Death.

It's all the same. All things living all eventually arrive at the same destination. Right at the end. He could feel small droplets of rain miss his umbrella and hit his hands that grasped the handle. Squeezing the handle even tighter, Drello continued to gaze upon the crowd. He stood still among the throng of people, all bustling about and rushing to get to their destinations. Heads down, ignoring the world around them. Some staring at their phones, some completely zoned out and only focusing on the next step ahead.

"Excuse me," muttered a voice beside him. Drello looked down and watched as a young woman with her hair tied up in tight bun on top of her head pushed past him. She didn't even bother to look at him as she mumbled. Drello was able to catch a glimpse of her eyes, as dead as the rest of them.

No life. The only purpose is to survive and last until their last day. Pitiful, Drello thought to himself. Yet, understandable. Even with the sun high up in the sky, the world around them still seemed grey. Dull. All colors seemed to bleed down and wash away into the sewers with the rest of the rain. How could such a predatory species live such a dismal and pathetic life?

He kept watching from his spot in the middle of the sidewalk. The wind began to blow, causing those around him to pull their jackets tighter around themselves to conserve whatever artificial warmth they had left. Drello closed his eyes against the wind that blew against him. He tried imagining what it would feel like to feel the cold. To feel the urge to hug himself and brace against the lowering temperatures. He opened his eyes once the wind had died down, not feeling a thing.

This was nothing new. Drello hadn't felt anything for centuries. The only time he could feel anything was when a life passed from one realm into another, from life into death. In that fleeting moment when they take their last breath, Drello could feel it all. Happiness. Pain. Rage. Jealousy. Regret. Relief. It was the only thing he ever looked forward to anymore. To the moment of feeling. After that moment was over, and the soul passed over, he was back to how he was now. Numb. Unfeeling. Empty.

This was the life of a reaper. There were hundreds of them all around the world in each universe, in each realm, however, they never saw each other. Forever destined to roam alone and empty. Wandering in solitude. Every now and again, someone would see him. Just for a moment. Or feel his presence. This was common. It was usually those either close to death or living on the same wavelength as one who was dead. Empty and unfeeling. Lately, more and more people could sense and see him. Although, despite this, no one really ever paid him attention. They were all too absorbed in their own heads and feelings to take notice of him.

"What do you mean he won't see me?"

Drello turned around as a single voice erupted through the continuous and droning sound of the rain and hurried footsteps. The rain was falling heavily now, however, through the sea of grey, Drello caught sight of a spot of black. Standing still and yelling at another, breaking the flow of people. The small spot of black stood it's ground, making the tall person they were yelling at seem smaller than they were.

"I'm sorry ma'am. Orders are orders. You are not allowed within this building." The tall man flinched and took a tentative step backwards, cowering away from the small spot of black.

Drello found himself making his way towards the commotion, curiosity getting the best of him. The small spot of black causing the noise was, in fact, a small woman. She had a long black trench coat wrapped around her small frame, contrasting against her bleached blonde hair. She was tiny, no more than 5 feet tall, but she had the aura of an alpha female. Powerful, dominating, and proud. Drello could see the contained rage displayed on her face. Her red stained lips were pressed into a hard line and her jaw jutted out and clenched. The wind was blowing her hair wildly about, strands slapping her face. It was her eyes, however, that caught Drello's attention. They were bright. So bright that it almost hurt to look at them, if Drello could feel any pain. Two dusky brown splashes of color that stood out so brightly in the grey environment surrounding them. He watched as the young woman took a deep breath, seemingly calming herself.

"Look, I understand you have rules you need to follow. This is his son we are talking about. If anything, could you please have someone send a message up to him? His son needs him." Her voice, soft and pleading. The tall gentleman bit his lip, considering his next move. "Please?" The woman urged.

This seemed to get through to him. The tall gentleman sighed in defeat and nodded his head. He motioned for the woman to stand to the side and wait as he went inside. The young woman thanked him quickly and moved underneath the roof of the door to get out of the rain. Drello continued to look upon the woman, unable to tear himself away. What was it about her that made her shine so brightly? Why couldn't he look away? Only once before has Drello felt this pull towards a human. Only once, but that was years ago. What was it about this woman that drew him in now?

"Are you okay?"

Drello snapped out of his trance and locked eyes with the young woman. Those bright brown eyes staring directly at him. Looking upon her face now, Drello could tell that the woman could be no older than early thirties, small signs of aging apparent around her eyes. She wasn't particularly beautiful or breathtaking, by Drello's standards. Yet, she still stood out to him. Still shined brighter than everything around her.

"Sir, are you good?"

She was talking to him. To him. No one talked to him other than the quickly muttered excuse me. No one could sense him long enough or strongly enough to register his presence. That was part of his duty. To wander alone and undetected through the world. Yet here she was. Talking to him. He could tell she was growing impatient the longer he stayed silent. What does he say? He hasn't even heard the sound of his voice in so long. Might as well give it a try, Drello thought begrudgingly. What's the worst that could happen?

"Yes."

His throat rumbled as he uttered the single word. The first word he has said out loud in years. The sound was low and guttural, surprising himself. Drello watched as the young woman stared at him and began laughing.

"No you're not. You're drenched. You look miserable."

Her reaction caught him by surprise. It was a complete change in attitude and behavior than what she was showing just a few moments ago. Drello took a moment to look down at himself. He was wearing what he had been wearing for the last few decades, changing every so often to match the current trends. One of the few things he found himself looking forward to.

Drello personally preferred more of a grungy look, however, this last time, he had just changed into a long leather brown overcoat, a plain white shirt underneath, and black jeans. A few weeks ago, he had grabbed a tan scarf and tucked it into the top of his coat. Not that he could feel the cold or anything. Just another thing to pass the time.

"I think I look okay." Drello found himself saying.

The young woman smiled and what an odd smile it was. Her teeth were an off-white color that stood out against the dark red color of her lipstick. The corners of her mouth went crookedly upwards and out. Her eyes closed as she let out a small chuckle. Not pretty at all, Drello thought to himself.

Suddenly, the door behind the woman swung open. A different man than the one before stepped out. This one clearly an employer or boss of whatever building they were standing in front of. He was dressed in a dark blue suit with the buttons undone. His hair gelled and slicked back, stubble along his jaw line. Drello studied the man. He was attractive and fit, however, dull and grey like the rest of the world around them. Nothing like the odd and peculiar woman who stood out so brightly.

Drello stayed where he was at and kept watching as the man stormed out the door and furiously looked around him. He sighed once he saw the young woman in black standing off to the side. The woman took her attention off of Drello and locked eyes with the young man.

"Tiffany, what-"

SLAP.

A smile crept up on Drello's face as he watched the young man stumble back, holding the side of his face where he was struck. The young woman, small but mighty, advanced on the man. The rage from earlier had returned.

"I'm not allowed inside now? Is that how we are playing this game, Ralph?" Her voice rang over the pounding of the rain and occasional thunder that rang out. The man, Ralph, regained his composure and straightened out his jacket before answering.

"This is not the time or the place for your bullshit, Tiffany." Ralph's voice was stiff and flat. Clearly, this is not the first time these two has had this kind of interaction. "You said this was about Lionel."

"Ion. Your son goes by Ion." The young woman, Tiffany, interrupted. "But that doesn't matter to you, does it? No. What does matter is that we follow your stupid rules and stay out of the way, isn't that right?"

"What is it now? Is this not something that can't wait until I get home? Do you have to cause a disturbance at my work?" Ralph's voice remained calm and flat, despite Tiffany's who kept rising in pitch and volume.

"No because, apparently, causing a disturbance" She said in a mocking tone. "Is the only way to get your attention with anything. Why did you move Ion? He was doing perfectly fine at home. There was no need to move him to," Tiffany paused and faltered. She took a breath in before continuing. "To that kind of a place."

Suddenly, Ralph's demeanor did a complete turnaround. Where he was calm and collected, Drello could now see contained rage. Ralph's eyes narrowed at Tiffany and his chest puffed out. His hand shot out and grabbed Tiffany's arm, forcefully pulling her closer to him. Tiffany, caught by surprise, tried resisting but Ralph was stronger. His grip on Tiffany's arm only got tighter. He lowered his head to her level and his voice lowered. Drello stepped closer to the couple.

"Don't you dare." Ralph spat out. "Don't you even fucking dare speak of anything about that here."

Drello was intrigued. The entire balance between the two had completely shifted. Where the woman was once confident and daring, she was now cowering and silent. Ralph was now the one in control. The one exhibiting power and rage. Whatever control he had just had over his emotions before, was now gone. He looked down at Tiffany with such anger that it made his grey appearance shimmer just a little. Drello could feel the heat coming from him. Whoever this Ion person was, he was definitely a sensitive subject for the both of them. Such fragility in human relationships.

"L-let me go." Tiffany stuttered. Her voice quiet. She still tried to stand her ground as she tugged at her arm. Her face blank and staring right into Ralph's eyes. Ralph took a deep breath in and leaned into Tiffany's ear, whispering something Drello couldn't hear. Whatever it was, it made the anger return to Tiffany's face.

"You asshole!" She erupted. Tiffany pulled hard against Ralph's grip, swinging her body to the side. Ralph reached out and grabbed both of her arms and pushed her against the wall behind them. A resounding crack could be heard where Tiffany's head met the brick wall.

In a second, Drello found himself instantly at her side. Without any effort, he removed Ralph's hands and pushed him aside. Without the support of Ralph holding her up against the wall, Tiffany crumpled to the ground cradling the back of her head with her hands. Ralph slammed into the ground, the rain drenching him in an instant. Confused and in an outrage, Ralph pushed himself off the ground and looked around. Eventually, his eyes landed on Drello and it was as if he was waking up from sleep. Ralph froze as his brain slowly registered Drello standing before him.

"Wh-who the fuck are you?" His voice came out breathy and ragged.

Shit. This wasn't supposed to happen. Drello wasn't supposed to interfere. It was a known cosmic law deep within his subconscious. The first thought he had when he had come into existence. Do not interfere. Under no circumstance was he supposed to inject himself in the timeline of humans. Yet here he was. Right in the middle of some squabble between two human beings.

"I said," Ralph repeated, making his way towards him. "Who are you?" He stopped right before Drello, however, took a step back once he realized how Drello towered over him.

"Shove off," Tiffany said from the ground. "Don't get all high and mighty when he just threw you around like a rag doll. Here, help me up."

He looked down as Tiffany stuck her hand out towards Drello. What does he do? He already broke the Reaper Law. He knows what he should do, which is walk away and prevent any further damage to the timeline, however, why does he find himself reaching down for Tiffany's hand? Why is he helping her to her feet?

Tiffany took a deep breath and began straightening out her clothes and hair. Once she was satisfied, she turned to Ralph with a blank stare. Ralph was still staring at Drello as if he could not believe he was actually right there.

"Your son is hurting and needs his family. Isolating him like that, taking him away like that, is only going to make things worse."

This seemed to shake Ralph out of his trance. He snapped his gaze back to Tiffany instantly. Ralph took one step forward and Drello found himself in between the two with Tiffany behind him. He looked down at Ralph, expressionless. Ralph stepped back and cleared his throat.

"Lionel is getting the help he needs. That is the last time I will hear of it." He kept his gaze down as he stepped around Drello and back towards the building. "Be glad I'm still allowing you to visit him." He gave Tiffany one final look and grabbed the door, letting himself inside.

Tiffany sighed next to him. She was quiet for a minute before she turned to look at Drello. From afar, she already seemed small but next to Drello's tall and overbearing frame, she seemed miniscule. Such a tiny person, Drello thought, but such a loud voice. She was still shining, Drello noticed. Her bright glow and color didn't diminish, and she still stood out against the world of grey. He looked into her eyes once more, noticing how the two spots of brown seemed to glow.

"I don't really know who you are but thank you." She started. "I guess I should treat you to a coffee or something. You still look miserable." That odd smile was back on her face again.

Her emotions are everywhere, Drello noticed. She seems to bounce from one feeling to another with no break in between. It was almost exhausting trying to keep up with it.

Tiffany squared her shoulders and stuck out her hand to him. Her porcelain skin pale against the dark color of her jacket. He looked down at her hand, taking note of how small it was. Was she gesturing to him?

"I'm Tiffany. And you are?"

For as long as he could remember, Drello wandered alone. Never talking to anyone. Never getting anyone's attention. Not once interfering. He was expected to just do his job and move on. To blend in with the crowds and stay invisible to the world.

He had found ways to keep his mind occupied. Every so often, he would find a person of interest and keep an eye on them. Watch as how they live their life out. Watch as they go to school, make friends, relationships, have their own personal dramas, and grow up. The cycle was the same. Then, he started looking into other activities he could do to pass the time. He had taught himself how to cook, how to paint, how to play all sorts of instruments. When you have eternity on your hands, you have all the time in the world. Yet, the world was still grey. There was no color in it until he had met this small woman. Tiffany.

Reaching out, he enveloped her hand within his.

"Drello."