That morning promised an ominous day. The city was filled with birds: ravens, crows and a couple of eagles. They were all waiting over the buildings' tops. For what, I had no idea. I was outside only to buy food and carrots for Jung Min. I also took a pack of beer for some reason. I suddenly felt the need to get drunk. I rushed back home and abandoned everything in the kitchen – except for Jung Min’s carrots.

Locked inside my bedroom, he munched on one of his dirty vegetables while he revealed his broken wing. My fingers slowly it and I lifted it a couple of times.

“Watch out!” he winced when I tried to see if I could twist it.

“Can’t you grow another one?” I suggested as his feathers tickled my skin.

“Not in this world.”

“Actually, why do you even have wings? I never understood that.”

“Because I’m in this world,” he bit hard on the carrot “the same laws that apply on the other world don’t exist here.”

“So you can heal your wing?”

“I could go back to the other world and restructure my energy. But I can’t fly towards there anymore,” he mumbled and flapped his broken wing. Jung Min stopped and sighed, pain visible over his face.

“Can’t I borrow you my power again?”

“No!” he yelped when the wing disappeared for good. Jung Min walked to the bed and sat on the edge. He massaged his right shoulder as I came closer and watched him.

“Have I made the right decision?”

“It's tomorrow, isn’t it?”

He already knew what I was talking about. We had the exact same talk for years, every time around Mistress Yuri’s anniversary.

“Look, Sooyoung,” and it exasperated Jung Min “You did the right thing for humanity and the other world. You also did the bad thing for demons and ghosts. How many times do I have to tell you that one action will always have two sides to it?”

“What about a middle ground?”

“Impossible,” he got up from the bed “You are either on their side or ours. There’s no middle ground.”

“What if there is? What if I can become a middle ground?”

“Sooyoung...”

“Look, maybe a mandala is not that bad. Then, you can easily go back to the other world and fix your wing, can’t you? Then all worlds can become one.”

Jung Min grabbed my shoulders and glared at me.

“Are you really drunk, woman?!” he shouted and wouldn’t let go of me “Yuri died to prevent it!”

I bit my lips and on my inner cheek.

“That’s what I am saying,” my voice cracked before the reaper who carefully removed his hands “Maybe she didn’t have to die. Maybe we could have saved her somehow. Maybe we could have killed the demon without harming her. Has her death really been justified, Jung Min? Has it? That’s why I’m asking you again... have I done the right thing?”

“For you, for humanity, for us...” he trailed off and looked unsure of his words “Yes, you did the right thing.”

I rubbed my eyes and turned my back to him. I had so many things to buy in order to properly mourn Yuri’s spirit. I wish she would have contacted me through my dreams. I learned somewhere between my solitary adventures that every time we humans dreamt, our spirits were connecting to the other world and all of the wonders we see during our dreams are nothing more than the other world’s sceneries.

“Sooyoung,” I heard Jung Min deeply exhale. I still don’t understand how he can breathe. He’s dead, he’s not supposed to. Everything about Jung Min went against what was normal. For once, I felt the need to get away from all that. “I’m glad you’re smiling again. I’m glad you’re laughing again. I’m glad...” I watched Jung Min as his expression turned grim “That you can joke again, that you act like a living person.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ever since Yuri’s death, you’ve changed.”

“Of course I changed! I killed her!”

“But now, you seem to change again. Is it because of Daesung?”

I silenced myself and avoided his gaze. My arms were wrapped tightly over my chest as I scratched my right foot with my left toes. Maybe he was right. But I didn’t want to admit it.

“No,” I waved my hand “It has nothing to do with him.”

“Yeah right,” he smirked and grabbed my chin “You’re cute, why wouldn’t he like you?”

“Stop it!” I pushed him away and left the bedroom, flustered and all. The sight of Daesung’s innocent smile as I passed him made me change direction towards the front door and leave the apartment. I had to clear my head. Despite the crowd of reapers, I searched through my memories and retraced my steps from five hundred years ago.

Then I abruptly stopped in the middle of the road. I was too afraid to visit the spot where my old house once stood; and Yuri’s grave.

I shook my head and entered a small café on the corner. Some tea should clear my mind and prepare me for tomorrow.

But seriously, why the flock of birds? Don’t reapers have better things to do than to stalk this small city’s people?  

Again, for the second time, I stopped in my path towards a free seat.

On the farthest table, there was a lady. She had black hair cascading down her shoulders, gentle eyes and lips slightly moving as she mentally read a thick old looking book. She was wearing a bright red dress with a black jacket over. Her nails were painted red and she had a small raspberry cupcake near a tall glass of water.  

She perfectly resembled a modern version of Mistress Yuri.