The Good Reaper by Dennis J Butler Page A

and new alternative rock music. I had been listening to as much
music as I could since arriving on Earth so I was familiar with some of the
bands that Eli talked about. I spent a little extra time hanging out with Eli
after each treatment. Considering I was from a planet in a faraway solar
system, I thought it was cool that we always seemed to find things to talk
about. Talking to Eli made me feel like I belonged there.
    In the evenings as I had time to think about it, I knew in
my heart that I was making a mistake becoming friendly with Eli. I knew I
shouldn’t become close to any of the patients that had terminal illnesses.
    Eli had plenty of visitors. There were plenty of people who
loved and cared about him. He was never lonely so I knew the time I spent with
him was not about keeping him company. It was more about me. I was lonely and I
liked Eli. Sometimes when I wheeled him back to his room, his room was full of
his old friends and band mates. I often watched for a few minutes as they joked
around. Old friends are special, I thought. But new friends can sometimes be
special too. It seemed to be like that with me and Eli. There was some kind of
connection. I often had the feeling that he sensed that something was different
about me.
    I had been transporting Eli for about three months when I
noticed he was going downhill. His illness was taking control and he was
deteriorating fast. If we were on Ranjisan, the doctors would have been
bringing Tseen Ke into the conversations with him. But we were on planet Earth,
living in a culture that had some kind of moral or religious objection to
ending life in comfort and dignity. Humans still believed that their creator
would be more willing to welcome them into the afterlife if they had suffered
in hideous pain before dying.
    As the days and weeks went by, Eli seemed to be sleeping
more and more and moaning loudly in his sleep. When he was awake he rarely
joked around anymore and he frequently just slipped down low in his wheelchair
and moaned loudly. I wondered how much longer it would be. I wondered how much
longer he would have to suffer. I tried not to think about Tseen Ke but when I
went home at night it was almost all I could think about. 
    One morning I arrived a little early to take him for his
treatment. That feeling I had about how I thought that he suspected something
was different about me was confirmed. “He Luke, what’s up with you?”
    “Not much Eli. Same old thing.”
    “No, I mean, what’s really up with you? You never talk about
your family. Do you have a girlfriend, or is it a boyfriend? Does your family
live here in New York? There is some deep, dark secret you are keeping.” Eli
paused a moment and continued, “You know, I’m the perfect person to talk to, if
you know what I mean.” It was the first time I saw Eli smile like that in
weeks.
    I was stunned and frozen. I felt like a rabbit in the
headlights. Eli just sat there staring at me while I stood there on the verge
of panic. I decided I could make a joke out of it. “I wish I could tell you
Eli. I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you.” I said it with a
straight face. We just stared at each other for a long moment. Eli laughed
first. It started as a slight giggle and grew into an uncontrolled roaring
laughter. I followed along with him and began laughing until Eli began coughing
and having trouble catching his breath. Eventually he relaxed and began
breathing normally. Again we stopped and stared at each other. It was then that
Eli knew. He knew he was right. We were joking but we were serious. There was something different about me.
    “In the end,” Eli said slowly and softly before pausing for
a long moment. “You should tell me. It will do you good. I am sure of that.”
    “You are a wise man Eli. But more than that, you are a
friend.”
    Eli seemed to be having a revelation. He seemed to
understand that whatever was different about me was something