He walked in, draped in long black robes. They covered his entire body, while black rags shrouded his hands. He sat across from me, his hood angled just right so the room’s dim lighting could not reveal his face. I could not see any part of him, other than that his body was surprisingly slender, and somehow familiar. I had only heard of his work, I’d never seen him before.

“Thank you for coming…” I spoke cautiously, not sure whether to be afraid or mystified.

“I thought it might be time to counter the bad publicity I’ve been getting.” He replied. I pictured a smile underneath those eternal robes. His whimsical voice confused me.

“Then let’s get right to it. Who are you, really?” I lightened up to his mood, though my stomach churned.

“Come now, Ethan. Everyone knows who I am.”

“Then why does everyone fear you?” I asked.

“They don’t understand. It is my nature, just as it is your nature to ask questions.”

“My nature does not involve killing husbands, wives, and children.”

“Neither does mine.”

“What are you talking about? You storm around in a billowing robe and carry a scythe. Are you telling me that you’re not violent?”

He chuckled beneath his hood, “I can only reveal myself to those who are ready to see me. I would have expected you to do your homework, Ethan. The scythe is a farming utensil, not a weapon of destruction. I only wield it to represent the end of one life, and the beginning of another. Your kind turned it in to something else…I never condoned the other images.”

I cursed myself for losing my temper as he stood up. A cloud of dark smoke billowed around his fingers, and vanished…a long wooden shaft with a pristine, curved blade at the end remained in his hands. I looked questioningly, and, as though he could read my thoughts, he spoke, “I wish I could stay, but the work is piling up out there.”

I stood, biting my lower lip. “Let me see you, before you go.”

He stopped for a moment, letting the bottom of his scythe touch the ground. He drew his hood from his face. It was like looking into a mirror.

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