"I'm not...dead," Ayesha said firmly, struggling to stand up on her wobbly legs. She was pretty sure that her shaky voice did not match the assertion she intended.

"And so they all say," he shrugged and leaned against the wall, like this was nothing new to him. She took a longer look at his incredibly handsome features. Jet black hair styled to perfection with only a few strands escaping and reaching his eyes. His eyes were as dark as the shadow she saw earlier, maybe darker. The light stubble below his chin only added on to his charm. There was no way this guy was human.

She was only recovering from the preceding events, and his presence was not helping. Her body was feeling unusually weak, but she ignored the warning signs her mind gave her.

Maybe she should just focus on One thing at a time.

"Come on now. You are dead," he said that so casually that Ayesha couldn't help but feel a slight annoyance tugging at her. "Everyone dies. The sooner you accept that, the easier it is to get to the afterworld."

He snapped his fingers, making a portal appear in the middle of the corridor out of nowhere. He gestured at Ayesha to follow her into the portal.

She shook her head and finally stood up, taking support of the wall. No way was she following some random guy into an unknown portal.

"I'm not dead. And neither am I following you. Who are you, anyway? And how can you see me?"

His finger pinched the bridge of his nose. Huffing in annoyance, he said, "Look, don't make this difficult for me. You follow me, or I drag you. No other option."

"You didn't answer my question. I'm not going anywhere until you do." She said, the firmness returning to her voice. As much as she would like for this man to sway her away, his words did not make her trust him one bit.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'm a grim reaper. I escort dead people to the afterworld. I can see you because you're dead and your spirit is roaming around without moving on. Does that answer it? Ab chalo." [Now let's go]

A grim reaper? She had never heard of those and now she was seeing one. Maybe he was just another spirit trying to get a favour out of her. Nope, not happening.

"Not happening. I won't fall for your lies. This isn't my first time dealing with spirits like you. So you better get going because I'm not helping you get revenge on the person that killed you or deliver a letter to your ex-girlfriend."

He sighed in exasperation. "I have no idea what you're talking about and frankly, you're testing my patience. I'm just doing my job so you better move your ass."

He tried to grab her hand but she pulled away just in time and tried to get past the door to her home until something blocked her. She turned back to see the guy with his arm streched out in her direction. He was doing this. But how? Was he the one controlling that darkness earlier?

Ayesha frantically banged at the door. It was like an imaginary wall stood between her and door, blocking her from going in.

She tried to run in the opposite direction when suddenly, a pair of rough hands pinned her shoulders as her chest was crushed against the door frame, restraining her entire body in one move.

"Let me go!" He resisted him with her entire might. But her 5"4 frame was nothing compared to his 6" of pure strength.

He continued pinning her down and she felt his mouth near her ears. Her movements stalled at the sudden closeness. His voice was slightly softer this time.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Infact, I'm here to help,"

"I don't believe you," Ayesha gritted through her teeth. He turned her around, now pinning her back to the wall.

"Do want an Aadhar card or something? I'm not trying to prove anything to you. Now. let's. go."

"But I'm not dead, you prick." She argued.

"I don't believe you," he leaned closer with a smirk on his face, imitating her.

"I, for one, can prove it," She said in between struggling to free herself from his grip (and struggling to keep herself sane with his nose almost touching hers). "If you let me go, that is."

He tiny got a few second and then seemed to agree, although skeptical of her words. His hands loosened, still ready to pounce incase she made a run for it. She didn't need to. Because she was telling the truth, unlike this ridiculously attractive spirit lying straight through his teeth.

She looked right into his eyes, hoping that eye-contact would make him trust her more. As soon as his hands let go, Ayesha gestured at him to follow her into her house.

With another snap of his fingers, the portal closed. He folded his hands into his trouser pockets and followed her without a sound. She could feel his spirit exude some weird enegry, one she had never felt before. Strangely, she found herself questioning whether he was a spirit. Maybe the guy was telling the truth. In that case, he's more dangerous than any other spirit. He could make her vanish without a trace and no one would know what happened!

Poor old Ayesha died peacefully in her sleep.

Peaceful, my foot.

Her anxiety grew with every second she spent in his presence. He was getting closer to her and she could almost feel his breath on her shoulders, if they were humans. She quickened her pace as both of them passed through thr main door of the house and made their way into her bedroom.

Crap, when did her bedroom get so damn messy. And why was her bra on the floor? She can't even hide it now. Double crap. The lack of lighting helped her maintain atleast a shred of her dignity.

Too focused on her neon blue bra, she didn't notice the Grim Reaper who was sitting by her bedside observing her. Not her exactly, but her sleeping physical self. In those pathetically stained shorts and inside-out tshirt.

Ayesha already knew how much her body snored during sleep but this was the first time she was so conscious about it.

One time. ONE TIME, a cute guy gives her attention and she's in her most embarrassing state possible.

But the Grim Reaper didn't seem to mind. He was lost in his world, mumbling things to himself. His eyebrows were scrunched in confusion as he placed back and forth.

"How is this possible? It doesn't make sense, none of this makes sense. You can't be alive. I was assigned to you! I w-"

"What do you mean, assigned?" She interrupted him.

"Huh?" He looked confused for a moment before catching up. "Grim Reapers are assigned to spirits the moment they detach from their bodies," he continued his movements.

"It's like a notification. We get the name and place of death of the person. We reach the place, comfort the spirit, put th through the portal and the name gets crossed off our list."

"But this," he pointed at my body. "It's not- are you in a coma by chance?"

"What? No way! My shorts are still stained with the daal I had for dinner. How can I be in a coma?" She replied.

She waited for him to say something but his expression was laced with confusion; maybe a hint of annoyance too. She hoped that she had convinced him enough to let her go. But the Grim Reaper had other ideas.

"Look, I'm not sure what this means. It probably indicates that you're about to die. So it's better to step into the portal and see what happens." He looked, as if he was just trying to get this done with. Snapping his fingers again, he opened he portal in a millisecond.

By no means was she going to step into that portal. Who knows what that would do to her. She was able to manage by herself as a spirit for eight years. This random guy can't come in and tell her what to do.

She had to escape him. It was clear that he was stronger than her, in strength and supernatural powers. She looked at her bedroom door and windows. Running away was ruled out. He'll catch up.

She had to wake up. Her body had to.

Her fists had balled up but she calmly looked at him, pretending to agree.

"I'll do it if you prove to me that you're a grim reaper." He was following her. Good.

"Shake that bed. Spirits can't control material things so if you can do that, I'll believe you."

He nodded, seemingly clueless about her intentions. He lifted his hand to shake the bed with magical powers. Within a second, her body woke up and she was sucked in instantly.

Her body shot up from the bed. She frantically checked her hands and legs to make sure that was back to her physical form.

It was okay. Everything was alright. She managed to escape him.

Ayesha plopped down on the bed, sighing in relief. Needless to say she didn't get much sleep that night

°°°°°°°°°

Word Count: 1503

Hello lovely people! So how do find the new character? ;))

I'm so excited for the story and I hope you guys are enjoying as much as I am.

Until chapter 3!

♥︎Pears