the death card out of the inside pocket of his suit. It was written there that at exactly twelve midnight of Christmas day, Jonathan would die. There were only a few minutes left before he escorted him to the afterlife.

He jumped from the rooftop when he saw Jonathan rode his motorbike. He followed him swiftly, and no one will ever notice. After making sure that Jonathan would take the collision route, he teleported to the accident’s exact location.

The grim reaper stood near the intersection and waited patiently. Soon he heard the sound of the motorbike approaching the area. He looked in the opposite direction and saw the red car that would collide with Jonathan’s motorbike. A girl was driving it, but unlike Jonathan, she would live.

The death bell started ringing. Only the grim reapers could hear that sound because it was an indication that death was about to come.

And then… the accident took place.

The moment the motorbike exited the alley, the car appeared. The two collided. The impact was too strong, Jonathan and his motorbike flew several meters away. At the same time, the lady driver lost control of the steering wheel and bumped into a post.

The grim reaper walked towards Jonathan’s body that was now bathing in his blood.

“Ah, you’re not even wearing a helmet.” He kicked his head to check if he was dead.

The grim reaper wondered what kind of man was he. Jonathan has such a tragic ending.

But wait… where the heck did his soul go?

He looked around the area. There was no sign of Jonathan’s soul. Supposedly, when a person dies, its soul should be staying near its body. But Jonathan’s soul was missing!

The grim reaper tried looking farther, but he still could not find it.

He brought out the death card once again. He scoffed upon seeing that the date and time of Jonathan’s death had been erased. And that phenomenon only meant one thing. Jonathan cheated death! People may call it a miracle, but it was equivalent to penalty and additional work for grim reapers like him.

The thought of the penalty that he had to take already made him cringe. Ah, he would make sure to give Jonathan a good beating before he tosses him to the afterlife.

A messenger appeared in front of him afterwards.

“Reaper 2011-20005, you’re being summoned to the court of the Afterlife,” the messenger informed him.

 

SHE CHASED the man in a black suit with a matching fedora hat who walked past her. There was no way that a grim reaper like him would not be able to notice someone like her—a wandering soul. Maybe the grim reaper tried to snub her this time because he grew tired of her. She kept bugging him each time she would see him.

“Grimmy!” she called. Grim reapers were nameless. So, she decided to give this one a name. “Grimmy!”

But the grim reaper did not bother to acknowledge her. He continued walking away from her.

Wait. Why am I running after Grimmy when I could teleport in front of him?

And so, she did.

The grim reaper halted when she suddenly appeared in front of him. He let out an exasperated sigh and looked at her as if she was some sort of an annoying organism.

“It’s you again.” He adjusted his fedora hut and looked around them.

There were times when grim reapers pretended to be humans. During those times, they could be seen by naked eyes.  That evening, it was one of those days that Grimmy co-existed with the living.

“Tell me, Grimmy… are you deaf now, or by any chance, you’re blind?” she asked somberly. “Ah! Let me guess… You’re just ignoring me!”

His brows furrowed.

“What do you need from me?” he asked coldly.

“Gah! I bet you know. I’ve been begging you to help me leave the living realm. I need to go to the afterlife.” She screamed in frustration.

A cold wind blew around them. It must be her energy.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I am not the grim reaper assigned to you, dumbhead,” he said firmly.

“Then who’s assigned to me? Where is he or she? Why is it taking so long? Is there also a traffic jam going back and forth to the afterlife? Or is there some sort of a problem taking me? What the heck is wrong with you, grim reapers?! I am so willing to go, and yet no one is taking me away from here! Maybe you have favoritism. No, no, no, you can’t be unfair when it comes to death. It’s a serious matter.”

Usually, if a soul cannot go to the afterlife a year after its death, it will be trapped in the human world as an evil spirit. She was worried anytime soon she would turn into one. She was way past her forty-nine days grace period on Earth. She had been wandering the living realm for almost five years now. But luckily, nothing was happening to her. Was there an exemption, and she was chosen?

“I can’t remember anything about me. I don’t even know if I have a grudge or unfinished business…” She started crying.

“Listen…” Pity crossed his eyes.

She was not expecting that. Grim reapers were emotionless beings.

“You don’t need a grim reaper,” he said afterwards. “You should be looking for someone who can help you.”

“Wait. What? I don’t get it.” She hates mind games, really.

The grim reaper sighed.

“I should not tell you this because I am not allowed to interfere. But you’ve been bugging me for so long. I am sick and tired of it.” Grimmy shook his head. “Find a person. Someone who can communicate with someone like you.”

And just like that… the grim reaper disappeared.

THERE are some things that I guess I’ll never know… When you love someone, you gotta learn to let them go… When I dream about you, that’s when everything’s all right… You’re in my arms, here next to me forever… When I dream about you, girl you never go away… Just close my eyes, wait for my dreams… `Coz I still love loving you—

Jonathan turned around when someone pulled his headphone. He found his cousin Oreo grinning at him while waving his headphone. He sighed and took it back.

“What?” he said irritably.

He just ruined his senti moment on his favorite bench in the campus park.

“So, you indeed enrolled.” Oreo sat on the other side of the bench.

“Who told you?”

“Lola told me. Let me see your class schedule.”

He opened his bag and brought out a piece of paper that he handed to Oreo.

“We’re in the same class.”

“Oh, really?”

“Hm.” Oreo turned his gaze on him. “Let’s go grab some sandwich—”

“I’m sorry. I have an appointment.” Jonathan checked his wristwatch.

“What appointment?” His cousin’s forehead creased.

“I have an interview for my part-time job in a café.” He tapped his cousin on the shoulder. “Better luck next time.”

“Your father left you with a huge sum of inheritance. It’s enough for you and your future family to live for the next fifty years.” Oreo shook his head and stopped mid-way. He looked at him with eyes wide open. “Or is it happening again?”

Jonathan nodded. “It’s happening again.”

And he needed to divert his mind onto something. That is why he wanted to get a part-time job. Keeping himself busy is the only way he could ignore those annoying ghosts.

It all started five years ago. After waking up from a coma, he started seeing ghosts. Oreo’s father, his uncle, who happened to be a psychic, told him that his third eye must have opened when he crossed the afterlife and came back. He begged his uncle to close it, but he refused. His uncle was afraid that the process of closing his third eye might put his life in danger. So, all he could do now is to endure it and ignore those annoying ghosts that approached him.

He rose from his seat and put on his bag.

“I gotta go.”

 

JONATHAN stared at the café’s signage.

It says Kismet: Forever and Always, written in a sassy font in red and purple. It sounded like a romance novel title rather than a café name.

He heaved a deep sigh and pushed the glass door open.

“Excuse me, I am here for the interview,” he said.

The woman behind the counter turned to him and smiled.

“Oh… Please have a seat.” She beckoned the nearest table.

Jonathan settled there as he waits.

“Which one do you like, coffee or tea?” the woman asked.

He just stared at her. It was the first time he was offered a drink in an interview.

“No—”

“I won’t take no for an answer,” the woman said firmly.

“Anything without milk is fine.” Jonathan cleared his throat.

“Okay.”

He waited for another couple of minutes before the woman came to the table with two cups of freshly brewed coffee.

Jonathan brought out his resume and handed it to her. She read it while sipping coffee.

“You’re applying for a part-time job. Why not make it full-time?” the woman asked him.

“I’m currently studying.”

“You’re still going to school at twenty-seven. What happened?”

Jonathan fixed his gaze on his cup.

“Can I take a pass?” he asked.

“Sure. Here’s the next question, then. What is love, Jonathan?”

His brows furrowed.

A man walked inside the café.

“Avon, how many times do I have to tell you not to conduct the interview if you lack sleep?”

The woman stood up with her cup of coffee and left him with the man who just arrived.

“I’m sorry. My wife’s a writer with a loose screw. But don’t worry, I will be the one to manage the café.”

“Roeden, I can hear you!” the woman yelled.

“Anyway, you’re hired,” Roeden told him.

“Just like that?” Jonathan could not believe he was hired that easily.

“It says in your resume that you worked in a coffee shop five years ago. That’s all that matters.”

“Oh… Thanks for hiring me.”

“What shift would you like to take?”

Jonathan showed him his class schedules.

“I’d like to work during my vacant periods.”

Roeden looked at him with arched brows.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded continuously.

“Okay.” Roeden stood up. “Follow me. I will give you your uniform.”

He followed him to a room where he found a woman sitting at the corner. But Jonathan knew better. It was a ghost.

Goddamn it, they’re everywhere.

He looked away so that they wouldn’t meet. He needs to act like someone who can’t see ghosts.

“Here.” Roeden handed him his uniform.

Jonathan gasped and stepped back when the ghost appeared behind his boss.

“Y-you should have this café blessed,” he told Roeden.

Roeden smiled at him.

“Of course. I don’t want any evil entity lingering around here. My wife is enough, don’t you think?”

 His jaw dropped. He didn’t know what kind of response he should give.

“Relax.” He tapped him on the shoulder. “I was just kidding.”

Jonathan put his uniform inside his backpack. “I’m going now.”

“Sure. The soft opening will be on Sunday.”

“Then I will start working on Sunday.” He bowed and took his leave.

He was on his way to the parking lot when he received a text message from his cousin Oreo telling him to come back to the campus to pick him up because his car broke down. So, Jonathan got on his motorbike and headed back to school.

 

SHE ROAMED around the campus park to look for a prospect. She did not even choose the place. She just found herself coming to that university again and again. She thought perhaps there was something with that place. Maybe it was her school when she was still alive?

She stayed on a bench under the tree and watched everyone passed by. Then, a group of girls caught her attention. She heard them plotting an evil plan against their cheerleader.

Mean girls, she thought.

If only she has a physical body, she would kick their butts and pull their hair. But wait, she may be a mere spirit, but she wasn’t powerless. She could do something. So, she flew towards the trash bin. Using the energy that she had left she pushed the bin towards the direction of those mean girls. It hit the back of the meanest girl among the group. She laughed hard, which caused the wind to swirl around the park.

`Serves you right!

“Oh, my gosh!”

“What was that?”

“This is crazy!”

“There must be a ghost somewhere here!”

They all ran away.

Then she saw a boy approaching her way. He was tall, lean, with perfectly sun-kissed skin. But she could not see his entire face because he was wearing a mask and a baseball cap. He picked the trash bin and put it back in its place. And to her amazement, he looked at her! He could see her!

“Hey!”

He flinched and ran away like a scaredy-cat.

“Did I just find the one I am looking for?”