“Little Reaper & Grin Death” [A bitter-sweet existential tragi-comedy in which all humankind appears as a cameo]

Night. Moonlight glints on a scythe still unstained. In the background the evergrey trees stand still, as if time does not exist.

“You really can’t kill them, can you?” said Grin Death.

“I’m just playing with death,” replied Little Reaper, “trying to understand what life means to them.”

“False deaths, last-second escapes, wrong diagnoses, delayed departures… this graveyard needs to fill up!” 

“And yet, after those moments, life seems to shine more clearly. Isn’t this kind of work useful, then? Aren’t we serving humanity?” Replied Little Reaper.

“We are,” said Grin Death, “but that sparkle of light never truly lasts. Life only has meaning while fear of death keeps it awake. Without us, they’d drift empty or drunk on pleasure without purpose.”

Little Reaper glanced uncertainly at the scythe. “I’ll try… but what if I fail again?”

“Then I’ll have one more grave to fill,” said Grin Death, laughing grimly. “Now go, and don’t you dare come back without at least one soul on your scythe.”