The Grim Reaper's Secret Agent Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus (book online)

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Index Page Preface The Moment Anna was chosen

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Chapter 1 Anna Meets her Partner Peter George Agent P.R.’s New Appearance

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Chapter 2 Anna is Introduced to the South winds Community The Unknown Talents and Powers of all Agents

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Chapter 3 The Invitation to the Grand Meeting A Very Strange Dream

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Chapter 4 The Day of the Grand Meeting The Mysterious Puzzle Preparing for the Grand Meeting

28 30 30

Chapter 5 The Grand Meeting

32 Chapter 6

The Mission Begins

39 Chapter 7

The Grim Reapers in the World of the Living Children’s Security

42 43

Chapter 8 When Danger Knocks at the Door Unexpectedly

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Chapter 9 The Grim Reapers never rest when Babies call

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Chapter 10 Children are the Seeds of Humanity The Ten Key Principles of Coexistence

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57 59

Chapter 11 The Grim Reapers Deal with Terror

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Chapter 12 Darkness Invites Evil Actions A bit of Free time does not harm any Agent

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Chapter 13 Is the World Running out of Time?

Proposal versus Imposition Religions, Cultures, Traditions, and the Ten Key Principles of Coexistence

73 75 76

Chapter 14 Simple and Complex Tasks for the Agents The Bosses’ Chairs Checkmate Do not try to hurt anyone, especially if you think she is alone!

Run for you life ‌ if you can!

Unavoidable matters to attend: Rape, Pornography, Sexual Exploitation of Women, Adolescents, and Children

84 84 86 87 89 93

Chapter 15 Organizing the Material World Public and Private Financial Systems Homework for the Ones who have the Capacity

96 96 99

Chapter 16 Seeking Balance for the Soul of Humanity Priesthood

105 106

Chapter 17 What Comes after Life?

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Epilogue

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Preface The Moment Anna was Chosen The days and nights were as usual: our Big Boss would call us at any moment to pick up a soul from any place on Earth, and we would take any means of transportation we chose that would suit the occasion and circumstances of our guest. I was in charge of picking up five-year old children, whom we called “little stars.”

The night when I met the Big Boss I was playing in the field with my pet dog Luna. It was about six o’clock in the afternoon.

Luna was a little black female dog with a spot on her forehead with the shape of a crescent moon. I had found Luna when she was just a little puppy. She was lost in the forest close to our farmhouse where I lived with my family. In those days I was ten years old, and it is a bit hard for me to remember exactly how it happened. The night fell, and dark clouds invaded the skies. There were thunder claps and lightning bolts, with a huge full moon smiling at the earth from the sky, hiding from time to time behind dark clouds. I ran back home with Luna.

When I was in my room, I realized that I had forgotten my jacket hanging from a branch of a tree. My dad had just given it to me as a birthday present, and I decided to escape with Luna for a little while from my house through the back door.

I still remember that beautiful little golden star shining on the ground on our way towards the tree where my jacket was hanging. That star looked as if it could shine by itself, and one of its five points seemed nailed in the soil. Tempted by it, I decided to pick it up and take it home to add it up to my long list of things I considered part of my great treasure. I had a small chest in the attic of my house to hide all my “valuable” things.

That little star was, in a certain way, smiling at me. I kneeled down and extended my hand slowly to touch it and pull it out from the soil. It was as if I were asking permission to mother earth to remove that little star I had found. Suddenly, a huge blow of light struck my eyes and all my body, bringing darkness around me … A lightning bolt had reached a small girl through a little golden star … I had been struck violently by a furious lightning bolt! When I opened my eyes, I was in the arms of the Grim Reaper, who was staring at me and smiling. He simply said: “Welcome to my staff, Anna. Your time has come to meet me in person, and I need your help. Come with me.”

I could not believe my eyes, and I thought I was dreaming; therefore, I rubbed my eyes trying to wake up. There he was, a huge skeleton talking to me, dressed up in an elegant indigo hooded cassock. He was wearing sandals and a pair of sun eyeglasses. Curiously, I was not afraid of him at all, and I found him quite charming. Why was I thinking in that way? I will

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never know. While he was holding me tenderly in his arms, as if I were hurt, I asked him, “Am I already dead?” “Are you the famous Grim Reaper?” He looked at me and said, “Yes, I am the Grim Reaper.” He remained in silence for a moment and just moved his head, giving me a sign that I had already crossed that door of which my grandmother Stella had been talking about lately in her room, where she lied very weak in bed, but happy as her days in this world were counted, and she would soon meet her beloved dead husband, my grandfather Thomas.

Apparently, I had taken a short cut and crossed the borderline before her. “Sir, where am I?” I asked him with my eyes wide open and trying to look around. I was in the middle of a beautiful forest. The huge distinguished skeleton put me on the ground and said to me, “Well, Ms. Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus, you are in my world now.” “Excuse me, Sir.” I replied, “My name is Anna Nightingale, not Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus.”

The Grim Reaper looked at me tenderly and added, “I know, my dear girl; but from now on your new name will be Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus, which is a very special name to me, as you will be one of my secret agents. But if it is too long for you to pronounce it, I can call you simply Anna or Ms. P. R. In time you will understand why I have put you the name of Vermilion Flycatcher in Latin, because nothing will escape from your grip once you become my agent.

I was astonished. “What? A secret agent? What about my mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters?” He answered me, “Do not worry about them, because all their needs and troubles have been taken care of.” I touched my chest, as if something was squeezing my heart. “But, Sir, don’t you think they will miss me and start looking for me?” He held his bony chin for a moment and simply said. “Sorry, my little girl, time passes by so quickly in this world; you departed from their side five years ago.” I opened my mouth in shock. “Your family has not forgotten you, Anna, and they always think about you. You were always a loving daughter.” I could not believe his words, and I said loudly, “Mr. Grim Reaper, you mean that I have been asleep for five long years without waking up?! Just like that?! It cannot be true, Sir.” The huge skeleton did not answer. He just showed me a path in the forest and said, “Come, let’s go this way; and, please, Anna, you can also call me Mr. Death. Life, space, and time in this world are totally different. You have learned a lot since the day you died. Your soul has gone through a special ‘training,’ and you will understand many things as time passes. As you probably may have heard, as the Grim Reaper, I write down the names of all human beings the day they are born; and I also write down their departure day. It is part of my duties, among other very interesting tasks.”

Mr. Death added, “When you were born, I noticed that fate had put a special star in your heart, and I knew then that you had to be part of my staff. I took with me all the sadness you would have gone through if you had woken up beside your beloved

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Luna after you had died. Luckily, she survived all right and went quickly to the farmhouse of your family. With her barking, Luna called the attention of all your family members and neighbors, who joined your family when they all went out to look for you and to see the place where the lighting bolt had struck. Luna guided them and did not stop barking until they had reached the spot where you were lying ‘asleep.’ You were there on the ground, holding a little golden star with your fingers. At the beginning your family members thought you were not dead since your body had not burnt; and they tried to wake you up, but then they realized that their ten-year old seventh child, ‘Little Bone,’ Anna, had gone for good.” I remained in silence for a moment and asked him, “How do you know that my nick name was Little Bone?” He replied, “I know many things about you, dear!” I added, “So, I wasn’t roasted by the lightning.” He smiled at me and said, “No, because you had some coins in your pockets and that helped you avoid getting roasted. Well, to be honest, Anna, I provided you with a bit of assistance!” After those details, I added, “Jesus Christ, Sir, thank God you helped me, otherwise I would have been like a roasted little bone!” Then we both began to laugh just imagining how I would have looked all roasted before the eyes of my loved ones … disgusting!

I did not know what to think, but my heart was strangely at peace and no suffering clouded it. When Mr. Death mentioned my nick name “Little Bone”, I remembered that my grandmother used to call me by that name, because I was very skinny, although I loved to eat the ginger bread my mom used to bake for us and devoured all the food she would prepare with loving care and put before my eyes. Suddenly, Mr. Death said, “look around you, Anna.” When I did so, I realized that the path in the forest had ended, and we had arrived in a wonderful place. It was like a paradise indeed. No words could describe the beauty and perfection of what I had before my eyes: The sky, the field, the brooks, the flowers, the fruit trees, the butterflies, the lakes, the birds, even the air I could breathe.

Everything was magnificent. At a distance, I could see some children and grown ups walking by or playing around or sitting on the green carpet of soft grass. There were small and big houses spread around in the place.

At a distance, I saw an adult approaching us. I realized that he was my grandfather Thomas. He opened his arms, and I went running towards him; I hugged him with all my strength. He kissed me and hugged me with all his strength as well. Some people came closer to us, and I noticed that I was able to guess who they were: my ancestors and some relatives whom I had known! They greeted the Grim Reaper in one voice, “Good morning, Sir.” He replied, “Good morning, Children of God. Anna will hang around with you for a little while. I will be back.” I stayed for several hours talking to my grandfather

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and my relatives, and I could not believe how many things he knew about me and the rest of my family, as if he had been hanging around by our house invisibly when I had been alive and after my death. My grandfather stretched his arm and a delicious vanilla-chocolate ice cream cone appeared in his hand and gave it to me. I was so happy and excited that I said, “You have become a wizard!” He began to laugh and then added, “We can do so many things here that it is impossible for you, yet, to imagine. Let’s go to that lake.” He pointed at a distant lake, and we all went together and spent some lovely time rowing small pedal boats.

I could feel a fresh breeze caressing my face and blowing my hair softly. The hours passed –or should I say the time in that place--, and I began to think about the Grim Reaper.

I told my grandfather that I somehow missed Mr. Death, and he told me that I would soon have to make an important decision. When I heard his words, I realized that very deep in my heart I knew that I would really have to make a choice.

I looked at the shore of the lake, and there he was, Mr. Death dressed with his hooded ministerial cassock, walking along the shore with both hand held at the back of his waist, with his head tilted forward as if concentrated on his thoughts. He then raised his head and looked straight at our boat and then raised his huge hand and waved to us. I waved my hand back to him and felt very happy to see him. He was wearing a pair of stylish sunglasses, which made him look unique. I turned around to see my grandfather and noticed that he had tears in his eyes. He said to me, “You were born in this new life for a purpose. You will be an excellent agent!” We embraced each other, and then we pedaled our boat towards the place where the Grim Reaper was standing.

Once we had reached the shore, I said goodbye to my grandfather, left the boat, and walked towards Mr. Death.

I stopped abruptly and felt something weird inside my heart, like a voice, and looked at Mr. Death and said to him straight forward, “You want me to choose whether I wish to stay here or go with you and be a secret agent, don’t you? I do not know why I am telling you this, but I felt it in my heart.” He looked at me and said, “Yes, precisely! Now you can read my thoughts.

That’s good. Although your appearance is that of a ten-year old girl, your heart and soul have grown up, and now you can decide what you wish to do. There is always something to do and learn here or in my place.” I looked again at the beautiful surroundings and said to myself, “Anna, being part of the Grim Reaper’s staff would hardly be boring, and being a secret agent would definitely bring lots of adventures to your new life.” While I was concentrated on my thoughts, Mr. Death said, “Exactly, Ms. Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus. You are right.

Shall we go now?” His words caught me by surprise. He was smiling! How could this well dressed and distinguished pearl

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color skeleton smile at me! I could not believe my eyes; I could perceive it: Mr. Death was smiling, and I had never seen such beautiful, perfect and bright teeth in my entire short life. “I’ll go with you, Sir,” I said it with full confidence.

The Grim Reaper replied happily, “That’s my girl, Ms. P. R., I am sure you are eager to do something important, and you have made the right decision. Follow me, please; you must meet your new partner, Peter George, also known as Big Bone.” I asked him with surprise, “What? A partner?” He chuckled and said, “Be patient, young woman; a ten-year old agent always needs a colleague for advice. Don’t you think so? You’ll also need a uniform; that is, a special wardrobe; and … get used to the new appearance you’ll have to “show” to people on certain occasions. Ready?” “Yes, Sir,” I answered eagerly. “But, I am afraid. I do not know whether I’ll be good at my new responsibilities or duties.” Mr. Death touched my head and said, “Do not worry, Anna, you are right for the job; and you must not be afraid, because you were born for the mission.” I added hesitantly, “Sir, I have a little question.

Don’t you have wings?” He began to laugh and said, “I do, but I only show them to my agents when they receive their credentials. Trust me, you will see my wings in time; and you will have yours in time, too. Let’s go.” I smiled all excited and added, “Great, Sir! Let’s go!”

Chapter 1 Anna Meets her Partner Peter George I followed Mr. Death obediently and began to walk by his side. I noticed that my steps were short while his steps were long; but, mysteriously, I did not stay behind or did not have to rush to remain at his level. For the first time, I could notice that he seemed to have a huge and well formed strong body, although he was a skeleton; that is, he had no flesh; but he did not look super skinny or bony under his clothes. Mr. Death stopped and said to me, “Thank you, Anna; you have noticed that I am in good shape, and I always try to keep that way. It is good for my bones to be fit.” We both smiled and kept on walking, and a beautifully carved wooden double door appeared on our way.

It opened widely as Mr. Death and I walked towards it and went through. I was surprised to see that it was the entrance to a small city surrounded by mountains covered with snow. The sun was shining, and the sky had a beautiful deep blue color with white clouds all spread. The place was similar to the one where the Grim Reaper and I had been before, but apart from watching ordinary people, there were other grim reapers hanging around as well. They were not as huge as Mr. Death, though. Some people were fishing in a lake; others were riding bicycles or walking by.

Some grim reapers were even attending people in small stores and restaurants. I thought I had lost my mind, because I had thought that spirits did not eat

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or even go fishing or go around getting things. As we were passing by, a girl my age, with an ice cream cone in her hand greeted us, “Good morning.” She looked at me and said, “Welcome to our city, dear sister.” She winked at me and turned into a small grim reaper and began to laugh and kept on walking. I turned around and noticed that she had turned back into her previous flesh and bone appearance. “Are you surprised?” Mr. Death asked me; and then he winked at me and laughed. We kept on moving forward.

Guessing what I had in mind, the Grim Reaper said, “My child, do you think spirits should forget the taste of a delicious roast beef or a baked potato with sour cream? Or should spirits of people erase from their memory doughnuts covered with frosty chocolate, which they used to eat with fresh milk when they were alive? Remember, Anna, all of us here are not dead!

Ha! Ha! Ha! Look around you. This is my city, and everyone you see is part of my family, my staff. Some of my agents wear their official uniforms; others prefer to look like they used to be in the other world. Oh! There he comes, your partner, Peter George.” I turned around and saw a tall Grim Reaper wearing jeans and a blue hooded jacket, riding a huge black horse and coming towards us.

Again, I noticed that his face was not creepy at all. He smiled at us and waved his hand to us. “Good day, Mr. Death,” he said. The moment he descended from his horse and stood up on the ground his appearance changed. He was a very tall and slim man with tanned skin and long black hair, which he had tied up in a ponytail. His big black eyes were striking but tender at the same time.

The Grim Reaper introduced me to my partner, “Pleased to meet you, Anna. We are going to be part of a great team, you will see. Everybody here is part of one big family, and although our mission is tough, it is good and exciting, and very rewarding.”

Agent P. R.’s New Appearance Mr. Death asked Peter George to look after me and explain to me everything I needed to know about. First of all, I would have to get used to my new appearance.

I could not understand what he had meant by “my new appearance,” as I was wearing the same t-shirt I had before my death, including my blue jeans, socks, boots, and underwear!” Mr. Death looked at me and said, “Yes, indeed. You are wearing the last clothes you put on before you came here. When you look at yourself in the mirror of your room, you will see your new appearance.”

I opened my eyes widely and asked them, “What?” “Have I changed? Do I look pale and spooky?” “Oh, my God, how do I look?” I asked the questions in such a way that both of my companions laughed out loud. “Do not worry, Anna. You look smart and clever, like we do!” said Mr. Death. Then he laughed and added, “Well, the time has come for me to disappear for a while, dear agents. I will be in touch when needed, of course.

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You two have to get used to each other. Goodbye for now.”

He bowed, turned around, walked away, and after taking a few steps, he just vanished before our very eyes.

“Please, Peter George, be honest! How do I really look?” I asked again desperately. He replied, “As the Big Boss said, you look fine. Do not panic!” “Whenever you wish, Anna, you can also call me Big Bone,” my new partner said. He was so tall and I was so short that I said, “I think we make a funny couple, partner.” He smiled and said, “Yes, undoubtedly. However, you will notice that there are many funny couples around the place. In each team you will notice a combination of ages and height in its members. There are two more agents you will meet who are part of our team plus an additional mysterious tiny agent. I will explain more about it later. As Mr. Death said, you must get used to your new appearance first. I will take you to your place or accommodation where you will be staying, and you will be able to see yourself at a mirror you will find there in your closet. You will have time to check your room, eat something, and rest a bit. The building where your room is located is known as “The South Winds.”

It is a two-floor circular brick building located on a hill not far away. The Children live on the first floor, and the adults are accommodated on the second floor. Let’s go walking this way.” Peter George looked at his beautiful black horse and said, “Go back home, Linda.” And the horse left us obediently.

At a certain distance, the stallion also vanished in the air. The green color of the field reminded me of the emerald my grandmother Stella used to wear as a pendant. I had never seen so many different colorful flowers in my life. The combination of their colors and their shapes made me feel as if I had been blind before. The sun was shining, but it was not hot at all. The temperature was perfect. Also at a distance one could see some water falls and a wide river, some ponds, and several farms far away. There was a two-way road that led to the city and crossed it, dividing it in two. The streets were wide and the houses were all surrounded by green areas.

On the outskirts of the city, there were four small hills with a two-floor round brick building on top of each one. The hills and the buildings were located on each one of the four cardinal points. Reading my thoughts, Peter George said, “Those buildings are our hotels and headquarters. After some time, we are usually sent to other places.” We walked towards one of the brick buildings on one of the hills. When we were close enough, I could read that it had a name: “The South Winds.” It was engraved in golden letters above the main entrance doors. The style of the letters called my attention, and my partner said, “We use here the Old English Text letters for the names of the buildings, streets, roads, brooks, etc. We even write our messages using that style, but at a higher speed, of course. It is part of us.” Then I noticed that all the room

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doors of the first floor were facing to the outside, and all the rooms had two big windows, one on each side of their entrance door. On the wall, above each door, there was a metal and glass little lamp, and it had a candle inside. The metal looked like gold. I asked Peter George, “Which is my room?” And he replied, “Mention your new name and you will find it out. You will see.” I thought it was weird, but I did it.

When I said ‘Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus,’ one of the candle lamps lit up. “That’s your room, Anna, Come.” He said. I felt very excited and wanted to see and check the place where I would be staying. My partner went into my room through the closed door, and I was shocked. He came out the same way and said, “Oh, I am sorry. I forgot that you are not used to that way of going in. Well, stand in front of the door and just think that you want to go in.” I followed his instructions and the doors opened like magic. I went into my room, and big Bone added, “Next time you will also be able to get into your room or any place through closed doors or even through walls just by thinking about it. As spirits, we can all do that very easily. You will have lots of fun doing it in the future.”

My room was very big and comfortable. It had two windows at the back through which I could see the inner gardens of the building. At the entrance, on the right side, there was a small kitchenette, a two-drawer filing cabinet placed on the corner, and a six-drawer desk with two chairs. “In the kitchenette you will find anything you wish to eat or drink, warm or cold,” said Peter George. I opened the kitchenette, and it had two compartments. On the upper compartment there was a warm ham and cheese sandwich and a glass of milk; and on the lower compartment, there was a chocolate bar.

I grabbed the chocolate immediately, and had a big bite. I was surprised to find out that it was a cinnamon chocolate, my favorite flavor as well as my dad’s. On the left side, there was a small sofa and a table. At the back, on the right side, there was a comfortable small bed with two night tables; one had a candle lamp on it, and the other, a little sand clock. On the right side wall, there a closet with its two wooden doors closed. In addition, on the left side of my room, there was a bathroom with a sink and a huge tub. “Peter George, there is no toilet!” I said in a worried tone. He simply said “We do not need it! Have you had any need for a restroom since you came to our world?

We do not have to process internally the food we eat or liquids we drink. We just enjoy what we eat and drink and do.”

And he laughed. I remained in silence for a moment, but then I began to laughed, too. “Well, now it is time to see your new appearance, Anna. Please, open your walking closet.” I looked at the closet that was beside one of my night tables on the right side of my room. It seemed to be part of the wall, as if it did not have any depth to walk into it. The closet doors did not have knobs. I looked at Peter George and then walked towards the closet doors. Before I could touch the door, it

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opened magically as if greeting me. I saw a huge mirror in a beautifully carved wooden frame. The mirror reflected the same appearance I had always known, as far as I could remember: I was a skinny ten-year old girl with long red copper hair with two big light honey-color eyes. However, I noticed that my hair had changed. It had like red-gold rays which I had not noticed before and its brightness called my attention. I looked carefully in the mirror, and I also noticed that my crooked teeth were gone, and they were now in their proper straight position; even my missing teeth were back! I could not believe it. Then I looked at my partner and said, “I think I have changed quite a bit. I like my new appearance.” But this time he smiled at me and said, “Look again in the mirror, Anna.” I looked at the mirror once again, and what I saw had nothing to do with what I had seen as my reflection a few seconds ago … I was a small grim reaper wearing a traditional royal blue hooded robe. My skull and hand bones had a beautiful pearl color with a special brightness, completely different from the common human skeleton bone color. My nails were perfectly well cut and polished. I do not know what happened next; but when I opened my eyes, I was lying on my bed.

I looked at my hands and I felt at ease when I saw flesh covering my bones. Peter George was sitting on a chair beside my bed. He was smiling and asked me, “Did you like your new look?” I could not reply; it was everything so new to me. When I had seen my skeleton appearance reflected in the mirror, a strong energy had struck me but softly; I had fainted in some way. Peter said, “Please, do not worry, Anna. When we are sealed with the bony appearance, we usually ‘faint’. Nobody sees you like that unless you want to or unless the Big Boss wants people to see you with your official uniform. He knows when and where you must wear it. Do not be afraid. You will enjoy it. Well, dear colleague, I must leave you for a little while. Feel free to walk around the building, the halls, the yards, the fountains. You might meet some of our colleagues in the gardens. I will come shortly. You can check the time in the sand clock on your night table. When the last grain of sand falls into the lower half, you will hear a jingle bell in your ear, and I will appear. You will listen to the sound wherever you are. I will show up before your very eyes.” He winked, made a bow, and vanished like Mr. Death had done.

When I was alone, I went to the closet again, and the door opened widely. There I was again in front of that beautiful mirror again; but this time I was wearing a beautiful royal blue hooded robe and in flesh and bones. I did not know whether to cry or laugh. Then my flesh and bone appearance changed and turned into a small skeleton. I looked at my bony hands and my feet and the new sandals I was wearing; they reminded me of those sandals worn by the Franciscan priests of the nearby parish at home; that is, where I used to live with my family. When

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I looked at my teeth again, I was happy to see that there were no missing teeth and that they were not crooked anymore! I smiled, and the small elegant skeleton reflected in the mirror smiled back at me. I began to laugh loudly, and suddenly the new ‘Anna Nightingale’ appeared reflected in the mirror, in her flesh and in her simple casual clothing. I stopped laughing and said solemnly, “Welcome, Ms. Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

The reflection of Anna Nightingale in the mirror disappeared, and, in her place, a confident ten-year old Grim Reaper stood there and replied back, “The pleasure is mine!”

The official uniform or appearance that had been granted to me had a purpose, and it would be part of my future duties. And to be honest, it was not that bad or spooky at all as it was now part of me!

Chapter 2 Anna is introduced to the Community of the South Winds My usual flesh and bone appearance came back, and I finished eating my delicious cinnamon chocolate bar. I opened the kitchenette again to eat the warm ham and cheese sandwich and drink the glass of milk. Thank God they had not vanished.

Both tasted wonderful. When the sandwich and milk were supposedly in my stomach, the glass and plate simply vanished.

Although Peter George had told me that I could go outside and walk around, I decided to stay in my room for a while.

The windows of my room had a beautiful view of the green plains.

There were small farms with their wells in the distance, and I could see two small ponds with several ducks swimming in them. A small Grim Reaper, dressed in a royal bluehooded robe, appeared near the building. I was surprised to see how confidently he walked with his bony appearance. He was a boy; I simply knew it. Apparently he was in a rush, as his steps were quick and short. It was funny watching him. He had a beautiful feather nailed in his hood. The color of his bones was pearly with sparkles. He stopped abruptly and put his hand on his invisible nose, as if trying to remember something.

He stretched his left arm and a violin appeared on it.

He raised his right hand and a thin stick to play the violin also materialized. It seemed that he was completely unaware and isolated from the world that surrounded him. He began to play the musical instrument magnificently and started dancing like an extremely talented cricket.

The scene of the boy reminded me of a violinist I had seen once in my life on television, but the way he danced marveled me so much that I could not close my mouth. When he finished playing the violin and stopped dancing, he looked at the window of my room, through which I had been watching him. The boy smiled broadly at me and his violin and stick vanished with a sparkle. He raised his hand at me and moved his little finger bones; then he bowed

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as if he were thanking me. I moved my hand saying hello, and he replied back the same way. He turned around and kept on walking his way through a path that led to a similar round brick building on a distant summit, opposite to ours. “Who was that little Grim Reaper? Where was he going?” I wondered.

The sound of a jingle bell called my attention, and I turned around to see the sand clock. The upper half of the clock was empty. A few seconds later, my partner Peter George appeared before my eyes in my room. “Hello, again, Anna. Are you ready to meet your neighbors and colleagues?” he asked. The door of my room opened as if it were alive.

I replied immediately, “Yes, sir, I am ready. But, one moment, I forgot something. I need to wash my teeth.” Big Bone laughed and said, “Your teeth are perfectly clean and in order.” A small beautiful mirror appeared in the air before my eyes, and I looked at my teeth. My partner was quite right. My teeth were clean indeed, and there was not any spot of chocolate or bread left at all. Again I was shocked to see the perfect and complete set of teeth I had in my mouth. The mirror disappeared, and Big Bone said with a broad smile, “We, Grim Reapers, always need to have a clean, bright, perfect and complete set of teeth in order to smile and greet people when we meet them at the moment of their death, don’t you think so? That enhances our interesting appearance when we are sent to pick up new comers. However, sometimes, our bright smile it is not enough to convince people that their time of death has come.” When I lifted my eyebrows at what he had just said, he added, “Let’s go now, Anna, I need to introduce you to some friends and colleagues of mine.” As we left the room, the door closed, and the light of the candle lamp hanging outside above my door went out. My clothes suddenly changed, and I was now wearing a royal-blue hooded robe like my partner’s. I did not make any comments; I just smiled; my flesh and bone appearance had remained under the official uniform. The night was falling and some stars were beginning to appear. The sunset was awesome. I noticed some shooting stars crossing the sky, and for me those stars were like a good sign. That evening would prove to be a very interesting one.

We walked through a wide corridor inside the circular brick building. As I had noticed through the back windows of my room, there was a wide, round garden in the center of the premises with patches of beautiful flowers all over. There were several benches placed around, and two fountains with clean, crystal water. It was a beautiful, peaceful view. The diameter of the garden was about one hundred meters. On the opposite side, across the garden, there was an entrance to a large room which had six large windows, three on each side of the entrance. I looked around and noticed that several people were walking towards that room and going in.

I was a bit

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nervous; however, my partner tapped my shoulder and said, “Everything will be fine, Anna; relax.”

We entered the room which was very large indeed. Its floor was made out of champagne color marble, and it was shining.

The lamp hanging from the ceiling was huge and beautiful. It was made out of round crystal prisms that seemed like rainbow drops with a mysterious flame inside each one. The light of the room was unique and enchanting at the same time. In the center, there was a round crystal table, inlaid with all kinds of tiny precious stones and gems; and around it there were several comfortable armchairs. Some of them were big and others were small. Both sizes of the armchairs had been alternated evenly; that is, combined big and small. There was a very thick white candle in the middle of the table, surrounded by a crown of beautiful and colorful flowers. The color of the flame of the candle was unique; it changed into unimaginable different colors. Beside the big candle there was an opened leather-bound thick book with ribbon markers, gilded page edging, and gold-stamped spines, which reminded me of the Bible my mother had in the drawer of her desk. On the table, before each armchair, there was a leather-bound notebook and a crystal ball with a red candle inside; its flame was delicate and sparkling. “Are we going to sit here?” I asked Peter George. “Yes, Anna, and you are the main guest!”

My heart began to pump hard and quickly. I wanted to die again and disappear! To calm me down Peter George added, “Do not be afraid, please. As you can see, there are 140 armchairs, 70 places for adults and 70 for children and young agents, and two special armchairs that stand out from the rest which will be occupied by our Headmasters. They are in charge of the South Winds community; that is, the Fire Clan.” “Do you make fires?” I asked astonished. “No, we don’t. However, we do set on fire the hearts of those who need it, in order to turn them into diamonds,” he replied and winked at me. I realized that he had meant a change in people’s thoughts and feelings. “Where are we going to sit down?” I asked him, and he answered, “Think of our names and two candles will light up.” I thought of Peter George’s name and my new name, and two of the red candles inside the crystal balls lit up, one beside the other. A second later, Peter and I were standing behind our armchairs.

The lit red candle inside our crystal balls had silver and gold glitters on its red wax body which sparkled in turns. The flame of my candle had the shape of a star which called my attention. The leather-bound notebook I had in my place had my name engraved in golden letters on its cover. As it was the tradition, the old English text letter style had been used.

Peter George’s notebook was similar to mine but larger and thicker, and it had “#25” engraved on the upper right corner of its cover. I looked at him, and he said, “It is my twenty-fifth year as an agent and instructor. Have you seen your notebook

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number?” I turned my eyes back to my notebook and noticed that it had “#I” engraved on it. It would be my first year as an agent.

I heard more people coming into the large room, and I turned around. I saw young people, children and adults, male and female, crossing the doors and appearing immediately in their corresponding places, behind their armchairs. Their candles inside the crystal balls on the table would light up as all men and women, boys and girls, appeared behind their seats. All were dressed in royal-blue hooded robes, in flesh and bone.

The two armchairs that stood out from the rest were still empty, but a moment later a couple came into the room. She was a very tall and attractive woman as well as the man who accompanied her. She had long black straight hair which she wore loose. Her companion had short brown curly hair. I noticed that they both had big violet eyes, framed within long black eyelashes, which made their eye color stand out. They stood behind their armchairs and said, “Good evening, our dear children.” All the people present replied in one voice, “Good evening, Alexandra. Good evening, Simon.”

When all the people were still standing behind their seats, all of them, including the Headmasters, looked at me and said in one voice, “Welcome to the South Winds, Anna.” A beautiful flower arrangement suddenly appeared in my place, and I was speechless for a few seconds. Then I said, “Thank you very much.” I blushed and felt my cheeks burning. I looked at Peter, who was watching me tenderly. He said to me in a low voice, “do not worry, you have not turned into a tomato.” Alexandra and Simon were both smiling at me. Simon began to speak and said, “My dear children, it is a pleasure for me to introduce officially to all of you Ms. Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus. She has been assigned to Peter George’s team by Mr. Death. She is now part of our family and the member number 140 who has completed the number of children in our community of the South Winds. Let’s give her a warm welcome.” The sound of all the hands clapping was so overwhelming that I began to smile and tears began to fill my eyes at the same time.” I thanked them several times. Afterwards, a deep silence fell into the room.

The Headmistress Alexandra and the Headmaster Simon appeared next to me. She said to me, “Anna, we are very happy to have you in our family; I am sure your life with us will be joyful and rewarding.” Simon added, “You are very important; and as time passes, you will understand our mission and the changes we must bring to humanity.” Both of them gave me a big hug; and a moment later, they were back in their places. Then all at once put our hands together spontaneously, as in prayer, closed our eyes and remained in silence for a few moments. I felt as if we were being tuned in with a higher force. We were 140 members around a table; but at that moment, I realized that somehow we were all in one; a connection had been made which

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linked us all in one frequency; then we prayed silently. I prayed to God Our Father and to the Holy Virgin Mary, which my parents had taught me. The prayers of the community members were varied and of different origin. Although our eyes were closed, I realized that I could see the white candle in the center of the table turn brighter in color. Gold glitters had appeared around the flame and on the body of the candle as if it were alive. Then there was a thunderclap that invaded the place where we were; however, it did not make any of us shake up. I remained calm like the rest of people in the room. A few minutes later, we opened our eyes simultaneously, and at that moment all the people sat down comfortably around the table. I watched them do everything so precisely that I could not believe my eyes. They had just appeared on their armchairs without moving them. Big Bone touched my shoulder, and I realized that I was the only person left that had remained on her feet. A second later I was sitting beside my partner, who began to address a speech to all the community.

The Unknown Talents and Powers of all Agents “Alexandra, Simon, brothers and sisters, as we have all heard, Anna, a ten-year old girl, has completed the circle of our 70 children and youngsters. As you all know, like us, while she was asleep, she received a special training; that is, 500 years of our time –more precisely, during the seven minutes past her moment of death. We have all gone through that training and know that although Anna is not aware of the knowledge and training she has received since the moment of her departure from her world, she will discover in time all the powers and talents she now possesses. To begin with, I am going to ask our dear Anna to play the piano for us.” All the people in the room began to applaud. I opened my eyes widely in surprise and felt that my face was turning pale and cold. Peter George looked at me and said, “You can do it.” I looked at him and the rest of my new family and said in a very low voice “Please! Have you lost your mind?”

Suddenly, in a blink of an eye, everything in the room changed.

The big round table with the white candle in the center turned into a small version of that table and appeared on one side of the room. Our notebooks had been place standing on some bookshelves on the walls, and the big and small armchairs had been arranged making two semicircles. The small armchairs had been placed in front of the big armchairs. A beautiful piano had appeared in front of all the people, and I was sitting on the piano stool with my fingers already on the piano keys.

The armchairs of Alexandra and Simon were beside the piano, and they were watching me attentively. I heard the voice of Peter George behind me saying, “You can start now, Anna.” I do not know how I did it, but I began to play the piano, and did it magnificently. “Forgive me God,” I said to myself, “But I think I

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have turned into a professional pianist!”

When I finished playing the musical theme, all the members of my new family clapped their hands with excitement.

I was indeed very surprised at my new unknown talent. They asked me to play three more musical pieces, which I played beautifully and professionally, and I would dare say ‘with passion.’

Afterwards, Simon stood up and said, “Children, as this is a welcome party for our new member, we are going to make a toast for Anna.”

A beautiful crystal cup filled with champagne appeared in our hands, and all the people who were in the large room made a toast I would never forget: “To the happiness and fulfillment of Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus.

Cheers!” We all drank the content of our cups. The content of our crystal cups was simply exquisite. The children’s cups were smaller than the adults’ cups, though. As a child, I obviously knew that it was not good for anyone to get drunk.

Simon, who was standing beside me, turned his face, looked at me and said, “We do not ever get drunk, Anna. Everybody in the room laughed loudly. Then he added joyfully, “It is time to dance, dear children, men and women, boys and girls, move your flesh and bones!” Our crystal cups vanished in the air with a sparkle.

Out of no where, a small orchestra appeared and began to play dancing music; and in a matter of seconds all of us were dancing on our feet. The first dance to be played was the wellknown beautiful waltz of Johannes Strauss, The Blue Danube.

All the armchairs had been placed magically closed to the walls, leaving a wide space to dance. I was surprised to notice that all of our clothes had changed into royal style clothes that reminded me of the kings and queens, princes and princesses of the old days. Alexandra looked like a queen indeed. Her lips seemed like a red rose, and her dimples enhanced her beautiful bright smile. Simon was my first dancing partner. His eyes were now dark brown which called my attention. Guessing my thoughts, he said, “The eyes of all of us are ‘officially’ violet, but we recover our original color whenever we want to. You will be informed about that later.

Shortly you will notice the violet new color of your eyes appear every now and then; however, you should not worry, because we can change the color of our eyes at will.” We danced two consecutive waltzes; at the end of the second waltz, he smiled at me, thanked me, made a bow, and then a boy appeared in his place as my next dancing partner; but this time the rhythm of the music was different as well as the clothes we were wearing. They called it boss nova, a well-known style of Brazilian music. It was incredible: all of us were expert boss nova dancers. We all kept on dancing happily –it seemed for hours--, making all the movements of the different rhythms of the pieces of music played with accuracy and grace. Our clothes would change according to the music played. I could not believe my eyes: We were all professional dancers. Do

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not ask me how we did it! Peter George introduced me to all the men and women, boys and girls of my new family; and I felt very happy to be part of them. Curiously enough, at the end of the meeting I could still recall all the names of the community members when I saw them at a distance. At certain moments I wondered what my mission would be, but I left those thoughts for a later moment as I would have plenty of time to discuss everything with my partner.

After we had all been dancing for quite some time, Simon said, “Now, my children, it is time to leave and rest. As you are aware of the urgency of our mission, all the North, South, East and West communities will be gathering very soon. We must all be prepared for the wide range of activities we will be performing promptly as teams.

With the arrival of Anna, all the communities and their members are now complete, and I wish to state officially that Peter George, Sunshine, Feather, and Anna will make a very good team for the mission. They will get along very well and perform all their duties efficiently. Good night, my children.” Alexandra said good night as well. The couple turned around and vanished. I had no idea of what the “urgency” referred to, but I was pleased to have Feather and Sunshine in our team. Feather was a ten-year old Chinese boy.

He was the small grim reaper I had seen playing the violin through the windows of my room. It was easy to identify him among the rest of the people, as he was the only one who wore a beautiful feather stuck in his hood. It could change into different colors, according to his taste, weather, music, or sense of humor. At least, that was what I could remember he had said about his beloved feather, as he considered it ‘alive’ and ‘alert.’ Sunshine was a tall blonde woman with lightbrown eyes. When I met her at the party, she was wearing short hair; but at the end of the party, she was wearing it long tied in a ponytail. Apparently, we could all make changes to our appearance at will.

For a moment I thought about my appearance, and a little mirror appeared in the air before my eyes. To my surprise, the color of my eyes had changed.

Now they were green, my favorite color! I felt weird, and when I thought about my caramel-color eyes that I had always had, I looked in the mirror and noticed that my eyes were caramel-color again. I could not believe it: I had the power to change my appearance at will. I thought about having black hair and dark eyes like Peter George’s, and the reflection on the little mirror showed me with black hair and dark eyes. It was fascinating.

“Do you like my new appearance, Anna?” asked Peter George. I turned around to look at him. I was in shock! He looked exactly like me: a ten-year old girl with the same long red copper hair and caramel-color eyes! His voice sounded like mine. He laughed loudly. When I looked at myself in the mirror again, I noticed that I had my usual appearance. I looked at my

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partner, and he had turned into the original Big Bone again. It was amazing what we could do. We had turned into masters and mistresses of disguise! Peter George then asked, “Shall we go to our rooms to have some rest?” “Sure,” Sunshine, Feather, and I replied in one voice. He added, “In a few days all of us will be invited to the Grand Meeting to discuss our mission as agents of Mr. Death, our Big Boss. Human history will definitely change; bear in mind my words!” Feather smiled and said to him, “You sound spooky, Peter George.” He simply replied, “I know, dear Feather; changes require spooky moments sometimes. Let’s go now.”

We left the large room; and when we were crossing the garden and the fountains, I stopped for a moment and thought about my dad, mother, brothers and sisters, and grandmother I had left behind. I looked at the sky and sent a kiss to the stars, as if they were watching and waiting for me in the shining stars above. I moved on, and as we walked towards our rooms, the color of the sky began to turn lighter. The sun was rising, but it could not be seen yet. Peter George ushered us to our rooms saying, “See you later, partner. Remember you will listen to a jingle bell when I am about to show up. Rest and have sweet dreams.” Each one of us would reply, “Thank you and good night, Big Bone.” I was the last to be ushered to my room. He smiled at me, winked his eye, turned around and vanished in the air.

I was in front of my room with the door opened, and I was about to enter. However, something called my attention. The candle flame in the glass lamp was moving strangely. I wanted to see what was happening; and a chair appeared beside me, so that I could stand on it and check inside the candle lamp. When I was close enough, I noticed that there was a tiny grim reaper dancing around the little candle and playing a little violin.

There were sparkles coming out of his violin and spreading in circles inside the lamp. I opened my eyes widely to verify that it was not an illusion. I could not listen to any music, but when I pulled the little knob on the frame of one of the walls of the glass lamp, I opened it and began to listen to a beautiful soft melody.

“Superb!” I said.

“Thank you, Ms. Pyrocephalus Rubinus; have a nice sleep.” said the tiny character. “Who are you?” I asked with great curiosity. He replied, “I am Ian, a dotty.

We can appear in unimaginable places. We are like you, agents, but tiny; although I can change my height easily. Ms. P.R., I have been assigned to assist you and your team. We will be introduced properly in the Grand Meeting, in which all the members of the four communities will gather to assume their duties and fulfill their mission, apart from receiving your credentials. I must leave now; see you promptly. Good night, my dear lady!” Before he would disappear I said, “Please, call me Anna.” Then he replied, “As you wish. Sweet dreams, Anna.”

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The tiny dotty Ian made a bow and disappeared with a musical sound that seemed a note produced by a wind chime.

I went to bed wondering why I was not afraid of being alone in my room and why I was feeling more confident as the time passed. I was a ten-year old girl all right, but it seemed to me that I had grown older. According to what I had heard, I was now five hundred years old! Something had definitely changed in me. I was the last child who had completed the South Winds community. I had been told that the other three communities were also complete now. There would be a grand meeting to be held shortly, and I was really anxious to know the real purpose of my existence. I was a small agent with talents and powers that I was learning to accept and getting acquainted with. Before closing my eyes, I remembered my mother and the way she used to tuck me in bed. During my earthly life I would always fall asleep on the big sofa of the living room; without waking me up, my dad would carry me and would take me tenderly with my mom to my bedroom. Once he had placed me in my bed, she would tuck me up and kiss my forehead and both of my cheeks and say “good night, my dear little bone.” I never thought that I would depart at such a young age from their side, and neither did they nor any of my beloved family members and friends. However, I knew that we would meet again some day in the afterlife.

Chapter 3 The Invitation to the Grand Meeting Seven days passed and during those days, I had the opportunity to meet several members of the other three communities: The North Winds, The East Winds, and the West Winds.

We organized different activities, such as picnics, boat racing, swimming, fishing, and many more. Very early in the morning on the eighth day, someone knocked at my door. I opened it and found Ian, the Dotty, the tiny grim reaper I had found dancing inside my door candle lamp. Now he was about sixteen inches tall, and he was standing on the floor, stretching his arm with a square envelope in his hand. “Good morning, Anna. I have brought your invitation to the Grand Meeting, which you and all the agents have been waiting for,” he said it with full enthusiasm. I took the envelope and thanked Ian. The Dotty made a bow and vanished, leaving behind the beautiful sound of a wind chime.

I closed the door, sat down on the sofa, and opened the envelope, full of curiosity.

It contained a handwritten invitation which stated: Mr. Death invites you, Ms. Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus, member of the South Winds community, to the Grand

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Meeting that will take place tomorrow night at the Main Hall. Lit candles will guide your way to the entrance of the meeting premises. Your credentials and full details of your future duties as an agent will be provided during the meeting. Mr. Death is counting on your presence at this important event. The sound of a bell will announce the time to come.

The old English style of the handwriting and the golden ink used in writing the invitation made it look so important that the idea of not attending the meeting would not dare appear in my mind. I noticed that there were four tiny golden scythes which appeared on each corner of the invitation. While I was reading it, tiny sparkles began to appear and rise from it, which made it look magical.

The sound of a jingle bell called my attention; and a moment later, there was a knock at my door. I stood up to open it, but before I could reach the door, it opened like magic just with my thought. There they were, my team colleagues: Peter George, Sunshine and Feather. “Hi, Anna,” Peter said. “Good morning, Ms. Pyrocephalus Rubinus.” Sunshine and Feather said at the same time with a huge smile on their lips. “I still wonder why Mr. Death has put me that long bird name in Latin. I think it is too long for me.” I said it with a bit of sadness. Feather told me in a serious tone, “The name we are given announces our presence like a whisper in the other world, so I have been told.” Sunshine added, “Yes, indeed. We are masters and mistresses of disguise there, and our names indicate the essence of our personality, which is only known by our Big Boss and the Creator of the Universe. You will have to wait for the precise moment when you will understand the real significance of your name and will accept it happily.”

They looked at the invitation that I was holding in my hand.

“Well, the moment has come for us to know what we shall be doing shortly as agents of the Grim Reaper.” Peter George said.

Sunshine asked me, “What are you planning to wear tomorrow night?” “My dear God, I have no idea!” I replied placing my hands on my cheeks. Then I began to worry about what I would be wearing for that important occasion. She added, “Do not worry, you only need to look at yourself in the mirror, and you will see how beautiful you will look tomorrow!”

I hesitated for a while, but I decided to go straight to my closet and check my appearance in the mirror.

There I was … wearing a beautiful long combined red-orangeyellow-color silk dress with a satin sheen and thin shoulder straps. It seemed that I was dressed in fire. The shoes I was wearing matched perfectly with my dress. A gold chain with a ruby pendant adorned my neck and a pair of ruby earrings adorned by ears as well. I noticed that I had a glittering light thin band around my finger and around my wrist, but there was

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no ring or bracelet visible in the mirror which made me wonder about it for a few seconds. I was so astonished at my general appearance shown in the mirror that I jumped when I heard Peter George saying, “Ms. P. R., it is time for you to return to our world.” In a certain way he was right, because I was in a dream and he woke me up from it. Smiling at my thoughts, I turned around and walked towards my friends; I looked at myself and noticed that I was wearing the jeans and t-shirt I had imagined to wear that day, which I would change every now and then when I wanted to wear something different according to the occasion, weather, or my mood. “Do you want to come with us to the waterfalls?” Feather asked me. “Sure, let’s go.”

I replied. We all went walking to an open field, watching at a distance the beautiful waterfall which I wanted to see closely.

On our way we all expressed our great excitement about the grand meeting that would take place tomorrow night. Peter George said, “It is going to be the most important meeting we will ever have, as we shall know at last what our special mission will be. We have all gone through a special training, and the time has come for us to know why we have received that training.” Sunshine added, “Our job has always been to pick up souls of people at their precise moment of death, due to a natural cause, an accident, a disease, a war or even a crime. Unfortunately, nowadays, more and more lives of people are being interrupted in different ways by negligence and selfish, ill or evil-minded people.” “Yes, indeed; and that is very sad and painful,” said Peter George. Then he continued, “By the way, I have been told that our team will have a Dotty, a special tiny grim reaper who is very smart, wise, and very unpredictable and mysterious. Those tiny grim reapers receive continuous direct orders from Mr. Death, and they vanish unexpectedly saying ‘the Big Boss is calling me.’

Their intervention, strength, and power will support all teams in the mission.” I was listening attentively to what my colleagues were saying and added, “Simon has told us that our mission will change the history of humanity, and that causes goose bumps on me, although you may not believe me!” “We will count on Mr. Death’s assistance. Do not forget it!” Feather said.

Sunshine was watching the waterfalls in silence and said to us, “I wonder what the real purpose of working as teams will be. We have always worked alone; but now it will be different.

Nobody knows exactly what our Big Boss will say during the Grand Meeting, but I am sure you will all agree with me that there is a strange feeling in our hearts, or should I better say ‘our souls’?.” “Yes, it is true,” I said. “I have the impression that I have grown older, and do not ask me why, because I have no explanation.” Feather began to laugh and said, “Oh, come on, please, do not turn so melodramatic, my dear partners. I think that we are together for a good reason and that we are going

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to be a small family of super agents!” All of us laughed together and kept on walking along the shore of the narrow river where the waterfalls could be seen from the bottom.

Peter George began to rub his hands in a funny way as if he were preparing to say something important. He took a deep breath and said, “Well, my dear colleagues, I wish to inform you that tomorrow morning we shall all be having a delicious breakfast at the cafeteria of our building. Afterwards, we will go back to our rooms and remain there until we listen to a first bell sound. While we are in our accommodations, we can read a book of our interest, play solitaire, or listen to the latest news of the human world just by desiring it. That soft bell sound will be heard by all of us late in the afternoon, and we will all take a wonderful and relaxing tub bath with flower petals, essential oils, bubbles, etc., because we must be in optimum condition to receive our credentials and assume our new duties. At the second sound of a bell, we will meet at Anna’s room, and from there we will go together to the Grand Meeting, following the lit candles we will watch on our way.”

Sunshine looked at Big Bone with surprise and asked him, “Have you received any special agenda with your invitation? Do you know anything else we are not aware of?” He smiled broadly and simply said, “I am in charge of our team, remember; and I have been told just what you have heard from my lips.”

We kept on walking and continued through a path surrounded by beautiful tall trees and colorful flowers. Afterwards we decided to have lunch at the Italian restaurant of the city where we met lots of people from the other communities.

Feather and I spoke with several children who told us that they were also going to have a delicious breakfast the next day, exactly as Peter George had told us. Feather said in a casual way, “All the members of our communities will definitely arrive to the Grand Meeting very clean, relaxed and smelling really well! I hope that the Big Boss does not consider us stinky people that need a thorough bath!” All the children around us laughed out loud, as well as some adults, including Peter George, who had been close enough to us and had heard Feather’s words.

After lunch, I went with Feather and two Chinese friends, Jun and Li, to play “Ping Pong.” They belonged to the East Winds community. At the beginning, it was not easy for me to play that game; but after a while, I realized that it was not that difficult.

I was having so much fun and was so concentrated in the game that I forgot about the time. When I realized that the sky was getting darker, I said goodbye to my new Chinese friends and went with Feather back to the South Winds premises. As we were approaching to our place, Feather said, “See you tomorrow at breakfast, Anna. Goodbye.” I looked at him and replied, “See you then.” He smiled at me, bowed, and vanished. I

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kept on walking and thought about my room and my bed, and I wished I were lying on it comfortably. A few seconds later, I was in my bed, wearing my pajamas! I could not believe it! I thought about it for a moment and smiled happily. Although I was not too tired, I closed my eyes and fell profoundly asleep.

A Very Strange Dream I opened my eyes and realized that I was back in the farm of my family. It was early in the evening and the full moon could be seen in the sky. I had recognized the place; however, everything looked much bigger and more prosperous. There were now three barns and the house looked much larger and as if it had been remodeled. Its appearance was different. It was a twostory house now. I was standing in front of the house and began to walk slowly towards the porch. I could listen to some people talking and laughing inside. I heard the noise of branches moving and turned my face to one side of the house. I noticed that there were two strangers hiding in the bushes, with their face covered; they were looking through the windows, and I saw that they had brought guns with them. I could not believe my eyes. They wanted to break into my house and rob my family and most probably the guests, too! They could not see me, although I was now standing behind them. I began to feel anxious. Suddenly, I appeared in the dining room where there were about twenty people gathered. All of them had sat at a large table, perfectly set; and there was a beautiful birthday cake with the candles lit. They all began to sing the traditional birthday song. It was my mother’s birthday!

After singing, my oldest sister Elsa took a sharp knife to cut the birthday cake into even pieces, so that everybody would enjoy a delicious piece of that cake. My grandmother Stella was there sitting by her side and looked happy and healthy, which surprised me. My three brothers, Francis, Ferdinand, and Robert, were talking to some friends; and my two twin sisters, Rose and Daisy, were talking to Esther and Ruth, our neighbors’ twin daughters. All of them looked a bit older since five years had passed since my death. I was in the middle of all the people, but nobody could see me nor hear me. My dad looked much older, but he still looked big and strong. My mother, Carmen, was smiling and looked great. She seemed happy and radiant, but her eyes showed a bit of sadness. There was a cup full of champagne in front of her on the table. She took it, raised it, and said, “I want to make a toast: To the happiness of all of you who are beside me, sharing this moment, including Annie, who I am sure is with us right now, although we cannot see her.” When I heard my mother’s words, my heart beats increased in strength and joy, and I could feel a knot in my throat. I walked towards her and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Her smile froze, and she touched her cheek. Two tears began to show up. “Honey, are you all right?” My dad asked my

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mother with concern. “Yes, I am all right, happier than ever,” answered my mom with confidence and a tender smile.

I was so moved by the scene that I had forgotten that there were two strangers trying to break into my house! Suddenly, the noise of gun shots invaded the house, and the two burglars I had seen outside appeared in the dining room with their weapons in their hands, pointing at the people. A third burglar appeared with a black bag and threatened all people.

He said in a rude voice, “Hands up, do not move! Give us all your wallets, handbags, rings, watches, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, everything! All the guests and my family members threw their valuable things inside the bag. I could not do anything at all, and that made me feel terrible.

When the burglars had finished taking all the jewelry and valuable belongings from the guests and my family, they asked them to lie on the floor. They had cut the telephone cord and threatened them not to look up at them. One of the burglars held my sister Elsa’s arm and said to her, “You are coming with us, baby, so that nobody will be tempted to call the police or follow us. We will leave the young lady on the way. Do not worry.” My dad begged them to take him instead of her, but one of the burglars put the nose of his gun on my dad’s head and forced him to lie on the floor quietly. My sister tried to pull her arm off the burglar’s grip, but she was not strong enough to do so. The burglars cut off the light and walked towards the entrance door. I could not just stay there and do nothing.

I had to save my sister!

I thought about going outside to stop the burglars, and I appeared beside the pick-up truck that was waiting for them.

There was a fourth man waiting for the criminals with the engine on. The burglars opened the entrance door. One of them was holding my sister in a tough way. Then, abruptly, I heard a voice coming from my mouth saying, “Leave her now!”

The three men stopped immediately and looked at me. I noticed that my voice had changed completely. It was now strong and fearful. I had turned into a very tall grim reaper, as I could see the big bones of my hand when I had stretched my arm as a sign to stop them. I was glowing and wearing my official uniform, a royal-blue hooded robe; and the burglars looked much shorter than I. The man who had grabbed by sister let her loose and kneeled down before me and said, “Please, do not take me!” Afterwards, he simply passed out. I turned around and realized that I had frightened the pick-up truck driver; he had escaped so fast that he had forgotten to take his accomplices with him and had crashed into a huge tree beside the road, nearby our farmhouse, a moment later. When I looked at the other two burglars, they were both on the ground unconscious. “Was I that spooky?” I asked myself.

Then I looked at my sister and asked her, “Elsa, are you all right?” The tone of my voice was still totally different, but I

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thanked God she had not fainted. “Yes, I am all right,” she answered me in a hesitant voice. Although the lights were gone, the light of the moon was strong enough to watch each other. My dad opened the door violently and looked at me. He froze when he saw me. The Grim Reaper had appeared at his place!

Then he watched the three burglars lying on the floor of the porch and asked me nervously, “Oh, God, who are you? Did you kill them?” Then he looked at his daughter Elsa and asked her, “Are you hurt?” My sister did not answer him. She was still watching me in a curious way. My dad and sister did not move at all. They both remained in their places, watching me in awe of my presence. I could perceive it. “Was my appearance so shocking?” I wondered again. I was now taller than my dad, and I thought that I would scare them to death if I remained there any longer. Suddenly, I became shorter than my dad and my sister. I looked at myself and realized that I had turned into my usual appearance as Anna Nightingale.

My mother, my brothers, and some neighbors came outside of the house to be of some assistance, I suppose. However, all of them, including my dad and my sister Elsa, remained there all frozen, watching me in silence. My mother said softly, “My dear Annie, you came to help us.” I looked at her and said, “Mom, I think I came here today just to give you a sweet kiss for your birthday and save my family and friends, with God’s approval. I love you all. Do not forget to tie up the burglars! I must leave now.” My dad begged me, “Do not go, please, Annie.” And he began to cry. “I love you, dad. I am fine and happy. Do not worry.”

I looked at all of them and raised my hand to say goodbye; and in a matter of seconds, I turned into a small grim reaper with a hand upraised. I heard a general “Oh!” expressed by all who were watching me. Then I smiled and laughed out loudly.

Before bowing and vanishing, I noticed that my twin sisters and grandmother were watching me through the window. I sent a big kiss in the air to them and to all my family and friends and said, “See you later in life, mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, Grandmother, friends.” I bowed and turned around, closed my eyes, trying to keep my tears inside them, and vanished, leaving them behind in the world of the living. When I opened my eyes, I was lying on my bed with my cheeks wet.

Mr. Death was standing beside my bed. He smiled and said, “Good morning, dear agent. You were very brave and did a great job, Miss P. R.” I sat on my bed and said, “Holy Christ!” He added, “You will understand everything tonight at the Grand Meeting, Anna.

See you later.” After saying those words, he vanished. I felt happy and in peace. I had been a brave agent in my dream, and I had saved my sister! “But, was it really a dream?” I asked myself. Then, I heard the voice of Mr. Death saying, “No, it wasn’t.” I opened my eyes and mouth widely and then smiled. It

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had been a very interesting experience; and at the same time, it had been wonderful seeing my family and friends again.

Chapter 4 The Day of the Grand Meeting I looked through the windows and realized that it was very early in the morning. I did not feel like sleeping any more, so I decided to take a warm shower and get ready for the delicious breakfast of that great day. I went into the bathroom and was surprised to see a big tub full of warm water, bubbles, and flower petals. The water was moving as if it had small propellers inside. The tub reminded me of those tubs called Jacuzzi, used by famous people for massage. The blue lit candles and the lavender scent convinced me that it was much better to take the tub bath than to take a shower. I was aware that we had the option of taking or not a bath, since we did not require any cleansing; however, why should we not take advantage of bathing and enjoying water! I closed my eyes and appeared inside the bath tub comfortably; I rested my head on the edge of the tub, inhaled all the wonderful scents my nose could get, and enjoyed the most pleasant bubble tub bath I had ever had. I was really in Paradise and that was part of it!

I cannot remember for how long I stayed inside the tub, but I knew that I had spent a long wonderful time in it. I felt great.

My eyes were closed when I heard the sound of wind chime beside my ear. I opened my eyes and realized it was time to get ready for breakfast, so I looked around for a towel to dry up myself. I appeared outside the tub all dry, fresh, and tidy, wearing a pair of white pants, a colorful blouse, comfortable sandals, and a pair of beautiful pearl earrings. My hair was dry and tied in a pony tail, just perfect and ready for the delicious breakfast we would all enjoy that morning in the cafeteria of our community.

I began to wonder whether there would be any little gossip about the duties we would be assigned to perform in the near future. There was a soft knocking at my door, and I opened it with my thought. There they were: Feather, Sunshine, and Peter George, who was carrying a big box. “Good morning, Anna,” said my team members in one voice. Big Bone added with full enthusiasm, “We have brought your dress and accessories for tonight.

You will look very elegant, radiant, and distinguished. Early evening you will listen to a soft jingle bell, and at that moment you will open the box and put on your clothes and accessories for the Grand Meeting. Shall we go?” Feather added impatiently, “As far as I know, there is a fabulous breakfast waiting for us. I am starving, aren’t you?”

We all looked at him and laughed saying, “You are not the only

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one who is starving!” Peter George put the box on my bed, and we all went directly to the cafeteria of our community.

As we walked towards the cafeteria, we could smell the food that had been prepared: scrambled eggs, pancakes, fruit salad, yogurt, cinnamon muffins, hot milk, hot chocolate, honey, orange juice, other fruit juices, French toasts, and many more delicious things to eat and enjoy. When we arrived, it was full; and there were just four empty places for us. We had been the last people to arrive. All were really hungry and had come earlier. We took our trays and went to see and choose all the food we wanted to have for breakfast. As we watched our choice of food and drinks, everything appeared on our trays.

It was as if someone had guessed what our palate and stomach really wanted to have that morning. We sat down and decided to enjoy our breakfast peacefully and in silence. I could not understand why we all had remained in silence. Apparently, nobody felt in the mood of speaking.

Alexandra and Simon were also at the cafeteria, enjoying the delicious breakfast menu we had all been offered as a preamble to the Grand Meeting.

When all the community members had finished eating, Simon stood up and said, “Dear children, the time has come for us to attend the Grand Meeting tonight. We are now ready to assume a great responsibility, and we will learn our definite purpose of existence as agents of the Grim Reaper. Do not be afraid, because all of us are ready. As I am sure you have all noticed, our breakfast today seems to have been more a huge banquet than a simple common breakfast; and there has not been much talking. It is going to be our last breakfast together. However, it is important for me to say, and please remember my words, that you are all wonderful and extremely important to us and to our Big Boss. We will always be in touch.” Alexandra stood up and added, “We love you, and we will always be watching over you when you need us. All of you, our children, will go now to your rooms and remain there until you listen to a distant sound of a bell late in the evening.

As you know, beautiful candles will guide our way to the Grand Meeting premises, and you will all arrive in teams. What we will discuss in that important meeting will be a matter of life and death, and only the Grim Reaper’s agents will be the ones authorized to deal with those terms, but, of course, with the Grim Reaper’s guidance and consent. I am sure you wanted a bit of gossiping at breakfast as to what it would be discussed tonight, but that gossiping will be done between each one of you and your own heart. Please, go now and relax in your comfortable rooms.” Alexandra and Simon touched their hearts and sent a kiss to all of us in the air. I felt a soft kiss on my cheek after they had done that gesture. Afterwards, they both bowed and vanished in the air.

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We all returned in silence to our rooms. The great moment to learn about our life and death mission had arrived. I was a bit nervous and excited. Peter, Sunshine, Feather and I went to our rooms in silence. We would just raise our hands to say goodbye to one another and would go directly to our places.

When I was in my room, I sat down on the sofa and began to wonder what that life and death matter would be in the end. I had to be very patient. As there were several hours ahead of me before the meeting, I decided to assemble a puzzle I had found in one of the drawers of my desk. The picture was beautiful. It was a tridimensional picture of a rainforest.

The Mysterious Puzzle I spent a long time assembling the beautiful puzzle. Then I wanted to go out and walk around the premises for a while, but we were not supposed to leave our rooms. I looked at the assembled puzzle on my table and wished I were there stretching my legs. To my surprise, I appeared in the place shown in the puzzle. I was shocked at first, but then I heard the voice of Mr. Death saying, “Stretch your legs, Anna; there is plenty of time left before the Grand Meeting. I want a happy agent to attend the meeting instead of a stressed agent.” I felt happy when I heard his voice, and I began to stretch my legs, walking around that wonderful place. There were birds singing everywhere, and a soft breeze was blowing. The trees were huge and the color and the shape of their leaves and flowers were unique. The leaves were a combination of light and dark green shades, and some of them had the shape of a star or a circle or a common leaf shape. One could notice that the leaves margins varied as well as their surface texture. There was a clear path in the forest, through which I could walk easily. Thousands of flowers were all spread around on the green areas surrounding the trees and on each side of the path. The sun was shining, but it was not too hot. I was so interested in all the details of the place that I had forgotten about the time.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a thunder clap above my head, and I looked at the sky. It was strange, because there was not any dark cloud above. Something began to pull the leg of my pants, and I looked down to see what it was. Ian was there smiling at me. “Anna, it is time for you to get ready for the Grand Meeting,” he said in a sweet voice. Before I could say anything, I had appeared in my room. Ian had already vanished, and the puzzle was there lying on the table.

Preparing for the Grand Meeting I heard the sound of a bell in my ear and looked at the sand clock on my night table. I knew it was six o’clock, although my sand clock did not show any number. It was not dark yet, so I

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decided to take a quick shower to refresh myself and be ready.

However, when I went into my bathroom, again a big tub full of fresh water and bubbles was waiting for me. There was a heart-shaped violet soap on a ceramic shell on the corner of the tub. Its smell was fantastic. I smiled, closed my eyes, and appeared in the tub. The water temperature was fabulous, and I soaped happily all my body, from top to bottom. The funny thing was that the soap seemed to have a small engine inside, and it gave me a soft massage as I moved it with my hand. On those parts of my back which I could not reach, the soap would move alone, soaping and massaging them and returning to my hand afterwards. It was like having a private massage and pet soap.

I stayed in the tub for a while, and then when I finished bathing, I thought about drying myself; but I appeared beside the bath tub all dry, wearing a bathrobe. I noticed that a small table had appeared, and it had a spray bottle of cologne on it. It smelled really good, so I sprayed all my body with it. I thought that it would make me feel more confident for the meeting. I heard a second sound of a bell, and I panicked. Time was passing. I went to my bedroom in a rush to get my dress and accessories from the box Peter George had placed on my bed. I opened it carefully and slowly. The beautiful fire-color dress I had seen myself wearing in my mirror was waiting for me there.

There were also four additional divisions in the box: one division contained a necklace with a drop-shape ruby pendant, inside which one could see a tiny gold scythe, and there was also a pair of earrings with ruby stones matching the necklace; another smaller division contained a gold bracelet with a charm hanging from it; it was a little gold scythe with a ruby stone set on it. A third small division contained a box which I opened and found a beautiful gold ring with a ruby stone; inside the stone one could notice a very tiny scythe. I suddenly remembered that the glitter light thin bands that I had seen before in the mirror around my finger and around my wrist were a sign of the ring and the bracelet I would be wearing for the Grand Meeting. And in the fourth last division of the box, there was a pair of shoes which matched perfectly well with my dress. Everything I needed was there, including my underwear, which also had a small golden scythe embroidered on it! I touched all the items in the box and was afraid to pull them out and ruin them, as they were all very neatly arranged.

Again I heard a sound, but this time it was the distant sound of a bell calling all the people to the Grand Meeting. “Oh, God, I must put everything on right now!” I said to myself afraid that I would not be ready in time. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and I felt fresh air blowing on my face. I opened my eyes and noticed that the box was empty. “Where is my dress?!”

I screamed. Then I realized that I was wearing the gold bracelet with the tiny scythe charm around my wrist. I looked

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at the rest of my body, and noticed that all the clothes in the box and accessories were now on me! I walked rapidly towards my closet to look at myself in the mirror, and the reflection of my appearance was stunning.

I had never seen such an elegant, distinguished, and smart looking girl in my entire short life! I was wearing braids, and they had been arranged in a beautiful royal style hairdo. I really liked it. My mother would have loved it. The time had come! I took a deep breath again and walked towards the entrance door of my room. The door opened magically, and when I raised my eyes, Peter George, Sunshine, and Feather were waiting for me outside.

They were also very elegant and looked so distinguished that we all seemed to be part of a fairy tale. Both, Peter George and Feather, were wearing classic black tuxedos, but different styles. “Ready?” Peter George asked me with a smile.

“Yes!” I replied nervously. Feather winked at me and showed me his shirt cufflinks, which were round with a ruby stone and a gold scythe inlaid in the precious stone. “Let’s go, Anna,” Sunshine said in a reassuring tone, “our night has come!” She was also wearing a beautiful long combined red-orangeyellow-color silk dress with a satin sheen. We both seemed to be dressed in fire; her dress style was different from mine, and it made her look very elegant and distinguished. Her necklace and earrings design was unique. The necklace seemed like a cascade of rubies around her neck. Her earrings looked like little cascades of rubies as well. I began to suspect that the ruby stone seemed to be our community representative stone. I joined my team, and we followed the lit white candles that would guide our way to the Grand Meeting premises. I looked at the night sky which was full of bright stars that seemed to be smiling at us and wishing us all good luck. I was very nervous, but when Peter George touched my shoulder, I felt better and more confident.

Chapter 5 The Grand Meeting The lines of all the teams following the lit candles towards the place of the Grand Meeting seemed endless. The candles led to the center of an open field where there was a small castle, which was surrounded by torches and some fountains with crystalline waters that would change color every now and then. We walked towards the entrance of the castle; and when we went inside, we noticed that there was a huge lobby.

The teams would enter in turns. When the time came for our team to move on, a tall elegant woman greeted us, “good evening. Please, follow me.” She ushered us and led us to a large hall. There were several tables and chairs which had been arranged in the shape of a semicircle, leaving a wide empty space in front of them. The marble floor of the place was beautiful and impeccably clean and shining. The cutlery and

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tablecloth were magnificent.

There was a bright red lit candle on the center of our table and on the other tables where our community members would be sitting. Other tables had a bright yellow, green, or blue lit candle on their center.

The candles were decorated with multicolor glitter and surrounded by flowers and gems. In the ceiling there were seven crystal lamps whose glow made the environment warm, vivid, and welcoming. The harp music that I could hear made me feel as if I were floating in the air. Everything seemed like a dream. We sat down comfortably, and in a matter of minutes all the members of the four communities were in their places.

The men and boys were all wearing black tuxedos, and the women and girls were wearing long dresses. As I could see, each community had its own dress color and style. Our community wore fire-color dresses; the others wore different shades of green-color dresses, blue-color dresses, and yellow-color dresses respectively, according to the community they belonged to. I watched closely and noticed that all the other women and girls were also wearing blue, green, or yellow precious stone earrings and pendants with their gold necklace, apart from the ring and the bracelet with a charm; the men and boys wore cufflinks with a green, blue or yellow color precious stone which had a gold scythe inlaid.

When the harp music stopped, a strong light appeared in the empty space in front of the tables. Mr. Death came into sight wearing a bright Indigo hooded cassock robe tight in the waist.

One could notice bright sparkles on his cassock appear and disappear like little stars.

He was wearing a pair of eyeglasses with a golden rim and dark caramel color lenses, which allowed us to see a bit of his orbital bones. All of us stood up and made a bow to greet him, “Good evening, Mr. Death.” He replied tenderly, “Good evening, my children, please, sit down. You look spectacular tonight. I am so happy to have you all here to give each one of you your credentials as my exclusive agents and to tell you about the duties you will assume promptly.”

He stretched his arms and a soft fresh wind caressed all our whole being. I felt a bit strange but in peace. Suddenly, we all heard a beautiful sound of a wind chime, and in a matter of seconds we realized that all of us were wearing eyeglasses, just like him, but different designs, with caramel color lenses as well. Adults wore metal rim eyeglasses and children wore Carey rim glasses. The caramel color of our eyeglasses would not change the color of our surroundings. Everything looked brighter and more clear and vivid.

Mr. Death continued, “You might not have realized it, but your credentials have already been given to you in a windy way or should I say ‘breezy’ manner? You have now a pair of personal eyeglasses that can be used only by my agents; you will notice a discreet size tiny gold scythe on each arm or temple of your

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eyeglasses.

It is our very special and unique Logo.

It represents an exclusive eyeglasses trademark which cannot be copied, since my agents are the only ones allowed to use them! Don’t share them with the living! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” We all began to laugh with him.

“Please, you can take off your eyeglasses now and put them in the eyeglasses case that you have on your tables. In addition, you have been given a wooden pen case, in which you will find your personal gold pen which nobody can ever use, except you!” Both the eyeglasses and pen cases had a gold scythe engraved on each of them. I opened my pen case and found a beautiful gold pen that had the shape of a stylish scythe. Mr. Death added, “Do not worry. You will always know when and where to wear your eyeglasses and to use your personal pen. You will never lose them. They will stick to you till the end of mortal time. Well, I never like to take too long with my speeches, because I love to be brief, clear, and simple. However, this evening I will take a bit longer, and I apologize for that. Time is precious, but thanks to our Creator, eternity can last a second, and a second can last an eternity.”

“First of all, I am sure you have all noticed the particular color of the lit candle you have on each of your tables, as well as the color of our ladies’ dresses and precious stone accessories and the color of our gentlemen’s precious stone accessories as well. The ones who have a red lit candle belong to the Community of the South Winds: the Fire Community. Those of you who have a yellow lit candle belong to the Community of the East Winds: the Air Community. The ones who have a green lit candle belong to the Community of the North Winds: the Earth community. And those who have a blue lit candle belong to the community of the West Winds: the Water Community. Although each one of you pertains to a particular community, each one of you will have power upon the four elements of nature and upon what they represent: fire, air, earth, and water; that is, intuition, mind, Mother Nature, and emotions, respectively.” By the end of this Grand Meeting you will all have become inseparable brothers and sisters; and let me remind you that you will never be alone. The members of your teams will always be alert when you need support; and I will always be there, accompanying you, in a special way. Even though you will not be able to see me always by your side, I will be there.”

“Second, the constant suffering of men, women and children on planet Earth has forced our Lord to change the course of events in the life of the living. The Creator cannot bear any more the unceasing and increasing cries of innocent human beings who cry out for help! Therefore, it has been decreed that from now on only natural or accidental death causes will be accepted. No crime will be tolerated, and the innocent will not be left alone simply in the hands of misfortune or

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what human beings call ‘bad fate’ or ‘bad luck.’ We will assist the angels of the other realms to protect the body, soul, and mind of each man and woman, boy and girl, that exists. Our job has always been to help people and all creatures to die peacefully and to bring them to our spiritual world when their moment of death comes. But, now, we have an additional duty: stop human beings from hurting or destroying one another and their world. Everybody must live with dignity and must approach death also with dignity. We shall intervene and prevent any physical, spiritual, psychological, religious, social, economic, cultural, political or ecological transgression or crime. Human pride, greed, lust for power, selfishness, indifference and evil feelings and behavior are ruling in several parts of the world, and we must act now. No human power, law, religion, idea, belief, right, duty, culture or tradition will be used as an excuse to commit crimes. The list is endless, and I do not need to mention the atrocities made by men and women against innocent people. God created men and women in his/her image, with intelligence, freedom, and free will. Nobody has the right to repress those precious gifts given to all human beings. Justice and mercy will prevail.”

Mr. Death looked at us in silence, and then he added, “Third, we, angels, have lost credibility, and the goodness our Creator represents might seem a joke before the eyes of a human being who faces violation of his or her rights or faces crime against his or her beloved ones. We are not allowed to judge evil people by their actions; that is our Creator’s business; however, we are now allowed to stop any man or woman who wishes to commit a crime against his or her own self or against any innocent person due to many reasons: a damaged conscience, disoriented mind or personality or mysterious evil inclinations or influences. Life and Death demand respect.

Therefore, the Fifth Key Principle of Coexistence known by several cultures as a ‘Commandment, ‘you shall not kill,’ will be enforced by us. Every human authority, beginning with the parents in the human family, will be under our supervision, including the presidents, governmental authorities, congress people, politicians, religious authorities or leaders, priests, judges, scientists, teachers, etc.; that is, each and every human being with influence and power upon others.”

“Fourth and last, but not least, of course, we all know deep inside our hearts that the other nine Key Principles of Coexistence or Commandments, including the one I have just mentioned, are common to all religions, cultures, and traditions, because they are universal.

It does not matter whether a religion is monotheist or polytheist or whether a person or a group is atheist. The Ten Key Principles of Coexistence are sacred and obligatory to all human beings, because they secure a peaceful and balanced existence among people, men and women, and within creation.” Mr. Death

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remained in silence for a moment and then continued, “My dear and beloved agents, you are now ready for the mission! By the way, do you really think you need special credentials to introduce yourselves to blind, evil, selfish people in order to stop their wrong doing? No, my dear children, we do not need any credentials; you have been granted all the power that is required to subdue evil. Let’s say that our appearance is the best credential we have to remind men and women about life and death at the very moment they see us. Fear of death and fear of God will be the keys in our mission. Terror may arise in some hearts of those who see us, because in a subconscious way they know they are doing wrong and are aware of what they will have to face after death if they kill or harm people; but they do not wish to change. However, trust and peace will arise in the hearts of innocent people when we appear before their eyes to help them cross the life border or defend them against evil. When you begin your mission, I will send you specific messages in which I will announce to you the coming of special events that will be a warning to specific groups of humanity, who will be given a second opportunity to change their actions; if they do not change, they will meet us again in person for the last time.”

We were all listening to our Big Boss attentively and in deep silence. Then he looked at us and asked, “Does any one have any question? Do not be afraid of me, please.” I raised my hand.

“Ask me, dear Ms. Pyrocephalus Rubinus,” said Mr. Death in a solemn tone. “When are we going to start helping people, Sir?” The Grim Reaper smiled and came slowly towards our table and asked me, “When do you want to start?” I was surprised at his question, but I replied, “As soon as possible, Sir; people need us.” Mr. Death looked at me tenderly, and then he looked at all of us and said, “Anna is right. We must act now!” “All of you, my dear agents, are the best prepared for this important mission. I will always speak to your heart, and you will know what to do, when and how. Your team will support you, and you will receive additional assistance from a Dotty who will be assigned to each team. Some of you may know that a Dotty is a tiny Grim Reaper, a close colleague of mine, who is allowed to cross the walls of the angelic realms and transmit messages from me directly to you when required.”

Then our Big Boss concluded by saying, “As we might not be able to hold a meeting again for a long time, I wish you to have a pleasant moment tonight, since tomorrow you will start your mission, and you will not have much time to spare. Now is the moment to have a bit of fun and move your flesh and bones.

This meeting will seem to last hours, but it will last a few seconds in human time, as quick action is required to attend those who need us. Tonight you will meet your team’s Dotty and enjoy a delicious farewell dinner with your team members, your Dotty, and the members of the other communities. You

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will have time to have fun and dance for a while, and then you will go to rest.” Unexpectedly, I suddenly remembered the fact that Mr. Death had not shown his wings after we had received our credentials as agents. He turned his head and looked directly at me and said, with a broad smile with perfect bright teeth, “Yes, Ms. P.R., I do have wings.” At that very moment a pair of huge white wings appeared behind his back. He looked majestic. His wings were the most beautiful and powerful wings I had ever seen. He stretched them as if he were a bird and said, “Your wings are part of your official uniform, but they remain hidden, until the moment comes when you have to use them. When you need your wings, they will be there for you spontaneously!” His wings disappeared the same way they had appeared. “Are you satisfied now, my dear Anna?” He asked me tenderly. I answered happily and with a broad smile, “Yes, Sir, completely!”

Mr. Death raised both of his huge bony hands and snapped his fingers. We all heard the sound of little bells ringing, and all of a sudden several well dressed waiters and waitresses appeared beside our tables with plates of delicious food ready to be placed on each table and to be enjoyed by us all. The Big Boss sat with us and said, “Let me introduce your Dotty Ian to you. Now, please, look around you. The Dotty who has been assigned to your team is sitting at your table, just beside you.”

All of us looked around and noticed a tiny grim reaper sitting at the table. He was sitting on a little chair held in the air to be able to dine with us. Our Big Boss introduced Ian to us; and he shook his little hand with each one of the members of our team. He was very cute, funny, and smart; and he also had a tiny eyeglasses case for his own pair of eyeglasses that he was wearing. I looked around at the other tables; and to my surprise, our Big Boss was also present at each one of them.

When we finished dinner, Mr. Death stood up and walked towards the center of the empty space in front of the tables. I looked around and noticed that the other ‘twins’ of our Big Boss had vanished from the other tables. Then he said, “Dear children, I will leave you now. Bear in mind that you are the best agents for the mission ---apart from being the best dancers, best musicians, best professionals, best heart conquerors, of course, and the best masters and mistresses of disguise. Dance now and have fun. You are ready to take over the world. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!’ He sent a kiss in the air and waved his hand in a farewell gesture and vanished. I could not believe it: We were now the Grim Reaper’s agents and had been assigned to a very, very important mission.

At that moment, we heard the soft sound of wind chimes, and out of nowhere a philharmonic orchestra appeared. All the musicians were impeccably dressed with all kinds of musical instruments. They started playing waltz music, and we all began to dance. I met and talked to almost all the members of

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the other communities and danced all kinds of music rhythms, which I never thought I would be brave enough to do so. The dotties were also expert dancers, too. And it was incredible to watch little skeletons, dressed elegantly in a royal blue hooded robe, dance and move around without being afraid of being stepped on by any colleague, as we were very much taller than they were. We all had a wonderful evening. At the end, I was surprised to realize that I could remember very easily the names of all the agents I had met that night, including the dotties’ names of the other teams.

The night seemed endless. Suddenly, the Big Boss appeared once again, and the music stopped. He looked radiant in his hooded ministerial cassock and said in a solemn way, “Dear children, we must conclude our party; but before we do so, we will dance our famous ‘Dance of Death’, which is called wrongly by many human beings ‘Danse Macabre’ in French. I wonder why they call it that way. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Let’s dance now, my queens and kings!” The philharmonic orchestra began to play a beautiful waltz, and we all began to dance in couples performing magnificently synchronized movements. Mr. Death began to move his arms as if he were conducting the orchestra, the music and the dance. I felt as if we were flying. He then clapped his hands twice, and all of us changed our appearance into Grim Reapers wearing royal-blue hooded robes. Our shoes had changed into leather sandals, and we kept on dancing. The female Grim Reapers had two small golden scythes embroidered on the front of their hooded robes, one on the left and the other on the right side of their chest respectively. The male grim reapers had two golden scythes crossed and embroidered on the back of their hooded robes. A few seconds later, our white wings appeared; and we continued dancing in a harmonious way, moving our wings majestically, without knocking or hurting one another with our wings. Whoever saw us dancing would state that the choreography was unbeatable. I noticed that the Big Boss was also dancing with a very tall female Grim Reaper. The minutes seemed endless. The time passed and the music began to slow down, which meant that the end of the party was getting close.

We all knew it in our hearts. The waltz music of the Dance of Death stopped; our wings vanished, except the Grim Reaper’s appearance we had at that moment. We all looked at Mr. Death and made a bow. Then he said, “Yes, dear children, the moment has come to say goodbye for now. The Grand Meeting has ended. As I have told you, I will always be close to you. The time has come for you to go back to your rooms, rest and start your mission early morning.” He turned his head towards the philharmonic orchestra and said, “You played superb tonight, as always, my dear musicians. Well, I must go now; business is calling me. Blessed be you all! Good night!” He made a bow and vanished. The sound of harp music started which was a

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sign of farewell. Our flesh and bone appearance came back to us, as well our elegant clothes.

We all said goodbye to one another and joined our five-member teams to return to our community premises. Ian was the first one to disappear saying, “I need to rest a lot to recover my strength for tomorrow, which will be a great day! Good night!”

Then Peter George said to us before vanishing, “Tomorrow morning, very early, we will depart together and cross to the other side. We shall meet at Anna’s room door.

Our means of transportation will be fun; you’ll see. Good night.” Sunshine, Feather, and I replied, “Good night! See you later, Big Bone!” And then the rest of us went to our rooms. I fell fast asleep that night, but I was a bit anxious about our mission and the role I would play in my team. The last thing I could remember listening to in my ears before falling asleep was Ian’s voice saying, “Relax, Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus, everything will be fine. Close your eyes now. Good night! See you later!”

Chapter 6 The Mission Begins The sound of a strong storm woke me up and made me open my eyes abruptly. It was still dark. I jumped from my bed to watch through the windows and see what was happening. I had never seen such a strong storm while I had been in this world so far.

The sky was full of huge dark clouds, and I could hear continuous thunder claps and watch lightning bolts striking the ground and illuminating the horizon. The rain was so heavy that I thought we would not go out and that the mission would be postponed, which made me feel a bit sad.

The day was breaking, and I could notice more easily the shape of the dark clouds. It was a mighty, fearful but beautiful storm.

Suddenly, at a distance I saw the members of my team riding beautiful horses and coming towards my place. Peter George was an expert horse rider, and he had brought his black horse Linda. I did not know that Sunshine and Feather were also expert horse riders. She was riding a white and black spotted horse; and Feather, a white horse. As they got closer, I noticed that Ian, our Dotty, was also coming with them. He was riding a small yellow-white spotted winged horse. Ian looked really very cute as a tiny skeleton, wearing his royal-blue hooded cassock robe and riding a small Pegasus. All of them stopped in front of my place. They were wearing casual clothes, except Ian; and they were not wet at all! I went to open the door of my room, but I appeared outside before them wearing a colorful blouse and a pair of jeans and boots. I had to accept the fact that my thoughts would always turn into actions immediately and spontaneously. I greeted them with

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full excitement and looked at the sky. Although it was raining, my clothes would not get wet. It was a windy and magical day.

The air was so fresh, and the sensation it provoked was very pleasant. It would caress our hair without making it look like a mess.

Peter George greeted me and asked me solemnly, “Are you ready, Ms. Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus? It is time for us to cross to the other world and start our mission.” I replied immediately, “Yes, Sir. Sure! Let’s go! But I need a horse!” Out of no where a beautiful dark brown horse showed up in front of me and moved his head as if it were greeting me. My horse had an asterisk-shape white spot on its forehead. It was a perfectly shaped small star. Peter George added, “He will be your inseparable companion. All the Grim Reaper’s agents must have one. You can call him as you wish.” I caressed the forehead of my horse and said, “I wish to call him Star.” My horse moved his head up and down as if he were approving the name I had chosen for him. Ian said, “It is a good name, Anna.

Well, dear team colleagues, let’s get moving!

New and interesting adventures are waiting for us.” Peter George smiled and said, “As you say, little boss.” Then he added “Anna, get on your horse, please. We must go immediately.” I looked at them with surprise; I hesitated for a moment since I had ridden a horse three or four times in my previous life, because my father had thought that I was too skinny to ride one and could get hurt if I ever tried to do so by myself. Dad had always kept an eye on me. I looked at Star, smiled at him, and appeared on the saddle in a matter of seconds. I held his long brown back hair confidently as an expert horse rider and said, “Let’s go!”

When we were all on our horses’ back, a strong and loud thunder clap accompanied by lightning bolts struck the sky.

Our horses began to neigh. At that moment all of us turned into skeletons, wearing our official uniform: beautiful royal blue hooded cassock robes tight in the waist and leather sandals. I do not know how it could be, but we could sit comfortably on the saddle despite wearing our robes. They would turn into the similar shape of pants and spared us exposing our bony legs! I noticed that the ring and the gold bracelet I had been given had appeared around my wrist and finger; and my colleagues were also wearing theirs. Ian said, “One day, Anna, we will use our scythes; by then we will know when, where, and how to use them effectively. Let’s move on!”

We all began to ride our horses and headed towards an open field. I watched at a distance other agents riding their horses but going to the opposite direction. There we were, five Grim Reapers riding towards the horizon to cross the borderline to the other world: the world of the living. We would protect and defend the lives of the innocent, prevent unnatural or out of time deaths, and cause fear to those people who would put

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at risk the body, soul, and mind of other human beings; and last, but not least, we would bring souls to our world when their time came. Out of nowhere, I suddenly heard the voice of Mr. Death in my ear saying, “Your mission will not be that easy, dear child! But you are my agents, and I will always be by your side guiding you. Remember, the Lord of the Universe is the only one who rules life and death. We are His agents!” Those words made me feel stronger and more confident.

As we kept on riding towards the horizon, we remained in silence. Many scenes of the human world came into my mind. I thought about my family and other people whom I had not ever met before, but somehow I knew that they existed; and I also knew their names and life circumstances. In time I would have to meet them. Peter George suddenly said to all of us, “We are getting closer to the borderline.” I woke up from my thoughts and day dreaming and paid more attention to the place where we were heading to. We stopped at the edge of a very high cliff. The sea waters were not calm at all. There were huge waves crashing against the cliff walls and could be seen along the surface. The strong wind and the noise the waves made would definitely be considered threatening by any human being. The water color was a combination of violet and blue color. The shades of both colors had been perfectly blended and made the sea look majestic. Abruptly, Peter George said in a loud voice, “Let’s move on my friends!” Feather and I replied at the same time, “What?!” Ian began to laugh and said, “Please, trust your means of transportation!” Move your tails, dear horses! Our horses began to neigh, and they moved forward. I thought for a second that I was going to die again; but as we all moved forward together, we did not fall down the cliff.

We remained suspended in the air, crossing the sky above the furious waves. “It was not that difficult, was it?” Ian said, showing all his perfect tiny teeth in a broad smile. I could not believe my eyes. I felt great.

As we moved on, I noticed that a shore on the opposite side was getting closer. I looked behind and realized that the other shore from which we had begun our journey had disappeared.

As we got closer to the other shore, I saw people walking and sun bathing at the beach!

Peter George said, “Calm down, Anna, people cannot see us, except those who have the gift, although some people consider it a curse.” As we got closer and closer, I realized that people did not have any idea that we were approaching. We rode our horses along the shore, without touching the water. I noticed that there was a small boy enjoying the fresh sea water. He turned his head and began to watch us. We were all surprised when he raised his hand and pointed his finger at us, calling his dad to see us; but, of course, his dad did not pay any attention to what his son was saying, since nobody would believe that there were five grim reapers riding their horses, including a Pegasus, along

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the shore in front of all the people at the beach! Curiously, as we passed, he began to wave his hand at us unafraid of our presence. We all replied his greeting simultaneously by waving our hands at him. The little boy simply smiled and kept on enjoying life. Sunshine said, “He is one of those who have the gift, and that is why he does not fear us at all. I can affirm that he will be hired as an agent in the future.”

We kept on riding along the beach shore for a while. It was really fun. In an unexpected moment a bright light appeared in front of us a bit farther. We reached the light, and that is when our mission started officially.

Chapter 7 The Grim Reapers in the World of the Living Our team appeared at a hospital, without our horses, of course, with our flesh and bone appearance, except our colleague Ian. We all looked at one another, smiled, and knew already what we had to do. We went to different places within the hospital to assist people to die. I walked towards the children section and went directly into a specific room.

I entered the room and saw a little seven-year old girl on her bed with her eyes closed. A beautiful bright angel was by her side, guarding her. Her parents were there with a sad and tired expression on their faces. The angel looked at me and smiled.

My hooded royal blue cassock robe suddenly appeared on me, but I was still with my flesh and bone body. I stood close to the little girl, just beside her bed. Then I touched her head softly, she inhaled slowly her last breath and exhaled it slowly as well. I held her hand and pulled her up slowly from the back of her small neck, as if waking her from a very deep dream. The little girl’s beautiful soul sat on her bed, and I helped her stand beside it. She looked at me and smiled, saying “Hi, you have come at last for me. I was tired of waiting for you.” She was not afraid of me at all. I looked at her angel, who thanked me for my assistance. Then she took the girl’s hand and took her soul with her through a beautiful light. I looked back to the bed and watched her lifeless body.

The parents of the girl had not noticed that she had already departed. They were so tired and thought that she was still sleeping. I had to warn them of ‘my presence.’ Her mother felt my chilly presence and began to rub her arms. She walked in a rush beside her dear daughter lying on bed and realized that she had already gone without any suffering. Both parents began to cry with deep sorrow.

Four beautiful tall angels appeared before my eyes. They were in charge of comforting the girl’s parents for the loss of their beloved child. I knew it was time for me to leave and join my colleagues. The angels looked at me, and I greeted them silently making a bow. Then I

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vanished from the room. My first experience as an agent had been a very moving one. A moment later I met with the rest of my team in the emergency section. Our Dotty, Ian, asked us tenderly with full concern, “Was everything all right, dear new agents? Are we all ready to continue?” We replied unanimously, “Yes, Sir.” Ian added, “Feather, I know it was hard for you to chase the soul of that fourteen-year-old youngster, wasn’t it? Some dead people do not accept easily the fact that they are dead and need to move on. It was a bright idea on your part when you called for a thunder clap to invade the room to calm him down. Sometimes we need to shake the spirit of the dead! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Let’s go to our next stop, my dear friends.”

Children’s Security Feather, Ian, and I appeared together in a huge shopping center, full of people. At the precise moment I had put my feet on that place, I knew exactly what we had to do… save a ten-year old boy from danger. We stood beside a boy whose name was Samuel. He asked a woman at a store where he could find a restroom. She indicated the boy where the closest restroom was located. His parents were too busy window shopping; they told their son that he could go alone and that they would wait for him at the small store where they had stopped to purchase some souvenirs. In a matter of seconds all three of us appeared in the restroom to which the boy was heading. It was a bit hidden from the sight of the general public. He would go to that place completely unaware of the danger he was about to face there. A tall brown hair man had entered the restroom unnoticed; he was anxious for what he was planning to do. We could perceive the presence of evil spirits, but they would remain at a distance from us, as they could not bear our presence.

The boy opened the door, and the man began to wash his hands, as if he were not paying attention to the lad.

When the boy walked towards the WC, the man grabbed the boy from the back and covered his mouth firmly. A device had been placed at the door by the criminal, so that nobody could open it easily from the outside.

The child was so frightened that his heart began to pump very hard in desperation. I thought he would have a heart attack at any minute.

Feather stood behind the man, changed his appearance into a huge Grim Reaper, and said in a very deep powerful voice, “Release him now, Bruce!” The man turned around surprised to have been called by his name; and when he saw Feather, he released the boy immediately. Ian appeared in front of the boy and called him by his name, “Samuel, do not be afraid; we are going to protect you! Come and stand by my side!” The boy looked at Ian, who looked now like a small harmless five-year-old blonde boy dressed in short jeans, a tshirt and a pair of sneakers.

He was also wearing his

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sunglasses, but that did not surprise Samuel, who did not hesitate to obey Ian and walk away from the stranger as fast as he could in order to stand beside the blonde little boy. He could not believe his eyes; he could see the man who had tried to hurt him facing a ten-year old Chinese boy who had a very powerful voice and a scythe in his hands, threatening the criminal. Only Bruce could see a huge Grim Reaper with his big menacing scythe, since we did not want to impress the boy. The man was in shock as he had never thought that he would ever be face to face with a real Grim Reaper. He kneeled down and begged Feather to spare his life. My colleague simply said, “Calm down, Bruce! You won’t hurt any more people again. We have come here to stop you and help you at the same time. You will be taken to the police station by security guards, but there will be a professional lawyer waiting for you there.”

Bruce was in shock and did not say anything; he just remained kneeled on the floor in silence. Feather added, “Please take the suitcase that is beside you. It contains all the necessary pieces of evidence related to your previous crimes. I am sorry, but you must pay for what you did; however, remember that you will not be abandoned in the hands of other dangerous people in jail. The lawyer will defend you properly.” Samuel was surprised by the way the brave ten year old Chinese boy had talked to the dangerous man. Ian said, “Do not worry. My colleague has everything under control! The door will be opened by a security guard shortly. Be patient!” Samuel smiled and felt great relief after listening to what the little boy had said and added, “You are very brave, too, despite of your height; thank you for helping me.” The frightened boy began to weep and Ian touched gently his back with his little hand to give him more confidence.”

The boy’s parents had to be warned of the situation immediately. Therefore, I appeared as a flesh and bone girl beside them at the store where they were buying some souvenirs and told them that their son was in danger. They looked at me with distrust and did not react. I simply yelled and said to the people inside the store, “Do something and help the boy who is fighting for his life in the restroom! A man has grabbed him! Follow me!” I ran out of the store, and some people who had listened to what I had just said followed me to the restroom. Samuel’s parents decided to follow me as well.

Meanwhile, the dangerous man who had been caught in the restroom by Feather had stayed still on the floor and was crying desperately, begging for his life. Feather had remained in silence by his side after talking to him.

Ian instructed Samuel to try to open the door and to yell for help. The door was stuck, so the boy began to hit it, screaming for help. While I was running towards the place where the boy was, I realized that I could see what was going on inside the restroom at the same time. The people and I reached the restroom door and heard the boy’s screams. A security guard noticed that a

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group of people had gathered in front of the door of a restroom which seemed stuck. He came running to the place to check what was happening. We informed him briefly about the situation, and he and another strong man pushed hard against the door to open it. Ian asked Samuel to move away from the door as it would be opened soon. Three strong pushes were necessary to open the heavy door. When the door was finally opened, the security guard went inside the restroom and saw a man crying on his knees holding a suitcase; then the security guard saw a scared boy who was crying for help. He noticed that the boy had two dark marks on his cheeks due to the hard pressure the man had made to cover his mouth to stop him from screaming for help.

The boy’s father embraced his son tenderly, and he noticed that his son had urinated on his pants.

His mother tied her sweater around her child’s waist; and then she looked at her husband and said, “I think it is time for us to be more cautious when we send our kids alone when they want to go to the restroom or any place, forgetting about the danger that exists nowadays. Let’s go home, Samuel.” Before leaving, Samuel looked around to find the two boys who had saved him; but he noticed that they had disappeared. “Mom, two boys helped me! One had a big scythe in his hands and the other one was a five-year old little boy who was very brave. I cannot see them now.” His mother said, “Relax, my son; there is nobody here. You are very nervous. Let’s go.”

The security guard took the dangerous man to the police station with the assistance of other security guards. The man caught would repeat unceasingly, “The Grim Reaper came for me, but he did not take me! I have committed several crimes, please check the content of the suitcase.” When they revised all the material contained in it, they realized that all the pieces of evidence were enough to send him to jail for a very long time. One of the guards asked Samuel and his parents to accompany them to the police station. As they moved on, Samuel turned around and noticed that the ten-year-old Chinese boy and his little blonde friend he had seen in the restroom were watching him from a certain distance. Before his very eyes, both boys turned into two small Grim Reapers.

Samuel opened his eyes widely as well as his mouth in surprise; he could not believe his eyes! As he moved on with his parents out of the shopping center, he said to himself that he would never forget having watched two small Grim Reapers waving their hands at him, bowing and vanishing. They had been his rescuers! Obviously, nobody would have ever believed him.

Samuel’s parents stopped abruptly and said, “We forgot to thank the girl who told us that our son was in danger!” I was pleased to notice that they had not forgotten me, and I appeared before them. They noticed that I was standing close to them in the parking lot. I smiled at them and said, “Please, do not thank me; thank, God. We are happy that it was not Samuel’s time to die.” I waved my hand at them, turned into a

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small Grim Reaper, and said goodbye to them. I bowed and vanished. The last thing I remember hearing was a long and loud “Oh!” made by Samuel, his parents, and the security guards. The criminal had already been taken in another car to the police station by other security guards. There was a professional lawyer waiting for him to take care of his case.

When the emergency situation was over and things had been solved properly, all of our team members met in the opposite corner of the shopping center. Nobody could see us there, of course; however, many would pass through us and would feel the sensation of a chill in the air, which made them think that there was an air conditioner nearby. I asked Peter George about the evil spirits we had seen in the restroom. He replied, “They are our worst enemies, since they tempt human beings to commit evil actions to satisfy some wicked twisted inner desires that arouse from their hearts. Dear Anna, the human mind and soul are extremely complex, and that is why it is always advisable to remind people to pray in order to control the weaknesses of human nature. We will meet many of those spirits during our mission, and in the last battle, we shall have to fight hard and destroy them with our scythes.” Feather was in shock and asked, “What final battle?” Big Bone replied, “Let’s not talk about that yet, as we, the Grim Reaper’s agents, have a lot to do before it takes place. We must be patient.” Ian appeared in the air riding his small white-yellow spotted Pegasus, whom he called Chuck, and said to us, “We have another case in our hands, dear colleagues! We have to move on. Let’s go!”

Chapter 8 When Danger knocks at the Door Unexpectedly Ian, Feather, Sunshine, Peter George, and I appeared at a deserted place, beside a paved route, near which there was an old fuel station that was still operating. We noticed that there was an old employee with a long beard and long gray hair tied in a ponytail. He was standing beside the fuel pump to attend customers. Close to the station there was a small car supplies store. A few seconds later, I knew that a family would arrive at the place in a modern van.

They were approximately twenty miles away, heading towards the fuel station.

There was a dark blue car parked closed to the station with four men inside it. They were waiting for the next vehicle to arrive to refill its tank. Their intentions were not good at all. Again we, agents, noticed the presence of evil spirits hanging by the car. We were there to fulfill another important mission, and this one would be a very exciting one.

Sunshine suddenly asked, “How about asking a kind family to give us a lift?” We all looked at her and smiled. Ian replied, “We are going to be very comfortable in that big van. Let’s go!”

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We appeared nineteen miles ahead of the old fuel station as a family whose car had broken down. The official car that had been assigned to us for the mission was a metallic-silver-graycolor Toyota Corolla. Its auto plate was AO-9442; and it had two decorative small golden scythes printed on the auto plate, one at the beginning and another at the end of the code.

Our poor car had two flat tires and an apparent burnt engine.

There was some smoke coming out of the hood of our car. This time our car had to play its role. All of us were wearing comfortable light clothes. We were a family who needed a lift from a Good Samaritan. Sunshine and Peter George were wearing funny hats and sunglasses to protect their heads and eyes from the sun. Feather, Ian, and I were their children who also wore funny hats and sunglasses. Ian had turned into a five-year old skinny blonde boy with light green eyes. His hair style was extremely short, perfect for the high temperature of the desert where we were. He was wearing a round Chinese style straw hat. We were perfect agents in disguise.

After a short while, we noticed that the big cherry color van we were expecting was approaching. As we had thought, they stopped and offered us a lift to get assistance from the next fuel station.

We got on the van which was large and comfortable, and it had enough space for twelve people. The couple was very kind to us, and we sat at the back with their children. They were Santiago and Bertha Garcia and had two seven-year old twin sons, Pablo and Jose, and two young daughters, twelve-year old Deborah and fifteen-year-old Claudia. They had brought their Cocker Spaniel pet with them.

Its name was Betty. When Ian sat beside their pet, it simply stared at him moving its tail, but did not bark at him. The Garcia family was surprised to see that their pet had not barked at their guests. On our way to the next fuel station, they told us about their activities. They were from Lima, Peru. It was their first real vacation with their children which had been planned for a long time.

Ian began to play with the twin brothers assembling puzzles. Betty fell fast asleep.

Feather and I talked to the girls and asked them about their school and friends and how life was in Peru. It was nice to find people to whom one could talk easily. Santiago and Bertha were pediatricians and had a good short conversation with Sunshine and Peter George. The time passed, and we realized that we would arrive at the fuel station at any moment now. At a distance we were able to notice that the car with four men was still there, waiting for their next victims.

Our agents’ antennas began to turn acute as we got closer and closer to the station. “We need to refill the tank, so we will stop for a while,� said Santiago. We stopped the van and got off. Sunshine and I turned our heads and observed that the four men had come slowly out of their car and had begun to walk towards the

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van. Two men were in their late twenties and the other two were in their late thirties. The station employee went out of the store as soon as we stopped the van and came quickly to attend us. The employee looked at those men and asked them, “Do you need something?” They did not answer. He insisted, “Are you waiting for someone? You have been hanging here for quite some time.” One of the men took a gun out of his jacket and pointed at us, including the employee. “Stay still,” he said.

“We need a van! You, refill the tank right now. They are paying, of course.” The children of Bertha and Santiago began to cry and embraced their parents. We reacted as a normal family would when facing danger. However, I assumed it must have been strange for the criminals to watch three peculiar small children holding their hands up without losing any control.

The employee refilled the tank with trembling hands.

Afterwards, the delinquents took all the women of the group: Sunshine, Bertha, the two daughters of the couple and me, inside the van as hostages.

The men and the boys were threatened with the gun and were asked to get inside the store and wait till they were gone. The dangerous men had said that they would leave the women and the girls on their way, at a distance, without harming them. We had been sent there to help that family, and the moment to act was getting closer.

The four criminals got on Santiago’s van and drove away at high speed. Santiago was extremely worried and did not know what to say or do. Peter George said to him, “Relax, Santiago!

Do not panic! We are going to help you and your family.” He looked at him without understanding what Big Bone had meant with his words. “Let’s get inside that black van and chase them.

Let’s move on, all of us!” Santiago looked at him confused, and then he noticed that a large Toyota black van with golden scythes printed on its doors was standing a few meters behind Peter George, beside the store. He and his twin boys followed Feather and Big Bone without asking any question. When they opened the doors of the van, they saw their pet Betty inside, lying on the floor and moving its tail. Santiago could not understand how it had appeared inside the black van. Ian was also waiting for them inside, comfortably seated. “Get all inside; I will drive,” said Peter George and nobody argued. In a matter of minutes, they had reached Santiago’s van and had kept close to it. Fortunately, the criminals were not aware of their presence, except Sunshine and me. When they looked at the rearview mirror, they could not notice that the black van of our colleagues was getting closer and closer. The van was invisible! Peter George advanced and placed the black van parallel to Santiago’s van. Two of the men were at the front seat, and the other two were at the back; one had a metal rod threatening the women and the girls and asking them to be quiet and still.

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Bertha was embracing her daughters and had not noticed our colleagues’ van. Sunshine and I were watching the black van calmly through the windows. Santiago was very nervous and asked our colleagues with his eyes wide open, “What is going on here? Who are you?” Ian replied calmly with a bright smile, “We are secret agents!” Santiago and his kids heard Ian speak and looked at him with their mouths open. They could not believe what the small child had just said. “Yes, we are agents of the Grim Reaper, Santiago.” Peter George added to what Ian had just said, “The tank of your van is full now, so we are going to remove those evil men from your van and teach them a lesson. Be ready, please, we are going to send you, your twin sons, and Betty to your van.

It will be a sort of teletransportation procedure. Trust me! You and your family will be fine and will keep on going your way and enjoy your vacations. It has been a pleasure meeting you. Then Feather, Ian and Peter George changed their casual appearance into their official appearance, putting on their royal blue hooded uniform, with their sun glasses on. Santiago and his twins remained in silence for a few seconds, watching each one of the so called agents. Only Ian looked like a distinguished little skeleton, while Feather and Peter George had remained in flesh and bone. “Now my dear friends the moment has come to say goodbye,” said Big Bone. “Do not be afraid! Everything will be under control.” Then he turned his face and looked straight at us through the front window of the black van.

At the same time, I looked at Ian and Feather through the rear window of Santiago’s van and lift up my thumb to indicate that they could proceed. Our minds had to coordinate every movement. Without caring about the men’s threats, Sunshine said to Bertha, “You and your girls will be fine. Your husband and your sons will appear in this van right now. Do not worry.

We are going to take away from your van these bad guys!” The men who were at the back seats of the van looked at Sunshine and me with anger and shouted at us “Shut up and stay still!”

Sunshine smiled at them and changed her appearance. I did the same. By the expression on their faces, we were aware that we looked extremely spooky to them. Bertha and her daughters looked at us and remained in silence, surprised to see two Grim Reapers with sun eyeglasses before their very eyes. They were not afraid, though. The two men at the front seats looked at us and began to scream. In the blink of an eye, Sunshine, the criminals and I had vanished from Santiago’s van and had appeared inside our colleagues’ van, comfortably seated, with our seatbelts fastened. All four men appeared also in our van seated with their seatbelts fastened. They began to scream; and after a short while, they all fainted! At the same time, Santiago, his twin sons, and Betty had appeared in their own van. He was driving behind the wheel. His wife was sitting beside him at the front seat, and all their four children were comfortably seated at the back seats of the van. Their pet

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Betty was barking, wagging its tail happily. Santiago thought they had had a strange dream. He and Bertha began to talk about it, as well as their children. All of them were surprised and excited by what had occurred to them. Santiago looked at the rearview mirror and watched our black van move away, going the opposite direction. Feather, Ian, and I were waving our hands at them, wearing our official uniform. “They really exist!” Santiago shouted, “Please, look at the black van!”

Bertha and their children turned their heads and looked at us through the rear windows of their van. They could no believe their eyes, but all of them began to wave their hands at us.

They went happily their way, and we went happily ours.

We realized that we had to take those four men to the closest police station with all the necessary pieces of evidence of their previous crimes, so that they would face justice and go to court. We knew that they had to be sent to jail for several years, but they would count with the proper assistance of professional lawyers who would take care of their case.

When they woke up inside our van, they began to cry as children, begging us not to take their lives away. Peter George said tenderly, “Relax, Joe, Alan, Lewis and Charlie. We won’t harm you. We are taking you to the next police station where you will have to tell the officer in charge all about the serious crimes you have committed, and you will have to pay for them. When we reach the police station, you will get off our van obediently and take with you these four suitcases which contain all the pieces of evidence required to prosecute you.

You will be protected, though, and nobody will hurt you when you are in prison. Trust my words. You will find peace there.”

Two professional lawyers will be waiting for you at the police station. They are really good; just follow their instructions.

You must change for good!

A few minutes later, we parked in front of a police station.

Sunshine opened the door and got off the van. She was dressed up like a nun. Peter George remained behind the wheel dressed up like a priest. Feather, Ian, and I were there but invisible. She asked Joe, Alan, Lewis and Charlie to take their suitcases with them and to follow her. There were two very enigmatic slim tall lawyers waiting for them near the entrance of the police station. They were impeccably well dressed and wearing a pair of sunglasses. Five police officers who were on the street, outside the police station, watched them with curiosity. Those mysterious men walked towards Sunshine and greeted her courteously. Both men looked at the four criminals, and one of them said, “Good afternoon, gentlemen, we are your lawyers; and we will be in charge of you.” They all walked together towards the entrance to the police station.

Sunshine spoke to some of the officers who were outside and asked them with courtesy, “Would you please receive these four men? They have committed serious crimes. Their lawyers

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are here as well.” One of the police officers opened the door and ushered her and all her companions inside. She spoke with the officer in charge and handed over the four men to the authorities, leaving the rest in the hands of theirs lawyers.

Unfortunately, all the pieces of evidence contained in the suitcases handed to the police would be enough to give them a very long sentence in jail. Their lawyers would provide all the necessary legal assistance and guidance to the unfortunate criminals. In addition, we knew that other agents of the Grim Reaper would be in charge of keeping an eye on them and on all the people who would be in jail around them; in that way, they would be protected from any danger and would be stopped in case they would cause any serious trouble against others.

When Sunshine went out of the police station and walked towards our van, a police officer asked her, “Why do you have those scythes printed on the doors of your van, Sister?” She smiled broadly at him and replied, “Well, it is good to remember that we are alive today, but we do not know if we will be alive tomorrow. All of us must be ready to face death sooner or later. The scythes are a sort of reminder.” He smiled at her and said, “I hope that death will keep away from me for a along time.” Lifting an eyebrow, she said softly, “Death is always closer to us than we think, no matter how far we want her or him to be.” A cold breeze blew at the neck of the officer, and the expression on his face froze. She winked at him. “It’s time to leave, Sister Death.” Peter George said in a loud voice, calling Sunshine’s attention. She laughed and said goodbye to the police officer. She got on the van, looked at him through the window, turned into a Grim Reaper with her sunglasses on, and waved her hand at him. The police officers who had been watching our van, including the one who had been talking to Sunshine, exclaimed loudly, “What?!” At that moment, we and our van vanished before their very eyes and went to our next mission …

Meanwhile, around the world, the breaking news was that in different parts of the world a large number of delinquents had surrendered themselves to police authorities, confessing their serious crimes and providing all the necessary pieces of evidence required for prosecution. All those criminals would count on the support of the free of charge legal services given by a recently established law firm worldwide. Its name was: ‘Angelus Mortis Attorneys.’

Curiously, all the delinquents who had yielded to the authorities had expressed that Grim Reapers had appeared to them and that their conscience had forced them to take their responsibility for their crimes. When their lawyers were asked why the firm had that particular name, they would simply answer, “Each minute may be the last one to take advantage of, so we provide our professional legal services as soon as we are needed!” A

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chilly air would always be present every time any of those mysterious professional lawyers would be interviewed.

Chapter 9 The Grim Reapers never rest when Babies call Sunshine, Feather, Peter George and I were walking invisibly by the streets, watching and listening to people and their reaction regarding the latest news. People felt surprised and odd, but the feeling of having more security for their lives enhanced them with a brighter energy. They thought that hope and security were at last approaching to the world.

Unexpectedly, Peter George said to us, “I’ll be back in a moment. A baby needs my help, so has his Guardian Angel told me. See you!” We nodded, and he vanished before our eyes.

There was a beautiful small house near a water channel. As Peter George came closer, he could listen a couple arguing.

Their little toddler, Jonathan, had gone through their pet’s small door unnoticed. His parents had forgotten about their restless baby son who was crawling directly towards a small rustic pier to which a boat had been tied. Peter George watched the baby move on, and he turned his head to watch through the kitchen window the couple who were still arguing.

Then he wondered, “Should I interrupt them personally?” He knocked at the window glass wearing his official uniform. Both parents of the baby looked at the window and were shock to see him. Peter snapped his long bony fingers to wake them up from their fright, placed his arms as if he were carrying a baby in order to remind them of Jonathan, and then he stretched his arm pointing at where their baby was heading to. The couple moved their sight from the tall Grim Reaper to the place he had pointed at and watched their baby at the distance. Peter George began to walk slowly towards the baby; the little scythe of his bracelet turned into a big scythe. When the couple watched him move on, they came out of their little house as quickly as lighting bolts to save their baby.

The father of the toddler reached him just in time to prevent his drowning and his being taken by the waters of the channel.

When his mother reached the place where her husband and her child were, all three of them began to cry: the couple, due to the fear of almost having lost their baby; and Jonathan, for having lost the chance to touch the water! Both parents turned their heads to watch the Grim Reaper standing at the shore of the water channel. Peter George waved his hand at them and said, “You were really lucky this time! See you again later in life when your time comes.” Then he turned around and vanished. The couple could not believe what they had seen and the danger their baby had faced. They kissed each other

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and their baby and went back home. They had been very fortunate indeed. As agents of Mr. Death, we consider that it is not healthy to develop any kind of paranoia, especially regarding children’s security; however, it is always good to keep an eye, every now and then, on how things are going around the house and surroundings.

Peter George returned to the place where we were, and he joined our team. We all walked as a common family on the street. The morning of that day had turned windy, chilly, and humid. As we came closer to a particular clinic we were heading to, we noticed that there were many young and adult women going in and out of it. Very young couples and adult couples were also visiting that place. We watched them with great pain, since we knew that many of our colleagues were picking up lots of babies’ souls that belonged to babies who were dying in that clinic and other clinics around the world.

The mission we would perform in just a moment would be a global mission. Millions of our colleagues had different targets: Some of them would appear beside each woman or female adolescent who had decided to get rid of her baby; others would appear beside each doctor who had performed and still performed abortions; in addition, other colleagues of ours would also appear beside each man or young man who had abandoned or mistreated a pregnant woman or girlfriend or daughter or pressed her to get rid of her baby or give it away. Many of our colleagues would also appear beside each government authority that was in favor of those activities. We knew in advance beside which woman, man, adolescent, doctor, parent, or authority we would stand, so we prepared ourselves to show up at our corresponding places.

A command had been given to all the Grim Reaper’s agents, and we proceeded to visit our targets. We vanished and went to visit all the different people we had been assigned to. That afternoon and evening would become extremely long and scary for many human beings, but fruitful... Screams would fill the air at all corners of the world. People would watch lots of women, nurses and doctors rushing out of clinics and some private health centers. I had to appear beside a fourteenyear old girl who was six months pregnant. She was alone at a doctor’s private office. I was wearing my official uniform and had the height of a ten year old Grim Reaper with my scythe in hand. However, I was still invisible and would be seen in flesh.

She could not see me yet. I received the command to let her see me. When she saw me, she could not believe her eyes and covered them for a moment, thinking that it was an illusion.

“Wendy, I am real. I have come here to warn you that you cannot assassin your baby.” She uncovered her eyes, and put her hands on her heart, watching me with her eyes wide open.

She did not scream or fainted, maybe it was because I was a small grim reaper and Heaven did not want her to panic or pass

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out, especially because she was expecting a baby. I sat down by her side and kept on talking to her and said, “Your parents will accept you again. Some colleagues of mine have already spoken to them. Go back home, please. You and your family will seek for advice and find a solution to your situation. If you, your boyfriend, and your parents cannot support your baby, then you can give him the chance to live and be adopted by a loving couple. Be brave and do not believe the words of your boyfriend and your friends about women’s freedom to abort. It is a selfish way to get rid of responsibility. You will hurt and damage your body and soul and will never live in peace again. God loves you, and there are always good solutions at hand. Let your child live. All babies have an important mission in this world.”

Wendy looked at the closed door of the room where the doctor was getting ready to perform the procedure. She had been listening to the voices of the doctor and the nurse inside the room for some time, as well as the noise of the instruments they were going to use. She turned her head and looked at me again; but this time I had my bony appearance under my hooded robe. She opened her eyes widely, inhaled deeply, and said “Thank you, sweet spooky stranger. I’ll go home. By the way, why do you wear sun eyeglasses?” I smiled at her and replied, “To cover my identity!” Then I winked at her.

She laughed softly, looking at the ceiling first and afterwards looking at me in silence. She stood up, walked towards the exit door, and left the place for good. As she was leaving the building, she noticed that her parents were waiting for her outside. They both embraced her and took her home.

I remained patiently on my seat for some time in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. A few minutes later, the nurse and the doctor opened the door and found me at the waiting room. They stared at me because they had never thought that a small grim reaper with a small scythe would be waiting for them outside instead of the pregnant adolescent. I stood up and said, “I must leave now, because I do not need your services. Please, give the money back to the girl’s boyfriend, and don’t you dare spend a single penny of that money. The fifteen-year old father will need it. By the way, there are two colleagues of mine that will have a word with you both.”

Sunshine appeared beside the nurse, and Peter George appeared beside the doctor. The expression on their faces changed completely, and both of them screamed out loud.

They kneeled down, begging for mercy. It was a fact that my colleagues’ appearance wearing their official uniform was a bit too spooky for them. Nevertheless, they would have a long and fruitful conversation with the doctor and the nurse, and they would be given the opportunity to change their lives and activities to promote life and not death.

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That whole day and whole night were invaded by the screams and cries of millions of people related to abortion activities in all the corners of the earth. Millions of people were forced to listen to them, despite the fact that not a single baby, child or innocent person had been surprised or frightened or woken up by those fearful cries or screams, since they had not heard anything at all. Lots people, young and old, had slept profoundly and peacefully. Only those who needed a bit of reflection upon their actions and lives had been wakened, trembling about their fate when they heard those fearful screams. The same thing happened the next early morning.

Some people were shocked at the screams he or she would hear when walking on the streets, but others would keep on walking calmly as if they had not heard anything at all. Many would ask passers by, “Haven’t you heard those cries and screams?”, and they would receive positive or negative replies from passersby.

The local and worldwide breaking news about the loud screams people had heard everywhere during the night and were still listening to in the morning. However, many people would state that they had not heard anything at all. The evening news included that all abortion clinics had stopped their activities worldwide mysteriously, since nobody had appeared to ask for an abortion procedure and all their doctors and nurses had submitted a letter, expressing that they did not want to continue performing that procedure any more. Reporters were sent to interview lots of women, men and adolescents who had stated that while they were asleep, they had seen the suffering and death of their babies through abortion. They had also experienced the abortion in their own bodies in a terrible and unforgettable nightmare. Without any explanation, thousands of people were going into the churches to ask for spiritual guidance and forgiveness, the churches’ authorities were forced to ask people to calm down and trust God’s love and forgiveness, stating firmly that Doomsday had not come yet. The temples and churches were full of people who had gone there to be in silence and in prayer. Many of them were crying and meditating about the past recent events.

Our team appeared among a group of people listening to the latest news that evening. Suddenly, their attention was attracted by the breaking news announced on television at high volume. A spokesman had stated that the President would address a speech in a few moments to the whole nation and to all nations worldwide. He appeared before the television cameras and began his speech by saying, “Dear citizens, good evening. My speech tonight is an urgent wake up call that I must address to all of you and to all nations. First, I have to state that we must ask forgiveness to God for the lives of all the millions of babies we have been killing for decades. We

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must also ask forgiveness to the babies we have killed, as we did not consider the importance of their lives and their mission in this world. Furthermore, we must also ask other nations of the world for their pardon, because the example we have given to our young generations and foreign generations, when we approved cruel evil laws, brought the beginning of chaos to society and our souls, giving the excuse of freedom to choose whether a baby should live or die. What is done is done! We cannot change the past, but we can change the present and, therefore, the future of all the human race and creation.”

The eyes of the President retained the tears contained in them.

He inhaled air deeply and continued, “God’s masterpiece has been the creation of man and woman in His or Her image. The lives of all men and women are important, starting from the beginning of their lives as babies. All sufferings, no matter how silent they may seem, bring spiritual disorder and imbalance to the world. We cannot live happily while innocent people suffer or die due to evil and unfair laws. We are proposing not to allow more blood to stain our hands. We declared war to God and life in the past; but now the moment of reconciliation has begun, and we will take all the necessary legal steps to protect the life and the dignity of all human beings and their rights. This is a new beginning, and I trust that all nations will follow our example. It will be tough, but we will not allow death and destruction to take over our country. Tax funds will not ever be used to stain our society in blood. We might be running out of time; that is why we must correct what is wrong while we still have time.

Goodbye for now.” He waved his hand to the people watching him and left the place.

That night passed calmly, and the next day the skies were clear and the sun was shining since early morning. Unexpectedly, the skies in different cities of the country began to turn dark and cloudy, and a bit windy. People on the streets began to accelerate their steps to reach their destination sooner before any strong storm might start. As people passed beside plants or trees, they could perceive the whispering of their branches, leaves and stems.

Strangely, the children, youngsters and adults would walk on the streets quietly or speak in low voice, looking around and to the skies as expecting something. Subtle fear was somehow invading the inner corners of the human souls. Nobody could explain the reason for their fear, but they knew that something was going to happen. The skies turned darker and darker along the day; but it did not rain. In the evening the full moon showed up clearly in the sky of some countries of the planet.

Mysteriously, the dark clouds had vanished, and the moment would come when millions of people, young and old, would close their eyes and fall asleep. Thousands of people of all ages would have special dreams that night. Those dreams were

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required to make them change their feelings and their path of life in a fruitful way, in order to bring happiness to their lives and to other human beings’ lives.

Chapter 10 Children are the Seeds of Humanity The next morning the breaking news was that it had been a quiet night that had passed without having heard any screams, not like the previous night in which awful screams had been heard all over the globe and woken up millions of adults and young people, except children. However, a lot of people had been interviewed on the streets and had said that they had had a strange dream. Young and old people had told news and media people that they had dreamed that they were children and had remembered some scenes during their childhood when they had been extremely cruel against other children who had been their age or younger or even older. Those scenes had been forgotten by them, but somehow they had come to the surface of their conscience and memory. In addition, many of them had also dreamed that they were parents and were extremely abusive with their small children or, vice versa, that they were small children and their parents had abused them in some way, verbally, emotionally, or physically. The scenes were so clear and vivid that each strike made against their victims would hurt them both physically and spiritually, even though everything had taken place in a dream. All the people had woken up sad and with their faces all wet with tears, completely aware of their past actions and sufferings.

Sunshine, Peter George, Feather and I would keep on walking on the streets, listening to people’s comments about the news.

A young woman asked an old man who was standing by her side, watching the news on a television set displayed in a store window, “Why are human beings so violent?” He answered straight forward, “unveil a child’s heart hidden feelings, and you will understand why.” Peter George lifted his eyebrow, looked at us and said, “How wise this man is! It is true. A child is a precious vulnerable seed which must be protected and taken care of properly, otherwise the roots of his tree will be ruined, and his fruit will be poisonous and contaminate other seeds and trees. Children need good soil of teachings, and we must remind humanity of the importance of their children, who will build up or destroy the future of the human race. Let’s go now and visit some schools, dear colleagues.” Ian jumped happily and said, “Yes, I want some action!” We all smiled and vanished, knowing exactly where we had to go and what we had to do. Sunshine and Peter George would go first to visit high government authorities. Furthermore, they would also visit high educational authorities.

Ian would go to a public elementary school in the Far East, which had called my

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attention and made me wonder, “What would our tiny colleague do at an elementary school so far away?

Feather and I appeared in a large cafeteria at a public school during lunch time, and we knew that our appearance as two common 11-year old kids ready to have lunch would not call any attention.” We both sat down at a table with our lunch bags. As we were new students at school, the other students would look at us with curiosity every now and then. Feather had brought a delicious salad made out of lettuce, tomato, carrot, mushrooms, turkey ham, and chopped nuts; he had added a salad dressing from a sachet he had brought with him.

It had a golden scythe printed which was the logo of our trade mark ‘Scythes in Action,’ which nobody around knew about, of course. In my lunch bag I had brought a delicious multivegetable pie with a huge hamburger to accompany it. We took out our cutlery and napkins to eat our food; and we were almost ready to start eating, when an eleven-year old big kid came towards us and asked me, “Would you give me your hamburger? I am hungry.” I looked at him and replied, “No, David, you are not hungry. You ate all your food during history class an hour ago.” The boy froze at my words and looked at me furiously. I added, “Please, go back to your place now and tell your friends that you are not hungry.” David tightened his lips, turned around and left us in peace. His friends were surprised when he returned to their place and said that he was not hungry anymore. They looked at us, and Feather and I smiled at them as if nothing had happened; and then we kept on eating our delicious food. David and his friends looked at us as if we were extremely strange, especially when we waved our hands at them as if we knew them already. We did, but they did not!

There were several boys and girls moving around. We watched their behavior and noticed that some of them would try to make other innocent kids trip. The cruel boys or girls would laugh at them when they fell on the floor and would run away.

Others would steal the French fries, hamburgers or chicken nuggets of other children by attracting their attention to the opposite direction of their food tray.

It was sad how shameless and mischievous some children and youngsters were. Their behavior was wrong, but it would be considered normal or common in school. There were cases in which they really had some nerve! Twenty minutes later the school bell rang, and we went directly to our classroom. As agents of the Grim Reaper, we knew in advance what we would be doing.

We would read an article from the headline news on a newspaper during our first afternoon class. There were forty seats inside the classroom waiting for us students!

Feather sat down at a desk on the third column, fourth row, in the middle of the rest of the students’ desks, while I chose the back desk on the same column where Feather had sat. We were

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the first students to arrive in the classroom. A moment later, several boys and girls entered quickly and chose their favorite place to sit. David, the eleven-year old boy whom we had met at the cafeteria came inside the classroom, went to the back seat of the first column of the desks, and grabbed a skinny boy from the shirt and said, “This is my place; I always seat at the back desk on the first column. Move on and get lost.” Nobody said anything, and the skinny boy stood up and moved to the desk beside David, on the second column. The classroom got full very quickly, and the school bell rang a second time. A few seconds later a tall slim woman came into the classroom carrying a pile of papers. She was the teacher.

Feather and I stood up and greeted her, as well as some other pupils, including the skinny boy. She was a bit surprised by our greeting and replied, “Good afternoon, students. My name is Valerie Fu, and I will be your tutor and social studies teacher.

Please, sit down.” She asked the new pupils to introduce themselves. Feather and I were the only ones who were new in the class, so we told the class audience that we were brother and sister and that we had just moved from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to the city, and that our parents were oil engineers. To conclude, Feather added that we were adopted children.

The Ten Key Principles of Coexistence Our teacher thanked us and then said, “Today we are going to discuss a newspaper article from which I took some photocopies for you all to read and express what you think about it. Afterwards, we can discuss other recent headline news that may have called our attention on television or on the radio.” She gave to each of the five students on the first row eight copies of the newspaper article, so that they would pass them over to the students on the back seats of their row.

When the copies had already been distributed to all, she gave us ten minutes to read the piece of news and reflect upon it.

The article contained a case in which a man had been released from prison for the third time after having crashed several vehicles on three occasions due to alcohol abuse. Sixteen people had been injured seriously, but thank God no one had died and all of them had recovered. After the minutes had passed, the teacher asked students, “What do you think about this case? How do you think authorities can prevent this man from injuring himself or injuring other people on the roads or any place in the future due to alcohol abuse?”

Some children expressed that he should not have been released from prison, because he was too dangerous and irresponsible, a menace to all. Others stated that he should receive special treatments or psychological therapy for alcohol abuse. The teacher added another question, “Why do you think he was released?” Several children stated loudly, “he behaved well in prison!” Ms. Fu asked the students to raise

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their hands before answering, so that there would not be so much noise and disorder in the classroom. David raised his hand, and the teacher asked him to give his point of view. He remained seated and said, “He cheated the authorities and made them think that he had changed, but he was just acting. People like that should just remain permanently in jail, but it is said that there is not enough money to support their stay in jail, so authorities try to find a way to release them without thinking about the consequences of their actions upon his family and the community.” While David was speaking, I noticed that he was squeezing one hand against his other hand in turns and tears were filling up his eyes. For a few seconds, all the students remained in silence, including the teacher. In a certain way he was denouncing the terrible situation he was facing at home, and that was the reason why he was turning into a rude bully boy. Feather and I knew that he had changed very much over the past eight months due to his parents’ mistreatment, and it was time to do something in order to help him as well as other boys and girls who were going through serious damaging situations. The teacher thanked David for giving his point of view.

Feather raised his hand and said, “Ms. Fu, may I say something?”

She allowed him to talk. Feather stood up, walked towards the teacher’s desk, stood beside it, turned around, facing all the students, and said, “I think it is time to ask all the students of this class to express orally their own headline news concerning the problems they are facing in their private lives at home. They are more shocking than you can imagine and should be reported to the school authorities, so that they may start doing something to protect many of the students of this school. If children are treated badly by their parents or relatives or neighbors or even classmates or teachers, they have the right to denounce them. Nobody has the right to beat or mistreat children. There are wise, good, and fruitful ways to correct children’s behavior and attitudes. That does not mean we want to become spoiled children and do everything our way; but there are means of teaching parents not to mistreat their kids and to warn them that they can be sent to jail if their children are punished in a cruel, severe, and abusive way. I know that several children of this class face domestic violence against them, their mother, brothers and sisters, and sometimes even against their father due to drug or alcohol abuse problems of one of their parents or some traumatic childhood events their parents may have experienced.”

“I suggest that we, first, organize a campaign at school to fight against domestic violence at home and then start a campaign to fight against community violence due to the negligence of law and order authorities who apply weak and ambiguous laws that turn thousand of innocent people vulnerable in the hands of violent people who do not go to

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jail or who are released easily from jail without receiving any proper punishment and rehabilitation therapies. If anyone of us is facing violence, we must open our hearts and mouth; and we must speak up and denounce the person who is hurting us, no matter our relationship with him or her or them. We must not be afraid or remain in silence. If we have been threatened by anyone, we must not pay any attention to those threats received. If we do not do that, we may turn into a rotten fruit, and our actions will spread bad seeds and may damage the lives of many innocent children and classmates who do not have the right to be mistreated by us or by anybody. When we suffer and do not speak about our sufferings, we become a sort of time bombs which may explode at any moment, causing more damage to people than we ever thought we would do in the present and the future. Unfortunately, violence and mistakes pass from one generation to the other; and we must seek to stop that chain of errors from passing on.” I was surprised by the silence and attention given to the words of Feather.

Ms. Fu was so shocked by Feather’s words that she began to look at all her students in the classroom, as if she had just realized how blind she had been for not noticing the silent suffering of many of them. She thanked Feather for his words and said, “Your classmate is right. If there are unknown personal problems that you are facing which you are hiding in your hearts and mind, I think it is time to speak up now. The campaign we are going to start in this class will change the lives of many of you, as well as the lives of all children and adults at our school and community. Hopefully, it may even reach all corners of our nation. Please, raise your hands those of you who need help.”

A few seconds later, eight children raised their hands, including David. Ms. Fu watched them carefully and said, “Do not worry. You will start receiving proper assistance, guidance, and protection as of this date.” While we were having our conversation inside our classroom, a similar situation was taking place in each of all the other classrooms of the same school. Many of our colleagues had also been sent to execute a similar mission; and they had showed up as two common innocent students in each classroom as well.

It was my time to talk. I raised my hand, and Ms. Fu authorized me to speak. I walked towards Feather, stood beside him and said to the teacher and to the rest of the students, “Ms. Fu, it is time for us to leave you and our classmates with a great mission upon your shoulders.” She looked at feather and me with surprise. We changed our appearance and stood before her and the rest of the students, wearing our agent’s wardrobe before their very eyes. She opened her eyes widely, and all the students of the class looked at us in silence. All of them were shocked by our appearance, but did not scream.

Then I added, “Ms. Fu, as a teacher, you know that babies and

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children are like seeds and sponges. That is why there is an urgent need to teach children at home and at school the importance of love and respect and the need of prayer, including the importance of the human dignity and self esteem of each human being that exists. We consider that the Ten Key Principles of Coexistence, known in many cultures as ‘Commandments,’ are universal to all cultures and creeds, men and women, boys and girls; and they should be taught at home and at schools; that does not mean that valuable principles from other religions should not be considered, of course.

They will provide a good strong foundation for the human behavior and will be of great help to control the rebellious soul and selfish inclinations we all have or may have, children and adults.

If adults deny children that opportunity, chaos in society will be unbearable and uncontrollable. Keep in mind what we are saying, please. Goodbye for now.” Feather and I bowed and vanished at the same time before the eyes of the classroom audience. As we disappeared, a soft chilly wind invaded the place and stopped suddenly, leaving a deep silence behind. Ms. Fu placed her hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and tried to control her emotions. She could not believe what she had just seen, two small Grim Reapers.

A few seconds later, someone knocked at the classroom door, making Ms. Fu jump on her feet. She opened the door quickly, and the Head Master of the school, Mr. Elijah Collins, was standing there, all pale. He said, “Valerie, please, would you come to the gymnasium urgently with the students in your classroom who have reported that they are being abused or mistreated. Police authorities are coming to our school to attend these cases. The rest of the students are being sent home, because classes have been suspended in our entire community by the educational authorities.”

Ms. Fu was surprised and in shock at those news. Then the Head Master asked her, “Have you seen two strange children in your classroom today?” She nodded without saying any word. He added, “You are not the only one. All the teachers at our school received the visit of two new students in their classrooms who turned into grim reapers after delivering a message to the students and teachers. Coincidentally, I have been informed that after the visit made by those strange entities to our school, all local schools have called the police authorities to attend mistreatment or abuse against children and youngsters who attend school. I have been told by our colleagues that those entities asked them to start a campaign to teach the importance of love, respect, dignity, self esteem, and prayer. The entities stated that the Ten Commandments or the ‘Ten Key Principles of Coexistence’ so called by them, should be taught at home and at schools, because they are universal to all the human race, and they

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would lead to the reestablishment of order and balance in the life of human beings and society. Valerie, you know that religion is forbidden in public schools as there is freedom of religion. I do not know how authorities will react to the sudden claim to start teaching religious principles at schools.

Well, let’s wait and see what happens. If authorities are visited by those strange entities, I am sure that they will reconsider the matter before denying it square headedly. Please, take care of your students.” Then, suddenly, a small Grim Reaper appeared beside Mr. Collins and Ms. Fu and said to them, “Be patient and wait, you will see great changes take place in the world sooner than you think!” Watching the expression on their faces, the entity added, “Do not panic, you are not ready to be taken by me yet. Be smart and brave. Goodbye!” The small Grim Reaper made a bow and vanished as quickly as he had given his message. Both Mr. Collins and Ms. Fu stood there frozen, in shock and speechless. Then Mr. Collins said with his hand on his heart, “Well, dear Valerie, I have had enough for one day. Definitely, I am not ready to die. Thank God, we still have some time left to live! I will meet you at the gymnasium with the other teachers and students. See you.”

Ms. Fu did not say anything to Ms. Collins as she watched him leave quickly. She could still remember the soft chilly wind left behind when those entities had vanished from her classroom, making her think how close death really was to people.” She asked all her students to take with them all their personal belongings and books and to go home, except those students that had to stay. Only the eight children that had denounced that they were being abused at home would remain and go to the gymnasium with her to press charges against their parents or against those who were hurting them. They would receive protection and dwelling while the legal process would develop. Ms. Fu and Mr. Collins would never be the same from now on. They had never imagined how striking the figures were regarding the rate of child abuse and mistreatment suffered by their school students. All teachers had taken their students to the gymnasium, in order to gather information and give a complete report to the police authorities, who had already arrived at the school and had been ushered straight to the gymnasium. The police had never conceived the serious problems children and youngsters were facing in the community. Those children who were now at the gymnasium would not go back home and would be provided with special accommodations for security reasons. While this was taking place in that local school, all schools nationwide and worldwide were also going through the same experience, and they were facing the same situation.

Those entities known by many as ‘Grim Reapers’ had taken their time to visit all the necessary people who would make the big change come true and promote an educational reform for the

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wellbeing of all humanity, for both men and women, adult and children. All of us, agents, were busy and satisfied by the way the events had occurred so far. We still had a lot of work to do, though. The human heart and human reason had to change towards the path of Good; however, that was our toughest job, since Evil would put on so many layers of disguise which would make the human heart go blind and indifferent to the suffering of people nation and worldwide.

The Headline news in the evening would be about the situation students and teachers had faced at schools around the globe and about the visit of the mysterious entities that had appeared in each school, delivering a specific message: The teaching of the Ten Key Principles of Coexistence which were known by many cultures as the Ten Commandments.

Chapter 11 The Grim Reapers deal with Terror While most of our team members were busy dealing with students and teachers, our little colleague, Ian, was walking through the corridors of an elementary school in the Far East, watching small children playing around and laughing, running, and enjoying life. Ian could watch many colleagues of his around the place, bowing at him when their path would cross. The agents of the Grim Reaper always had to be alert and could not rest since every single life around the globe had to be protected until the right time to die would come for the chosen ones. The school bell rang, and it was time to leave school and go back home. Students took their school bags with them, saying goodbye to their friends, hoping to see them again the next day.

Several adult and young terrorists were planning to strike again in several cities around the world the next day; children and adolescents had been convinced and forced somehow to harm people for a so-called heavenly purpose; even though, very deep inside them, their hearts were screaming that they did not have any right to do so. Tonight would be the precise moment for the agents to act against terrorism.

In the evening, Alim, a sixteen-year old boy, was talking to his parents at home. They were telling him that they were proud of him because tomorrow he would sacrifice his life in the name of their God, blowing up very close to a school by activating all the explosives that he would have attached to his body, under his t-shirt and thick sweater. He was really afraid, but he thought that it was necessary to teach those of whom they considered infidels that they had to respect his people and obey their laws and religious principles.

The young adolescent had been convinced that he would reach paradise,

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and that stimulated him to fulfill his bloody mission. He went to bed early because he needed to rest and had to wake up at four a.m., in order to have his parents and some relatives of his prepare him with the explosives, which would be attached carefully with adhesive tape to his body. Before slipping into his bed, he prayed to his God and commended his life into His hands. Alim was worried. His parents appeared in his room, embraced him, and said, “We love you and support what you are going to do. You will be remembered as an example to your family and the entire nation, fulfilling the mission entrusted to you, dear son.” Tears began to fill his eyes. His parents left the room; Alim went into bed, looked at the ceiling, and said, “Forgive me, God; if I am wrong, please, stop me.” He inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, exhaled slowly, and felt fast asleep.

“Son, wake up, it’s time.” He opened his eyes and jumped off bed.

His father, uncle, cousin, mother and brothers were around him. He took a quick shower. They prayed together and prepared him according to what had been planned. The minutes passed… Now he had all the explosives attached to his body, and it was time to leave home. He hesitated for a moment, but he was encouraged by his loved ones to leave and be successful in his mission; they promised that they would see him again in Paradise. The young man left home and walked forward, without looking back again; otherwise, he would have changed his mind and stayed at home. Two friends of his would do the same thing: blow up the explosives attached to their bodies, dying and taking several lives with them. As they walked towards their target places, they met on their way, looked at one another and followed their different routes, saying nothing at all. They did not smile as they usually did when they would find one another on the street. They were all nervous; they did not want to die. It was not simple to put an end to the precious gift of life their God had granted them; but they would tell themselves that they had an important mission to fulfill.

Alim reached the main square, which was full of people rushing to their working places; children and mothers were talking to their friends.

They were waiting outside an elementary school, which would open its doors in a few minutes, so that children would go in to learn and have fun with their friends. There were old and young people sitting on the benches at the main square. It was very early in the morning. Alim looked around, watching the small food places open and full of people having breakfast. He walked towards the elementary school but did not cross the street; he remained on the main square at a specific point. He inhaled deeply, looked again around at all the people present, and then looked down at his feet and at the brick floor below.

Then he felt the cables that he had to pull to activate the

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explosives, preparing himself to die at any moment now. He raised his eyes again and was ready to proceed with the terrorist attack; however, all the people around him had changed. He was in shock. All the members of his family and relatives were there: parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, including close friends; they were around him, walking on the main square. They seemed that they were not aware of his presence. Children of the elementary school, whom he knew very well, were there too with their parents; and several of his classmates were also there, everywhere: on the benches, at the food places, having breakfast or walking around. “What on earth are my people and friends doing here?”

Alim asked himself. The school bell rang and the children began to gather to cross the street to go into the elementary school. According to the plan, he grabbed firmly the cables to activate the explosives; but he knew that he could not kill anyone of his people, because they were “his” people and not the target! His hands did not obey him, and he pulled the cables. A huge explosion took place. Everything happened so fast. He could listen to people screaming very clearly. Alim looked around him; many of his friends and their parents were dead, with their bodies mutilated and covered in blood. All the rest of his family members were lying on the floor dead or seriously wounded, too. He felt such a huge remorse and deep pain that he did not understand what was going on and how come he was not dead. Almost all his beloved ones and friends were dead; some were still alive but screaming in agony, mutilated. Chaos surrounded him!

A very tall Grim Reaper appeared before his eyes and asked him, “Are you satisfied with your action? Are you happy now? Does it bring you peace and satisfaction? Do you deserve any prize for what you have done? Alim could not speak. What kind of paradise do you expect to reach with your hands stained in blood?” He did not know what to say. He could not think clearly; he was desperate and could not believe what he had done. He had killed his people! Alim began to yell, “No! It can’t be! It’s a nightmare! No! No! No! Alim screamed several times so hard that after an extremely loud last scream and cry, he woke up on his bed, crying and screaming. It was 4 a.m. in the morning. His parents and relatives rushed into his room to see what the problem with Alim was. His face was all wet with tears; his sore throat hurt a lot. He looked at them and said, “I cannot murder innocent people.

I cannot turn into a murderer. Please, do not expect me to assassinate people. I saw you in my dream all dead, because I had killed you by activating the explosives attached to my body. I do not have any right to judge and kill other people. I do not want to feel ashamed before the eyes of God. I was there and fulfilled my mission; I felt terrible and could feel the pain of all the victims of my crime!” Alim had not been the only one who had woken up screaming. All the terrorists who had planned to

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kill people that day in several cities of the world had faced the Grim Reaper in person in their dreams, or should it be called their common nightmare? Alim’s father had also heard distant screams, too; and he was a bit in shock and could not understand what was going on. He was really worried, because the head of the terrorist unit who had trained his son would come at any moment to verify that the terrorist attack had been performed. Alim’s family members were afraid of the way they would be punished for not fulfilling the attack that had been planned. His father said in a strong tone of voice, “Alim, my son, you must be brave enough to go and fulfill the mission. You must not be a coward.” Suddenly, a strong male voice asked, “Who is more coward?” All the people who were gathered around Alim turned around to see the source of the voice they had just heard. A very tall Grim Reaper was standing there, holding his scythe. They all opened their eyes widely and fell down on their knees and began to pray and cry.

The distinguished skeleton dressed in his royal blue hooded robe simply said, “Do not be afraid, because your time has not come yet. Please, answer my question. Who is more coward: the one who decides not to fulfill a coward terrorist attack?

Or the one who forces an adolescent to kill himself and other innocent people in the name of his ideology, religious beliefs, or his God?” The Grim Reaper looked at Alim and said to him, “Alim, it was nice meeting you at the main square in your dream.”

The young man realized that the entity wearing the hooded robe had been the one he had seen after the explosion he had caused in his dream. Then the Grim Reaper looked at Alim’s father and his adult relatives and said in a deep voice, “Do not be blind! You cannot kill any human being at all! You have not created life; and, therefore, you cannot take it away from any person, no matter his culture or religious beliefs. Have you understood my words? Have I been very clear? Yes?” The mysterious entity remained there in silence for a few seconds, as if expecting an answer. “Well?” he added. In a very low voice everybody answered, “Yes!” The skeleton straightened up and said, “That is very good and wise on your part, dear people! I assume you are smart enough, because you would not like to meet God with your hands stained in blood, would you?

Think a million times before you decide to kill another human being. Bear in mind what I have just told you! Do not tempt God!” Alim and all his family members were listening to his words in silence and with respect. Then the special visitor added, “It is time for me to leave you. My colleagues and I have many things to do around the world. We will meet with you again when your departure time comes; so, be prepared to die in peace one day and reconciled with God and humanity!” Alim asked the entity in a low voice, “Did you say ‘we’?” The Grim Reaper replied, “Oh, yes, ‘we’. We are millions of legions!” At that moment seven additional Grim Reapers appeared before

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their eyes; and there was a small Grim Reaper among them. It was Ian. He approached Alim and said to him, “Be always brave, dear young man, and fight back any temptation or blind orders or commands you receive. The heads of the terrorist units of this city won’t bother you anymore. They were visited by other agents of the Grim Reaper and were convinced easily to stop their wrong doing. Well, it is time to leave you. Have a wonderful day. You are alive! Try to rest and meditate upon what you have been told. Goodbye, for now! Let’s go, guys, we have a lot of things to do.” The small Grim Reaper, Ian, seemed to be the leader of the other tall death angels who had appeared before the eyes of Alim and his family.

All the tall skeletons vanished together at the same time, after having made a bow to the young man and the members of his family, who had remained on their knees, afraid of what would happen to them. The small grim reaper had stayed in their house alone in front of them. “Please, stand up, dear people.” They obeyed his words and stood up immediately. “My name is Ian, and now I will play my violin for you. You will join me in the dance, because life has smiled at you today, and we must dance in its honor. Shall we?” The tiny Grim Reaper began to play a local dancing melody with a beautiful violin that had just appeared in his hands, and they all began to dance. The fear and sadness in their hearts had disappeared, and their bodies felt like feathers as they danced together. They would smile tenderly as they watched the little death angel dance and play his violin skillfully. When the music ended, the little skeleton made a bow and said goodbye to them, vanishing before their very eyes. On that day all newspaper headlines had something in common: no terrorist attacks had taken place in any corner of the world. And the presence of death angels was a matter that would be discussed on several television and radio programs.

Should it be called a collective hysteria phenomenon? Was it a global warning to the human race? Time would give the last response to that question which was now present in the mind of millions of people on earth.

Ian showed up where Peter George, Sunshine, Feather, and I were standing together, a parking place in the basement of a building. We were all at a parking lot of a building, in the basement.

Ian greeted us, “Hello, dear friends, I missed you when I was in the Far East. Did you miss me?” “Of course, we did, dear little brother,” Sunshine answered with a bright smile. “Peter George and I had an interesting conversation with several educational authorities here. Feather and Anna had a fruitful experience with youngsters at a local school as well. Ian, we heard that you personally persuaded several terrorists to stop their activities. Congratulations! Peace must be achieved among people that pertain to different cultures, religions, and ideologies that are sometimes

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extremely violent and do not leave space for common sense or human reasoning or understanding. It´s a tough mission, though. Peter George added, “By the way, a reform to the educational system around the world will be proposed promptly. We know, of course, that sometimes human beings are too hard-headed. However, we will be patient and see how people react upon the educational proposal to be submitted shortly for the approval of authorities worldwide.”

Chapter 12 Darkness invites Evil Actions Peter George called our attention and said to us, “Dear colleagues, we must prepare ourselves now. Tonight we and many of our colleagues around the world will have a bit of action in dark risky places around the globe, such as the place we are now. As you are well aware, we will have to teach a lesson to all those people who represent a threat to others in the darkness. In this way, they will never try again to do any harm to people by hiding in the darkness or lonely places even during daylight, because we will always be there, watching over them! Be alert now. Action will start in a few seconds.”

A young executive couple was coming down their department building in the elevator, while five gang members had managed to break into the building with a stolen bright new four-door vehicle.

There were three levels of parking lots, and the criminals had parked on the lowest level where the car of the couple was. They went out of the elevator and walked towards their car and had no idea of the danger they would be facing in a short time. The offenders appeared and threatened the young couple with guns and knives. They took their purse, car keys, wallet and some personal belongings, and then they forced the couple to get into their car. Both cars would leave the building together. They compelled the woman to sit at the front seat of one of the cars, beside the driver seat which was occupied by one of the gang members. Her boyfriend was forced to sit at the back seat between two gang members.

Many thoughts crossed the mind of the couple who had never imagined that they would face danger that day.

When all of them were inside the cars, the drivers tried to turn on the car engines in order to leave the place immediately; but the engines would not turn on. The gang members became more and more nervous and began to look around to check the presence of any other person. Suddenly, all the locks of the doors of both cars went up and all the doors opened abruptly. All passengers yelled in surprise, both the victims and the criminals. A deep silence invaded the parking place.

Four tall Grim Reapers appeared beside each car, one at each opened door. All four of us, except Ian, had turned into huge

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Grim Reapers.

Four additional colleagues of ours had appeared to give us some assistance. Peter George gave a straight order to the gang members in both cars: “Come out of the car right now! And do not try to do anything foolish or try to harm the couple, or you will regret it deeply!” I had never seen people with their eyes so wide open. The criminals obeyed Peter George’s command as humble sheep; they noticed that a small Grim Reaper with a small scythe was standing on the roof of one of the cars. Ian spoke with a strong clear voice and said, “Hello, children of God.” His words called the attention of all human beings present. Then he asked the delinquents, “Why on earth did you want to take away and harm this couple? Have you not taken from them already their cellular phones, keys, money, and jewelry? We know that your lives have been tough and that you do not have any job to earn some money to meet your basic needs; however, we are here to warn you that you must change your evil doing; otherwise, we will have to take you with us. Are you ready to come with us?

Can you face death now?” The gang members begged for mercy and promised that they would change if they were given a second chance. They threw on the floor all the things they had stolen from the couple.

Sunshine asked the delinquents, “Why do you think you are asking for mercy?” The criminals were too afraid to reply. She continued, “Fear is what has forced you to ask for mercy. Do not be afraid of us.

You should fear God and the consequences of your actions. If fright invades your heart, it is because very deep inside you there is a voice that tells you that what you are doing is wrong; otherwise, you would not fear us, unless you had been brain washed and your conscience had been annulled entirely, of course.” Then Feather added, “Try to control you evil thoughts, actions, and purposes.

Leave your bad actions behind now while you still have time to change and fight back any evil desire against people. Do your best and try to look for a job and search for spiritual guidance in your neighborhood and at your closest church or parish. Go now!” The gang members left the car they had stolen in the parking lot and ran away towards the exit doors, leaving the building quickly for good. The couple stood there in silence. One of the four Grim Reapers that had joined us in the mission spoke up and said to the couple, “Pick up your things and call your bosses. Tell them that you will be a bit late today due to the circumstances you have had to face.

Pray and be cautious of your surroundings from now on. Do not take life for granted. Nobody knows when and where your moment to depart from this world will come, so try to be alert and ready while you still breathe.” The woman said, “Thank you very much. We will always try to be ready for that moment.”

Her boyfriend was trembling and added, “Definitely!” At their words, all of us agents replied in one voice, “Good for you both!” We all bowed to them and vanished. All thieves and

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gang members around the world had learned a frightful but fruitful lesson that evening in different ways.

Darkness would not ever be an ally to any evil action again!

A Bit of Free time does not harm any Agent After the event at the parking lot was over, we appeared at a very large park and decided to take a day off; that is, a few seconds off! We walked around and enjoyed a delicious ice cream. It was a hot and sunny day, and we needed to stretch our legs. As usual, we looked like a common five-member family: a couple with her three children. At a distance, we could watch a group of children taking Tai Chi lessons. It was very interesting to observe the slow, smooth body movements which the students and teacher would make by taking each step of that martial art discipline known also as a Chinese physical exercise system for self-defense and meditation purposes.

Feather noticed that there was a little boy whose name was Andrew, who was having a hard time following the Tai Chi teacher step by step. The teacher had asked him to stand on the front row, and he would scold him continuously.

Andrew’s self-esteem was a bit low. His father was there watching him and would yell at him saying, “Be smart and follow your teacher properly.”

Feather decided to give a hand to the little boy. The rest of us remained at a certain distance to watch Feather perform the Tai Chi movements. Our colleague needed all his bones in order to guide Andrew; therefore, he turned invisible to all the people, except to the little boy who would look at him as a small Grim Reaper without any fear. Feather stood in front of the boy and said, “Listen to me carefully, Andrew. Do not be afraid. Consider me a friend of yours. Nobody can see me now, only you. I will stand in front of you, beside the teacher, showing you all my bony back body from top to bottom. I will guide you step by step as if I were your reflection. Imagine that you are watching yourself in a mirror.” Andrew opened his eyes widely, smiled broadly and said to Feather, “OK!” The Tai Chi teacher asked Andrew, “What is OK?” And the little boy replied quickly, “Nothing, Sir.” The teacher said to the group of children, “Well now, children, are you ready to start from the beginning all the set of steps to complete the Tai Chi level we have reached?” And his group of students replied, “Yes, Sir.” Feather’s royal blue hooded robe vanished and stood beside the Tai Chi teacher, all naked; that is, a bare-bone skeleton.

The clothes of the teacher did not allow Andrew to watch clearly and follow correctly the precise body movements he had to make with his arms, legs, and all his body as he performed each steps of Tai Chi. Andrew would consider the friendly small skeleton standing in front of him as his

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reflection, and he was able to follow perfectly well all the slow and smooth movements of his bones. The Grim Reaper agents were perfect skeletons, and it was easy for the little boy to follow each movement. All the parents who were watching their children applauded them. The teacher could not believe his eyes about Andrew’s performance, so he asked him to perform all the steps alone in front of all the children and parents. He was a bit afraid, but Feather reassured him by saying, “You know the Tai Chi steps, Andrew.

You have practiced at home. Just relax and follow me. Imagine that I am your skeleton.”

The little boy lost all fears and began to perform the Tai Chi movements, step by step, which he had learned and practiced at home; but this time he was happy to follow his invisible friendly skeleton whose movements were clear and simple enough to be followed and understood perfectly. Feather would transmit to the little boy’s mind what each movement represented. At the end, Andrew knew exactly how his skeleton had to move in order to make each Tai Chi step flow onto the next. All the people who were watching the little boy became hypnotized by the slow perfect movements made by him. A huge applause invaded the spot after Andrew had finished all the steps “alone” in front of all parents and children. When the little boy heard the applause, he woke up from what he thought had been a beautiful dream. He smiled broadly and bowed to the audience. Then he turned around, searching for his invisible friend who had helped him. His bony friend was standing close to a tree at a distance; he was wearing his royal blue hooded robe and was holding a small scythe. The small Grim Reaper raised his hand and waved it in a farewell gesture; then he made a bow and disappeared.

This experience would be unforgettable for little Andrew, and he would keep it inside his heart for the rest of his life, since he knew that his invisible friend would come for him some day.

Feather joined us afterwards and said, “We must practice Tai Chi, dear colleagues. It is necessary for us to relax our nerves and mind.” “It is a very good idea! Let’s start!” Ian replied. Then we all turned into grim reapers, transformed our scythes into swords, and began to perform majestically all that martial art slow and smooth body movements at an advanced level. All the people at the park began to watch us since we had decided to allow them to see us. They were like hypnotized by our movements; their eyes would dance as they followed each body movement we made with our swords. The minutes passed; and when we concluded the Tai Chi martial art movements, we made the typical short guttural sound indicating the end. Then we all vanished, and the only thing we heard that we had left behind was a loud: “oh, my God!” expressed by the viewers in the park.

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Chapter 13 Is the World Running Out of Time?

As agents we knew that in a short time some seismic movements would take place and would make people think about their lives and purpose of existence. The day had begun as a sunny day which began to lose its brightness as the hours passed. A local siren was suddenly turned on. All local citizens could hear it from a distance. It belonged to the weather center of the area. The sky had turned darker and darker locally and around the globe; strong claps of thunders could be heard.

The wind began to blow strongly. The weather conditions turned so dramatically unfavorable, that all the employers and their employees were asked through the radio and television stations to leave their working places and go home as soon as possible. School authorities were also asked to close schools and send students home earlier that day. There were no logical or scientific explanations for those weather conditions.

It was approximately mid afternoon in the western countries, when silence invaded abruptly all corners of the world. A 40second soft earthquake shook the entire planet. For obvious reasons, adults tried to control their panic; but many of them began to scream and cry. Children were also a bit afraid due the reaction of their parents and their older brothers or companions. Many people thought that their time to die had come, but they did not know that they still had to remain alive for more time, in order to change things as well as their heart, mind, and soul. The evening news announced that no damages had been reported as consequence of the earthquake. Some people stayed alert, just in case, but others forgot about the matter very soon. During the night, two more earthquakes of the same intensity shook the globe. They took place four hours apart: at midnight and at four o’clock in the morning.

All the inhabitants of the world were restless and full of anguish. It was natural for human beings to fear death under such specific circumstances, since it was difficult to establish how long an earthquake would last and how intense it could be when it started. Telephone, cellular phone, and internet connections were blocked for about one hour after each earthquake; afterwards, somehow, they had become unblocked which made it possible for people to get in touch with their loved ones locally and around the world. However, nobody could tell for sure what was really happening under the Earth’s crust. The three earthquakes that had occurred had reminded all people about their human mortality and had caused fear in their hearts. Nobody would ever be ready to die since there would always be something pending to do or to amend in life at the last minute, unless you were a chosen one.

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The next day, the headline news early morning was about the three earthquakes that had shaken the entire planet. No deaths, injuries, or damages had been reported. Among other news, one could read that the Governments and other educational authorities all over the globe were concerned about those strange apparitions in thousands of educational centers. It could not be considered a collective hysteria, as too many serious and well known highly educated men and women, at all levels, had seen those called grim reapers before their very eyes and had been deeply afraid, although it had not been their time to die. According to the news, those entities had expressed that there was great need for the Ten Key Principles of Coexistence, known by many cultures as ‘The Ten Commandments,’ to be included wisely in the educational curricula and to be displayed in all public and private schools, as well as in specific public places or institutions.

Furthermore, those entities had also stated that even though those Commandments pertained to the Christian culture and religion, they were universal and could be complemented in an edifying way with other compatible valuable principles that pertained to other religions, cultures and traditions. Most news concluded that any proposal related to any reform to the actual educational system, locally and worldwide, would hardly be accepted or approved; however, nobody could deny that humanity needed prompt assistance from above or beyond due to the high rate of crime statistics at all levels related to corruption, murder, human and labor exploitation, child abuse, domestic violence and human mistreatment, among other serious crimes!

The hours passed and the latest evening headline news announced that all the presidents of all nations had summoned a meeting for the next day, in the late afternoon.

All the members of Congress, authorities of different sectors, and all the main religious authorities would be present. Due to lack of space, not all reporters could be admitted; therefore, specific professional reporters from all news media had been called to attend.

Television news programs would speculate about a possible great reform that would be proposed to be made to the Establishment.

Unfortunately, thousands of religious and political demonstrations had already been organized around the world.

Some of them were in favor of teaching the Ten Commandments or Key Principles of Coexistence. Others, on the contrary, considered that it was a violation of their freedom of religion to teach those Principles at public and private schools. There had been street fights during those demonstrations; and the police officers and units sent had had a tough time trying to restore order. Hundreds of people had been taken to jail due to their violent actions and serious damages against innocent people, public places, churches, and private property.

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Fortunately, every now and then something curious would happen. When the police thought that the uncontrollable crowds were taking over the situation, several courteous tall grim reapers would appear and would give them a hand to spook and calm down the violent protesters.

Those mysterious visitors would simply say to the enraged mob, “Please, go home, now!” Abruptly, the crowd would freeze and stop their violent actions and rush home calmly without hesitation. Whatever those entities would pronounced would be heard by the people very close to their ears, and the chilly deadly wind blow the demonstrators felt behind their neck and along the spinal cord would cause them goose bumps and would convince them immediately not to cause any more trouble.

When the night was over, Peter George, Sunshine, Feather, Ian and I, together with more than four hundred invisible Grim Reapers, gathered inside the Congressional premises of a powerful nation. We would be present during the closed-door meeting that would take place in the late afternoon.

Newspaper reporters had informed that a similar meeting would take place in the congressional buildings located in the capital cities of the rest of the different nations, since the message received from those mysterious entities had been addressed to all the leading authorities of all countries worldwide. I thought it would be an interesting experience for us to be there and to listen to the opinions and reactions of high authorities. We could watch easily how the people in charge of organizing the meeting were doing their best to organize it efficiently.

The security guards would supervise and would be supervised at all times; and all the procedures to follow would be checked accurately, in order to ensure a safe and fruitful meeting among the President, the congressional people, other high authorities, and all the rest of the participants. People around the world had great expectations about that meeting; Thousands of people had their television set and radio on, waiting for the news, while they were doing their usual daily activities; however, the meeting itself would not be transmitted on television or radio. Only the agreements reached would be announced. The hours passed; and the participants to the important meeting began to arrive. They were greeted properly and ushered to their corresponding places. At six o’clock in the afternoon the meeting began … It would last six long hours, till midnight.

Proposal versus Imposition At midnight a newsflash appeared on television, announcing that in approximately seven to ten minutes the President would make a speech about the agreements reached and approved by

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all the participants to the meeting. Nobody had any idea of what all of the participants had gone through during those long hours of the meeting before that television news flash announcement. It had been a very shocking experience which would not ever be revealed to anyone, because all citizens would believe that their authorities had gone mad.

When all the security guards had secured all doors to avoid any interruption and had stood outside to prevent any intrusion, our Big Boss, Mr. Death, and his agents had appeared before the eyes of all the participants. At the beginning all of them were in shock, but somehow their fear was controlled.

There were more than four hundred participants; and beside each one of them, a tall Grim Reaper would be standing with his or her intimidating scythe. All the entities were dressed in a royal blue hooded cassock robe. Our Big Boss had appeared before the President in his indigo hooded ministerial cassock robe. No man or woman at the place would dare say a single word. Everyone would just wait quietly. Mr. Death greeted the Head of State courteously, “Good afternoon, Mr. President.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to meet you all in person. I am sure that you and all the participants will do your best to try to reach important agreements for the benefit of humanity and your entire society and planet.”

“Maybe you are all confused due to the situation around the globe; that is, earthquakes, unusual weather conditions, and strange apparitions of entities, who have delivered a clear message. The Ten Key Principles of Coexistence, known as the Ten Commandments by many people around the world, are necessary to all human beings, men and women. The Christian culture cannot be ignored, banned or denied anymore.

Although there have been errors, it has brought wisdom and light to millions of human beings around the world throughout history, even to those that belong to other religions and cultures. The solid foundation of the human society depends on its religion, culture, and traditions which provide universal moral values and principles; therefore, all the human laws should be a clear reflection of those Ten Key Principles of Coexistence and a clear reflection of what people wish for their future: unity and prosperity for all, not division and destruction. As leaders and authorities of your nation, you are obliged to change history, and we are here to help you. Please, listen carefully to what I will say to you, Mr. President, and to all the people who are present here today!”

Religions, Cultures, Traditions, and the Ten Key Principles of Coexistence “Sit down, all of you, and relax,” said Mr. Death to all the participants who had jumped and remained on their feet in

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silence and frozen in fright when he and we, his agents, had appeared. “You must bear in mind and in your heart that no religion or culture or tradition can exist or continue existing if it is against any of those Ten Key Principles of coexistence which support human rights. All of you here know that wrong and evil doing must be controlled, subjugated, and stopped through perfect laws; and it is in your hands to make that possible. You were chosen by your people and whatever decision you make or agreement you reach will affect their body, soul, and mind. That is why we are here to talk to you and propose that you revise and make all the necessary changes to both your Constitution and your laws for the benefit of all your people and the people from other countries. We have taken into consideration the globalization you wish to achieve in order to improve --we assume-- the living conditions of all the human beings that exist and to protect the environment and species in every corner of this wonderful planet. All of you are here right now for a very important and special purpose.

None of you can deny that the spiritual world does exist. You can see us! Let’s say that through all the similar meetings that are taking place in other nations right now, with the participation of all their high authorities, we are performing a sort of unified global meeting, so that all of you, leading authorities of all nations, will receive the same message or proposal.”

One congressman raised his hand. Mr. Death looked at him and asked him, “What do you wish to say, John?” The congressman stood up and said, “With all respect, Sir, you are asking us to revise and make all the necessary changes to our Constitution and Laws; but what about the freedom we have established in our society? We cannot force people to learn, accept, and apply the Ten Commandments that belong to a particular religion.

What will people from other religions say, polytheist and monotheist, including atheists? Don’t you think that we would be violating their freedom of religion and their right to choose freely their own spiritual path?” Our Big Boss appeared beside the congressman and said, “Dear John, we know that human freedom, for both men and women, is sacred; however, it needs limits or some restriction. Nobody can deny any child or person his or her right to learn by heart those Ten Key Principles of Coexistence which are simple, universal, and common to all true religions and true cultures; that is to say, life and edifying cultures and not death and destructive cultures. Children are like seeds, and they do not come to this world knowing what is right or what is wrong. Tell me, please, which of these Ten Key Principles attacks or is against freedom or against any good religious or moral principle contained in other religions, monotheist or polytheist or even atheist groups? Bear in mind that there are false religions as well as other misleading, harmful, and negative cultures and traditions in this world that violate the human rights and

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oblige people to live in ignorance, in order to subjugate them in a selfishness way. What do those Ten Key Principles of Coexistence state, dear congressman? I will mention them to you all, and when I finish, let me know which Principle cuts off your freedom as human beings. The list is short, simple, precise and very clear.”

Mr. Death began to recite the list of the Ten Key Principles of Coexistence: “First, love God above all. Second, you shall not take the name of God in vain. Third, remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day. Fourth, honor your father and mother. Fifth, you shall not kill. Sixth, you shall not commit adultery. Seventh, you shall not steal. Eighth, you shall not bear false witness or lie against your neighbor or any person. Ninth, you shall not covet or long for your neighbor’s spouse. And Tenth, you shall not covet or yearn for your neighbor’s goods. That is all human beings should learn by heart since childhood. Are those principles of coexistence so bad to be learned by all human beings? What would happen if you had been born in a polytheist religious family, with several deities, and wanted to feel more comfortable with regard to these Ten Key Principles? You could simply pluralize the word “God” of the first three Principles. Furthermore, if you pertained to an agnostic group, due to your life background or subjective personal inner feelings, you would be free as a young man or woman not to consider the first three Principles related to God; but you would have to learn, obey and respect the other seven Principles of Coexistence. In that way, you would, in other terms, love God or the cosmic order or creation by loving and respecting the rights and dignity of all human beings and all creation.”

“Each human being, man or woman, is a unique complex unit composed of body, soul and mind; and to make things more complicated, those three components are also complex. You usually consider only two, the body and the soul of human beings; that is, flesh and spirit; however, the human mind, as stated in many encyclopedias you may know, is a complex of cognitive or related-to-knowledge faculties that enables consciousness, perception, judgement, reasoning, and thinking. All three are interrelated and affect one another. A discussion on the complexity of human nature would be endless or eternal; and we you do not have much time for that since we have not come here to explain that. The main goal we want you to reach is that you do not let your children and the people under your ruling follow blind, selfish paths of life to satisfy the insatiable human hunger for wealth and pleasure, based on greed, pride, gluttony, wrath, envy, laziness, and lust, causing pain and suffering to themselves and to the body, soul, and mind of other human beings.”

By then the congressman John, who had raised his hand and stood up to

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make some comments on the subject had sat down quietly without adding anything else.

“All the doctrines of the different religions have the right to be respected and considered as long as they do not exclude or violate any of the Ten Principles of Coexistence. According to Christian beliefs, those Principles or Commandments were revealed and given by God to humanity. You may believe it or not; however, they should not be limited to Christians only. If people have been brought up in a different culture or religion, they cannot say that any of those Ten Key Principles attacks or limits their actions, their freedom, their reasoning, or their spiritual relationship with the divine forces they have learned to love and worship.”

“Who does not need or want to receive the following gifts, opportunities and capacities from Heaven or from society: love, joy, peace, kindness, mercy, understanding, loyalty, attention, clear thinking, compassion, friendship, protection, good mental and physical health, good education, strength, power of decision and action, courage, freedom, wisdom, intelligence, good advice, science, knowledge, discernment, patience, tolerance, happiness, prosperity, good work and fair labor conditions, fair rest, balance, justice, tactfulness, sensitivity, common sense, temperance, prudence, obedience, respect, dignity, praying capacity, hope, faith, humbleness, and charity; and, of course, self-control and continence, among others I may have omitted to avoid taking more of your precious time on earth? Those gifts, graces, virtues, opportunities and capacities are granted from Heaven and from men and women who occupy key places in society and who were created to be the instruments or the channels of God to make it possible for other people to obtain those precious invaluable gifts.”

“No human being is born perfect or a saint; there are mysterious exceptions, of course. In order to become an instrument of God, all people require scientific and spiritual education, including prayer, which no authority has the right to deny to any man or woman, boy or girl. Human beings are vulnerable to inner and external evil forces; there is always a continuous battle between good and evil inside the human heart or soul. That is why the supernatural world does exist; you need its assistance, and you cannot omit it or try to erase it from the life, mind, and heart of your people. All of you will die one day; that is why you must do your best to the people you rule; and you must help them to develop through the laws or regulations you will formulate, approve, revise, and amend based on those invaluable Key Principles I have mentioned. You must try to correct any mistake you may have made when you passed laws that brought chaos and disorder to your society with the excuse of protecting the freedom of people. If you do not do anything at all, you may be putting your future at risk.”

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Mr. Death remained in silence for some seconds and said, “As you have been told, we have come here to propose not to impose the application of those Ten Key Principles of Coexistence in the revision and formulation of your Constitution and Laws. In addition, we are also proposing that you teach the Ten Commandments or Key Principles of Coexistence to your children during all their school years in every corner of your nation and around the world. As your children mature, the teaching of those Principles should expand and deepened since their validity or legitimacy would not ever expire along their lives at all levels of society. It is also advisable that you consider displaying those Key Principles in specific places as a reminder, since people tend to have bad memory and tend to forget too easily. This would ensure a strong and powerful moral and spiritual foundation for your children who represent your future. Your laws must reflect that solid moral and spiritual foundation. You have plenty of invaluable religious sources of which you should take advantage, not only Christian, of course; you will have in your hands the opportunity to change history and assure a balanced spiritual and material life for all humanity.”

Our Big Boss walked towards the President and said, “Dear Mr. President, the moment to leave you all has come. Sorry to have taken so much of your precious time, but I follow heavenly orders; and I ask your forgiveness for being too redundant or repetitive in some points. Your time to act is now, not tomorrow. You still have enough time to talk and discuss what we have proposed. It is in your hands now to change your present and, therefore, your future. As I said before, a similar meeting is taking place in all corners of the world, and the same proposal has been submitted. Our mission here is not over. Please, bear in mind that we have not talked about blind square-headed or fundamentalist moral and religious principles. You must all be very intelligent, wise, prudent and cautious in that sense, not weak or ambiguous. No fanaticism should ever be allowed to invade the mind of children and adults. Clear thinking is required. You are leaders because you were chosen by your people and by God, and you must prove to your entire nation that you are trustworthy because of what you intend to bring to your society: real and strong confidence in a brighter future to come. You must plant good seeds in the heart of your children and grown up people.

Goodbye for now.” Mr. Death looked at all the participants, made a bow, straightened up, and vanished. A strong chilly wind invaded the premises, and all of us, agents of the Grim Reaper, disappeared as well.

The President took a deep breath and said, “Dear colleagues, today we have been witnesses of the supernatural world that exists beyond the human life, and I think we have enough time to prepare the proper text of the proposal for a new Law to be

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announced to our whole nation later tonight. We must be strong and brave enough to prepare and approve a project of Law that will state that the Ten Principles of Coexistence or the Ten Commandments need to be taught to our children at school. Those universal Principles will also have to be displayed in specific public places to remind all people of their everlasting validity and inviolability, no matter the religion, culture, or tradition, since we human beings --as the huge entity said-- tend to be forgetful with regard to the important values and principles that should reign in our society. Shall we start?” All the participants began to discuss and work hard in groups, in order to formulate the project of law.

All people around the world were waiting for the latest news before their television set; suddenly, a second newsflash appeared on the screen announcing that the President would address a speech to the entire nation from the Congress premises at any minute now. Three minutes passed, and the President of each nation around the world appeared before television cameras to give a speech and began by saying: “Dear citizens, more than half of the population in our country has elected me as your President and leader, and I must count on your trust and support; all Congress authorities have also been elected by you; and all the participants to this meeting have agreed to support and approve a Law Project order to look over and make all the necessary amendments to the Constitution of our nation and all the laws of our system to make them perfect. We have considered that the Ten Key Principles of Coexistence, known by many people as the Ten Commandments, will be the basis of our Constitution and all the laws that exist in our society. As corruption and disorder have reached all levels, we have considered the urgent need to include in our educational curricula the teaching of these Key Principles of Coexistence at all public and private schools, as well as the importance of prayer and universal religious studies, beginning from the earliest school years to the conclusion of High School years.

These Ten Key Principles of Coexistence will be displayed at all schools and in proper public places and institutions to remind us all that those Principles are sacred and cannot be violated by anyone.”

The President continued, “We have also taken into account the fact that these Ten Key Principles of Coexistence are universal and common to all religions and cultures, polytheist, monotheist, and agnostic groups.

These Key Principles aim at achieving real peace, real prosperity, and genuine order among people. Therefore, in approximately seven months this revision and amendment to our Constitution and Laws will be expected to have concluded in order to have an almost perfect Constitution and almost perfect Laws whose articles will contain all the necessary amendments in one, two or maximum four paragraphs that will make all laws

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clear and simple to understand to prevent any wrong or evil interpretation, manipulation or ambiguity. That is all for now, my dear citizens. Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Goodnight and sweet dreams!”

As the President was leaving, a newspaper reporter asked him, “Mr. President, does the government want to force or impose upon people the Ten Commandments that pertain to a particular culture or religion, such as Christianity?” The President answered with a question, “Do you know the Ten Commandments, young man?” The reporter replied, “Well, sir, I do not remember all of them right now.” The President added, “Believe my words when I say that the Ten Commandments or Key Principles of Coexistence are universal and common to all religions and cultures. I refer to true life religions and true life cultures and traditions. If any religion or culture or tradition rejects any of those Key Principles, it should be considered false, because it aims at manipulating men’s and women’s behavior and conscience to exploit them and prevent them from developing fully in the material and spiritual world.

All men and women should learn since they are very young that they need those Key Principles to live in harmony with others; and they should also learn that everybody has intelligence, freedom, and free will as well as rights and obligations to cope with life.”

Then the President raised his hand and said goodbye to the reporter and to all the rest of the reporters who wanted to talk him. He turned around and began to leave the premises protected by his body guards. However, on his way out, he stopped abruptly and turned around slowly to watch all the people who were looking at him with curiosity. He decided to walk towards the reporters and the other people in the audience and said, “Dear citizens, we have forgotten for too long the expression ‘fear of God,’ and it is time to reconsider our position before the eyes of God or that mysterious source that provides life to us all and has created our world and the beauty we find in it and in nature. Do you think that the Big Bang was enough to give birth to all human feelings and spiritual paths that bring love, peace, order, and harmony to people’s existence? Look around you, and you will see that we have allowed our children and adult people to forget what ‘Fear of God’ really means. We should love the spiritual source of life and love it so deeply, in order to fear any daring pride on our part to challenge God or whomever you may consider your god or the spiritual force that rules your lives.”

A young man from the audience raised his hand unexpectedly and shook it in the air to call the President’s attention and said, “Let me ask you something, Mr. President, please!” The Head of State was tired; but he stretched his arm towards him, inviting him to ask whatever he wanted. The man asked him, “Should we allow governments to turn into a sort

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of Holy Inquisition?” The President smiled at him and answered calmly, “We won’t turn into a tribunal or violate the privacy of individuals. We will always protect the human rights of all men, women, and children based on the Ten Key Principles of Coexistence which are universal and common to all. Fear of God will play a key role to change history. You will find in the Holy Scriptures of Christianity what ‘fear of God’ really means. Read the book of Proverbs and the psalms. They state that fear of God is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise discipline and wisdom; fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and all who follow God’s Commands and precepts or the Key Principles of Coexistence will have good understanding. I think that we are smart enough to translate the word ‘fear’ into what we know as respect, reverence, and honor. Please, bear in mind that there is no fear in love. The Ten Commandments or Key Principles of Coexistence will lead us to value two co-existing truths: the ‘Holy Fear of God” and the ‘Love of God;’ and if you do not believe in or love or fear any God or Gods, at least fear your destiny if chaos decided to rule! Well, dear people, I must leave now, and I am sorry for that! Before leaving let me ask you all: Were you afraid of dying during any of the earthquakes that took place? It is natural to fear death! However, should we really fear death or fear God or the consequences of our actions before His eyes? A general silence invaded the place. “Goodbye, again, dear citizens.” The President turned around and left the premises.

On the next day the headlines on the newspapers were the following: “Promulgation of a new Law worldwide: All Heads of State and Congressional authorities of all nations of the world have agreed to look over and make all the necessary amendments to their Constitutions and Laws. They will be revised and formulated based on the Ten Commandments of the Christian culture. They have considered and established that the Ten Commandments are the Key Principles of Coexistence among all people and that they are universal and common to all religions, cultures and traditions that respect the human rights of all men, women, and children. The Ten Commandments will be taught at all schools; and they will be displayed in specific public places and institutions as an edifying reminder to encourage people towards their development, improvement, and perfection at all levels, because people’s memory is fragile and tends to forget. The Ten Key Principles will be considered sacred and inviolable.

The deadline to complete the revision and amendments of the Laws will be seven months.” All the people who would read or listen to the headlines news on the newspaper or on television or on radio felt strange and asked themselves, “Why have politicians changed their policy to keep the State and the Church apart in their own jurisdiction? Is something going to happen to the world and should people be prepared for an

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unexpected event?” As agents of the Grim Reaper we could read the thoughts of people, and we could understand their feelings and confusion. Humanity and its reasoning had to be patient in accepting things as they would come up.

Furthermore, as agents, we would have to play an important role in order to control those people who would not accept easily the teaching of the Ten Key Principles of Coexistence that would definitely bring stability and order to the material world and to the spiritual world of all men and women.

Chapter 14 Simple and Complex Tasks for the Agents Mr. Death decided to send specific messages to all the teams of his agents, and the Dotties would be the only ones authorized to deliver them personally. We never thought we would receive such peculiar instructions …

The Bosses’ Chairs When Ian arrived, he said to us, “Dear colleagues, I have an important message for you from Mr. Death. Today we are going to discover how our Big Boss likes to surprise people, including his agents. We all know that when human beings are tired, after having been on their feet for a number of minutes or, unfortunately, for several hours, they need to rest and require a chair or stool to place their buttocks, commonly known as ‘butt’ or bottom. Many studies have found a higher rate of cumulative trauma disorders in some professions of the living world, such as cashiers, hotel receptionists, guards, etc. Some jobs require high levels of upper extremity activity and/or lower extremity activity; and the common areas of discomfort are the neck, shoulders, elbows, back, legs and feet, of course. Prolonged standing for those working people can also lead to back pain and may cause discomfort and health problems in the legs, knees and feet, and varicose veins. Further risk to the back may also be caused from moving packages or stuff that can be too heavy and/or to large.”

“We, as agents of the Grim Reaper, are all well aware that some managers do not pay any attention to those ‘details’ related to the working conditions in their stores, hotels, etc.

Therefore, we are going to do something very interesting today related to the working conditions people face nowadays, because some of those labor conditions deteriorate health, a fact which attracts ‘death.’ That is the reason why we will take with us all the comfortable chairs of the managers and bosses around the world, including lawyers and congressmen, labor authorities, high authorities and executives, at all levels, who do not care much about fighting in favor of giving all workers at least a comfortable chair or

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stool when they must spend several minutes or hours on their feet in their working places. Lawmakers should bear those details in mind. Unfortunately, many of them as well as owners or bosses of large corporations think that placing the bottom on a chair or stool denotes laziness; and we are going to prove to them how wrong they are. Shall we see now how they react when there are no chairs available for them?

Let’s snap our fingers, my dear colleagues. We won’t be the only ones to snap the fingers worldwide!”

A clicking sound invaded the ears of thousands of businessmen, lawyers, congressmen, heads of police stations and security companies, as well as the ears of thousands of bosses from most hotel chains, large and small stores, and many other companies or corporations, including the national and the international labor organizations that are supposed to protect workers’ rights for good working conditions.

Before they had even noticed it, they were sitting on the floor without having hurt their butt or back, of course! Their reaction was common and obvious worldwide. They all went out of their office asking, “What happened with my chair?” All their chairs had vanished, including their chairs at home. Some of them had even appeared on the floor before the eyes of their secretaries or assistants or employees, who did not understand what was going on, since most of them had their chairs in their proper places. They brought comfortable chairs for the bosses to sit down; however, those chairs placed for their boss would also vanish. They had to rest their buttocks on their desks or any place available! Twentyfour hours passed without having a comfortable chair for bosses or managers to sit. “Where had all those chairs gone when we snapped our fingers?” I asked my team members with full concern. Sunshine answered, “Somewhere beyond!” That evening the headlines news was obvious: “All bosses have lost their chairs!” For four days thousands of bosses had to suffer a bit. On the fifth day, at the beginning of working hours, all the agents of the Grim Reaper sent back all the chairs that had vanished to their owners with a large note: “Did your legs, feet, back and other parts of your body ached?

Be kind and buy suitable chairs to your workers who must remain on their feet for one, two and more hours! If you do not do so, you may loose your chair again for ever!” The note was singed by ‘Mr. Death’ and had a small golden scythe printed on it. In less than one week a new Law was passed stating: ‘All workers who must work or spend time on their feet must have a comfortable chair or stool handy in their working place, so that they may rest when they need to do so.

The features of the chairs must ensure good health and good working conditions.’ Thousands of Inspectors were sent to all stores, corporations, banks, hotels, etc, to supervise the purchase of proper chairs or stools for all workers or

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employees who would require it. A telephone number for complaints had been made available for working people to call and denounce any kind of abuse from their bosses or corporations. Healthy working conditions were a serious and important matter which people, especially lawmakers and managers, should not ever underestimate! While thousands of bosses had been suffering a bit during those four days, we, agents, were really busy doing many other important things related to our mission.

Checkmate Peter George was sent to a hospital to pick up the soul of an eight-year-old boy who was ill and close to death; however, this little boy was too clever to give up his life and surrender easily. Timothy was the name of the boy, and he was wide awake with a chess game ready to be played in front of him. As Peter George showed up in his room with his official uniform but in flesh, he noticed that the boy was fully conscious on his bed, waiting for him. He was ready to play with Peter George for his life. He was alone because his mother had been called to the doctor’s office for a little while, and he was not afraid of being alone. Timothy looked at our colleague straight in the eyes and said, “I have been waiting for you; but before you can take me, you must play chess with me. If I win, I will stay in this world for many years.” Peter George was surprised to see that little boy’s determination to live.

The agents of the Grim Reaper would simply obey Mr. Death’s commands; however, this time Peter George felt inside his heart something strange. He heard the voice of our Big Boss saying, “Play chess with him; God demands it!” Peter George bowed at the little boy and sat on his bed to play chess. Time stood still as they played and moved the pieces on the chessboard. The minutes were long enough for both of them to study the best strategy to move the pieces and win the game.

Timothy was a brilliant boy, so was the agent sent for him. The moment of concluding the game was approaching. It was the little boy’s turn. He moved his piece, closed his eyes full with tears, without letting go the piece he had moved. At that precise moment, Ian knocked at the door and appeared inside the room. “Hello, Peter George. Hello, Tim. I think the game is over, isn’t it?” Timothy opened his eyes widely when he heard Ian’s voice. Both chess players looked at the new tiny visitor dressed in a royal blue hooded robe; then they both looked at each other straight in the eyes, and then they both looked at the chessboard. Timothy had made the last winning move.

Peter George was in shock. Even the little boy was in shock, because he had not noticed that he had the key chess piece held tight within his little fingers, shaking. Timothy could not understand what had happened; but he did not hesitate to shout, “Checkmate!” The boy had won the game. Peter George

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had lost it. He exclaimed, “What? It cannot be!” Ian said, “Let’s say that our Big Boss is full of surprises! Shall we go?” Peter George smiled at the little boy and said, “You won this time.”

And Timothy said, “No, Sir, God helped me win.” Big Bone asked tenderly, “Are you saying you cheated me?” The little boy smiled and replied, “No, Sir, life cheated death!” Then he began to laugh with some tears falling from his eyes. Ian and Peter George began to laugh as well. Before leaving the room, both agents bowed and Big Bone added, “See you … in 80 years, Tim.” And the boy replied, “I will be waiting for you for the next Checkmate.” When the agents vanished, Timothy’s mother opened the door and asked her son tenderly, “Do you want to play chess, my prince.” “No thanks, mom, I need to rest now. Sit beside me, please. I must tell you that I won’t die till I am 88 years old. Do not worry; in two or three days we may leave this hospital. The latest results of the exams will be good enough to release me from this place for a long time, mom.”

The boy felt deep asleep and four days later he went home, completely recovered.

Do not try to hurt anyone, especially if you think she is alone!

A hard working young woman whose name was Victoria had caught the last train to go home, and she was completely alone in the carriage with two men who were sitting far at the other end of the train wagon. The trip home would take about forty minutes; and she would have to walk five blocks from the last station to reach home. She was really afraid of those men and their intentions. She could perceive danger and, unfortunately, she was right this time. Both men were cruel delinquents. They stood up and walked towards the place where she had sat down. When they were a few seats away from the young woman, another female voice was heard: “Good evening, gentlemen.” Both men stood still and turned their heads away from the sight of Victoria. A skinny tall nun had greeted them, and she was sitting at the seat beside the train window, in the same seat row the young woman had sat down. Victoria was sitting at the corridor seat, and she was quite surprised to see the nun, whom she had not seen and was one seat away from her beside the window. The nun was reading a newspaper. Silence invaded the place where these four people –two criminals, a laywoman, and a nun— were. The skinny tall nun asked politely to both men “Please, dear children of God, What can I do for you? Do you need something? Do you want to ask me something specific?”

Sunshine looked great wearing that nun´s habit. Her height was a bit intimidating, though. The eyeglasses she was wearing made her beautiful blue-violet eye color stand out.

One of the two men said with a sinister smile on his face, “We just have what we need: two beautiful women for company.”

Perceiving Victoria’s fear, our colleague said immediately,

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“Thank you, gentlemen, for coming close to us. Haven’t you read the latest news? Lots of Grim reapers are appearing everywhere! Aren’t you afraid that they may show up here?”

Both delinquents felt a cold wind blow behind their neck. The air turned chilly around them. Victoria remained in silence, because she was very frightened. Sunshine looked at her female companion and said, “Relax, dear young lady. Do not be afraid. They won’t hurt you. They can’t.” At that moment, one of the men yelled at Sunshine, “What are you saying? We need to have fun, and we are going to have it right now!” The skinny nun, before their eyes, turned into a huge intimidating Grim Reaper with a long scythe standing by her side and said, “Really?” The eyes of both criminals opened so wide that one could think that their eyes would jump out of their eye sockets. Victoria got scared when she looked at both men and put both hands on her chest. Then she turned her head to watch the skinny tall nun. There she was, a sweet nun looking at her newspaper, showing no fear at all. “Dear boys, you should fear God,” she said calmly. “What would happen if suddenly all the seats of this wagon were occupied by Grim Reapers? Would you be afraid?” By the expression on their faces, Victoria noticed that the criminals were extremely afraid of the nun, who did not inspire her any fear at all. At that moment, only the delinquents could see all the seats of the train wagon fully occupied by Grim Reapers watching them.

“Dear young woman, what do you think Grim Reapers would do to these two naughty men?” Sunshine asked Victoria as she closed the newspaper she was apparently reading. “I have heard that they have stopped people from hurting others.” She replied. The sweet skinny nun smiled at her and said, “Exactly!

You are very well informed.” Then she turned her face to look at both evil men and said, “It is right what she has just said.

Grim Reapers are showing up all around the world, giving a hand to innocent people who are at risk.” The criminals could not say a word. They stood still and in silence.

Then the mysterious nun stretched her arm, pointing at the two most distant seats where both delinquents had been sitting before and said harshly, “Go back to your places!” They obeyed like sheep and walked slowly to their places, watching all the Grim Reapers that were around them on all the seats that had been empty. As agents we knew that in the eyes of Victoria, all the seats were still unoccupied. Both men thought that they would be chopped into pieces by those entities. They heard the voice of the nun saying, “You are right in your thoughts! Next time it will be that way! Convert while you still have time on earth.” Victoria looked at Sunshine and asked her, “Who are you, really?” “Dear, Victoria, I am someone consecrated to God.” “How do you know my name?” She asked the nun. “Well, to be honest with you, I am an agent. My name is Sunshine, and I came here to give you a hand.” At that moment the train arrived at the last station. “I will accompany you

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home. Do not be afraid!” When the train stopped, Victoria left the wagon and noticed that both men had remained inside it.

The conversation they would have with the other grim reapers would make them change for good till the end of their lives.

Sunshine accompanied the young woman up to her house. When Victoria was at the porch, ready to open the door with her keys, she turned around to say goodbye to the mysterious skinny nun.

“Thank you very much, Sister Sunshine, for everything.” The sweet nun replied, “You’re welcome, dear. See you in many years. Enjoy life!” A few seconds passed before the mysterious nun turned into a distinguished tall Grim Reaper that bowed at her and vanished into thin air. Victoria would never forget this experience in her entire life; she had been saved by a real Grim Reaper!

Run for your life … if you can!

In the living world, human beings cannot control the increase of the criminal rate on the streets; however, we agents have been sent here to be of some assistance. When there is no police available, there are times when we can be of some help.

Be careful when you leave work late at night. Pay attention to your surroundings and try to move around with the company of someone if necessary. Do not choose lonely short cuts when you walk or drive your car. We can be good company, though; but do not tempt fate.

It was one o’clock at night, and a waitress whose name was Ingrid had finished working and had left the restaurant where she worked. Ingrid was walking on the street alone, a bit afraid, of course. Her apartment was about thirteen blocks away from her working place. At a distance she could see that there were a few people walking on the streets. As she walked towards her home, she noticed that some people were walking behind her, at a close distance. She turned around and saw three young men, members of a gang, behind her. They began to walk quickly and got closer. Ingrid feared for her life, and she began to run automatically. She was agile and ran so quickly that it was hard for them to catch her.

Ingrid turned to the right at the corner and tried to run faster to get home safe; however, in less than two seconds someone put a hand on her mouth, grabbed her gently but strongly from the waist, and pulled her against a dark empty space on a wall. She heard a male voice in her ear saying, “Stay still, please, do not move or scream; they would have caught you before you had reached home.” She noticed that another woman, exactly like her, had replaced her and had continued running on the street. The three young men had run after her.

The woman who was being chased turned right into a blind alley, and the delinquents chased her into that alley, standing

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at the entrance of the dead end alley and thinking that she was an easy prey now. The person who had grabbed Ingrid and had somehow saved her said, “Do not worry; she will take care of them. I will accompany you to your place and leave you there.”

He let her loose and added, “Please, try to be careful next time you leave your working place. You´d better ask your employer to provide you with some security, assigning someone to accompany you.” The young woman turned around to look at the man who was talking to her and who had held her tight and had released her. She saw a radiant tall man with big violet eyes talking to her. He was wearing casual clothes and said, “Do not be afraid. My name is Peter George.” Somehow she was convinced that he would not hurt her. “Thank you. My name is Ingrid Burns. But, who are you? What are you doing here?” She asked nervously. Our colleague answered straight forward, “I am just a passer-by who noticed that you were in trouble and needed some assistance. Do you want me to accompany you to your place and leave you there?” The young woman could not reply, and then he added, “Shall we go?” She agreed and both began to walk towards Ingrid’s home. A few seconds later, and after having taken just five to seven steps on the street, she appeared in front of the main door of the building where she lived. She was surprised and turned around to see whether the tall mysterious man was still there by her side; and there he was, so distinguished and upright, a bit farther from her down the stairs of the building. He said tenderly, “Goodbye for now, Ingrid. My colleague needs me right now.”

He bowed and when he straightened up, he turned into a very tall grim reaper and vanished into thin air. The young woman felt goose bumps all over her back and rushed inside the building after making the sign of the Cross.

Peter George appeared in the dead alley where the three delinquents had cornered the poor innocent vulnerable woman they had chased. He stood behind them, watching and listening to them. Their attitude was so arrogant, and their words against her were so nasty and cruel. Those young men did not have any idea who that woman really was. It was I! I had turned into the clone of Ingrid, and I looked exactly like her.

They thought they had everything under their control. One of the gang members began to laugh and said, “You are a good runner, baby; but you made a terrible mistake when you came into this dead end alley.” I was at the end of the alley showing my back to them, raising both of my hands; then I turned around. When they saw my attitude, they walked towards me slowly; then they stopped and stood at about four meters away from me. “What is a lonely woman doing on the street at this time of the night?” Another member of the gang asked her.

I lowered my arms and replied, “Searching for people like you to teach them a lesson and seek your conversion; that is, change to the good path!”

They began to laugh and approached me with sinister intentions. When they were about

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one and a half meters away from me, I turned into a huge Grim Reaper with a sharp blade scythe by my side, my official uniform, and no flesh! The three guys panicked and decided to run for their lives; however, when they turned around, they found another agent at the entrance of the alley. A few seconds later, three more agents of our team appeared, Feather and Sunshine, and a little Grim Reaper, too, who would play the yo-yo at the entrance of the alley while the rest of us would take care of the bad guys.

All three young men wet themselves and kneeled down before us, begging for mercy. I yelled at them, asking them, “Why do you attack women and innocent people? Why are you so cowards? If a potential victim of yours had had a gun and shot you to death, then you would have reconsidered the value of life, wouldn’t you? You have been in jail so many times, and the legal system has allowed you to go free and keep on committing more felonies. We will send you back to jail, and your record will have all the necessary signatures to keep you inside for a fair long time. Nobody will hurt you there; and while you serve time in jail, you will be able to read good books that will help you meditate upon your past errors and follow the path of good; you will also be trained in order to earn money to improve your living conditions. You will be given a second chance, young men. If you ever try to attack another human being after you are released from jail, we will meet you again and will have to chop your heads off without mercy!

Please, take those three suitcases on the floor in front of each one of you. Those are the pieces of evidence required to send you to court and prosecute you. Shall we go now to the closes police station? Trust us, you will not regret it.” All four of us accompanied the delinquents invisibly to the closest police station, where a lawyer was waiting for them.

He would take care of them from there on. At that very moment in different corners of the globe, other agents of the Grim Reaper were also teaching a fruitful lesson to those coward criminals whose victims usually belonged to the most vulnerable group of humanity, women and children.

As the number of people in prison began to increase dramatically from one day to the other, the Grim Reaper’s agents were forced to take over all the necessary paper work to release innocent people from jail and keep guilty people behind bars. All the records of the prisons worldwide related to the wrongfully convicted or falsely accused people were placed on top of the desk of the corresponding authorities or officials in charge for immediate release action.

A page on top of the records had been stamped with the words: INNOCENT / MUST BE RELEASED! And a solid backup explanation would be included to support the immediate release of the innocent person, together with all the necessary seals and signatures from high authorities. There

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would be a courteous invisible Grim Reaper beside the desk of those people in charge, in order to ensure the fastest release of the innocent people and to provide them with a check for a reasonable amount of money that would allow them to start a new life, buy a new place to live, start a business, or study a career to begin a trade or get a good job. Our Big Boss had allowed only those authorities to see his mysterious agents sitting or standing beside their desks, so that they would feel stimulated to perform a quick and efficient work to release innocent people in the shortest possible time.

The latest headline news regarding the release of thousands of innocent people from jail would call the attention of many citizens who would ask themselves where the money had come from to support those people who had left prison. Many tax payers were afraid that there would not be enough money to support them and that the public budget would be at risk.

Fortunately, several private companies, as well as many wealthy and powerful people around the world had contributed with large funds to support them.

Several governments had also contributed since their Justice Department had wrongly convicted many people and had sent them to jail.

There were several poor nations whose governments could not provide too much money to the wrongly convicted people who would be released shortly from prison to begin a new life. However, large amounts of money would also be provided or donated anonymously to support those people that would be released in those poor nations. It was very pleasant to watch how happy innocent people felt when they were informed that they could leave prison immediately or shortly, especially when they were going to receive a check before leaving, for an amount that they had never dreamed of. Outside of the prison premises, members of the families and friends of the released people would be waiting for them and would take care of them for some time to help them get accustomed to the outside world and achieve the proper emotional balance required to start a new life. We had called by phone those parents, friends, and family members related to them one week in advance of their release, so that they would prepare themselves and their places to accommodate the released person as a member of a family. It had been a very busy but rewarding period of time.

As agents of Mr. Death we could not stop our mission and would have to get ready to face a difficult but very important challenge which could not be postponed any longer‌ Unavoidable Matter to attend: Rape, Pornography and Sexual Exploitation of women, adolescents, and children Peter George, Sunshine, Feather, Ian and I met in front of a small restaurant. Ian said, “My dear colleagues, all of you

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know that today all agents of the Grim Reaper are going to visit all the criminals related to rape, pornography, and sexual exploitation of defenseless human beings.

Hundreds of thousands of evil men do not suspect that their time for committing those terrible crimes is almost over. Today is going to be a sad and a sort of bloody day and night for rapists and the owners and clients of that evil industry. All agents are ready to punish them and to take over those places in all continents of the Earth where women and children are raped and sexually exploited and used in the dark world of pornography. Let’s go. Prepare yourselves! By the end of this task, you will never be the same!”

Our appearance that day was totally different. All of us, including Ian, looked like huge spooky Grim Reapers whose appearance and attitude were really frightening. Feather and I were ten years old; but that was an earthly age, since we had upon our shoulders and our souls five hundred more years of knowledge and training from the afterlife. Any person who would meet one of us would consider himself doomed to die of a heart attack; however, the heart attack would not be enough to kill anyone since it would be a soul’s heart attack; and it would only provoke extreme remorse. People involved in the crime of rape and in the dark business of pornography and sexual exploitation would learn without dying what ‘Wrath of God’ really meant. All of them had to be given a second last chance, though, and it did not matter how evil their actions had been. Nevertheless, a deep scar would remain on their memory and their conscience and their soul.

Sunshine, with great pain and full concern, said to us, “Nowadays rape and assault statistics figures around the world are shocking. Every minute someone is raped, and it is incredible that in those countries that are considered ‘advanced,’ the rates of that crime are the highest!

Furthermore, I have learned from a report that prostitution and people trafficking is the third most lucrative black-market trade after gunrunning and drug dealing in the world of the living. Gangs of the organized crime use the internet to communicate and maximize their earnings. Most of the victims are women, children and youngsters who are forced to work in brothels after being smuggled into a country; they come from different nations and are sold to pimps and brothelkeepers; then they are forced to work against their will for little or no income under threat of violence against them and their families. Can you imagine that there is a booming demand for prostitutes? Would you believe that in the 21st century women are trafficked into powerful nations of the world for sexual slavery? So many women, children, and adolescents are at risk of commercial sexual exploitation at any given time due to drug abuse, homelessness, or other factors. The sex trade industry in all nations have its days counted. Head of

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States as well as law and order authorities are working hard to control this problem, but they need our help. Although they have not asked for it, we are going to act now and teach all those evil people an unforgettable lesson!”

Our team arrived at a brothel, in a well-known large city, together with other teams of our colleagues. Each of the clients and brothel keepers would face a terrible physical and spiritual punishment applied by a huge Grim Reaper.

Feather appeared beside a client who was about to harm a girl and said to him firmly, “Do not put your filthy hands on that girl! You have sexually abused so many innocent human beings that you will have to pay for that.” The man screamed when he saw Feather as a huge unmerciful Grim Reaper ready to chop off all his body into pieces with a long sharp scythe. As soon as Feather appeared in the room, the girl had felt profoundly asleep, completely unaware of what would happen, as if she had taken a magical sleeping potion. No victim or potential victim of rapists or of those in that dark industry would see or listen to any screams or cries caused by the punishment applied by the Grim Reaper’s agents to those criminals who had obtained filthy profits from that evil business, which had caused indescribable physical, emotional, mental or spiritual damage to countless human beings.

All the people involved in that wicked unholy industry, clients, owners, managers or promoters, felt the blade of our scythes and the blows of our whips, lacerating their bodies and souls.

However, not a single drop of blood would be shed. The physical and spiritual pain of those men and women, who had supported the evil work in those dirty places, was so terrible that at a certain point I wanted to stop punishing them; nevertheless, I had to continue until Mr. Death would call us to stop. Our scythes and whips were like fire. The suffering and the pain of all the victims of that dark business had to be passed on to those criminals through the incisions of our scythe blades and the lacerations made with our whips.

Screams could be heard everywhere. But, as in previous occasions, children and innocent people would not hear any scream at all; fortunately, they had been exempted from that shock. All police stations and law and order authorities around the globe would receive endless phone calls denouncing delinquents related to those crimes. The police got almost crazy by the number of places they had to go that night to arrest criminals and save people from sexual slavery.

At the end of the painful punishment we had applied to those delinquents, many of them would not hesitate to go as fast as they could straight to the closest police station to confess their crime. All the money earned through that evil activity was confiscated and given to the police, in order to be deposited on specific accounts that pertained to authorized legal organizations and institutions which would be in charge

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of taking care of all the victims of that dark trade. They would help the victims by providing them with proper accommodations, food, clothes, psychological therapy, training for an honest job or trade, and by trying to contact their families and paying their flight tickets to send them back home. All internet websites, videos, DVDs, magazines on the market related to rape, pornography and sexual exploitation and violence against any human being, especially women, youngsters, and children, had vanished or had self-destructed mysteriously from the web and the market, including the sold copies privately owned by people who kept them at their offices or at home, and all the backup copies at their place of origin or production.

The message of the terrible punishment applied to those criminals was very clear. The idea they had about Hell was nothing compared to what they had been forced to go through that day and night. It had been like an endless death! As usual, the news headlines were too impressive. The number of victims of the industry of pornography and commercial sexual exploitation that had been saved around the world was so high that a gloomy feeling invaded the heart of all people who had read or listened to the latest news about it. The criminals of that dark industry who had surrendered and confessed their crimes had described the terrible punishment applied to them by huge intimidating entities. Even though authorities could not find or see any scars on their bodies, the details of the punishment were so dreadful that lots of people were not able to sleep peacefully for several nights after listening to the news.

Many citizens were wondering whether the appearance of those Grim Reapers and the punishment they had applied to those evil people was a sort of preamble to the Apocalypse. They would ask themselves what was going on around the world. Since that day, people would try to avoid being alone in certain places and would try to be cautious until they would get back home safe, because they were afraid of the danger that existed everywhere and the risk of bumping into any spooky entity on their way. The Grim Reaper’s agents would not allow any more crimes against the body, soul and mind of human beings. The time for reaping had not come yet.

First, people had to change their evil doing into good doing.

We had to wait until humanity was ready; then the reaping would begin.

After the ordeal, our team gathered in a peaceful field where there was a very high and beautiful waterfall. We needed to rest, because we were very exhausted. We lay on the grass for a long while and fell deeply asleep. People think that being a Grim Reaper or a spirit or an angel is like being a cold strong super hero who never gets tired or never needs to rest or sleep.

However, there are some activities which demand strength and determination. When we are asked to punish an

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evil-doer, what we are really doing is a cleansing procedure for the heart and the soul of the harm-doers to open the eyes of their heart and conscience. At the same time, we must also fight against evil spirits on the spot. It is hard to explain this matter to the living; but we, the agents of the Grim Reaper, also cry and suffer the pain of both the victims and the criminals. As human beings need special therapies, we also require a sort of therapy after certain confrontations.

Sometimes we need to disconnect from our surroundings and relax alone, so that wrath won’t take over us when we must face evil doers and dark spirits whom you may have to face or fight against during your life in the world of the living. Lots of prayer will be required to subjugate those evil spirits and their temptations!

Chapter 15 Organizing the Material world Things had to change dramatically; otherwise, judgment upon the human race would have to be brought forward at a closer date, which would be set by human beings due to their lack of vision and responsibility! Unfortunately, our intervention was not over. Such was the situation in the world that we, agents of the Angel of Death, had to be sent to visit other influential groups in order to stop and correct or amend the wrong doing of people who were high or leading authorities or professionals, whose capacities, ideas, theories, principles, rules and development policies were considered adequate, convenient, and necessary to improve and control the economic situation; however, the individual, the family, the community, and the society at all levels: local, regional, continental and worldwide levels were being affected in a negative way by those erroneous policies.

The wrong management and the wrong administration of the material side of the world were drawing closer the Apocalypse, which was a well known Biblical book related to the end of the world or Doomsday. Four Horsemen were mentioned in that Biblical book: War, Poverty, Disease, and Death. The first three horsemen would lead, of course, to the fourth: death!

Public and Private Financial Systems of the World We were sent to visit all the people who had the capacity of reorganizing all the tax and financial systems that were ruling the world. Money had to be administrated wisely, properly, effectively, and efficiently. When we appeared before the eyes of bank owners, economists, business administrators and financial managers and employers of small and large business companies, we would hand them an invitation to a very important financial meeting that would take place in four months, and it would last four weeks. The premises of the now

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well-known corporation “Angelus Mortis Attorneys” would be used to accommodate all the participants. All the payments that were necessary for the organization of the meeting, accommodation, transportation, air tickets, food services, equipment installation and security services would be assumed entirely by the corporation. All the people who would receive an invitation would be afraid at the beginning; but, since we had the power to calm them down, they would become relaxed and would feel comfortable to talk to us and exchange points of view with us, too. We had to accept the fact that our appearance would not help much at the beginning; however, we had been asked by our Big Boss to wear our official uniforms.

Our team visited a very bright and sensitive economist whose name was James Morgan. He was an expert in taxation and economic domestic and international policies and strategies, which were considered by many of his colleagues utopian. He was in his private office at home and was writing some notes when he perceived that someone was watching him. He moved his head to see if someone was around and opened his eyes widely when he saw us: five Grim Reapers, sitting comfortably on the sofa and armchairs in his office. He was surprised when he noticed that there was a very small Grim Reaper sitting between two tall Grim Reapers on the sofa and two other small Grim Reapers, sitting on each of the two armchairs available.

Peter George began to talk, “Good evening, Mr. Morgan. We have come here because we need your help! At the beginning this well known economist was in shock and looked at us in silence. After a few seconds he cleared his throat and asked us calmly, “What can I do for you?” Peter George continued, “We must talk to you about something very important that is happening around the world right now. I am sure you are well aware and informed that several governments have proven to be inefficient and incompetent in managing and distributing properly, effectively, efficiently, and honestly all the resources obtained through taxation. Furthermore, there are several nations that are almost in bankruptcy. You must also know perfectly well that private financial institutions and companies have requested assistance from governments through the funds of their National Treasury; and, as governments want to protect their clients and customers and the economic stability of those private institutions and companies to prevent other worse economic problems nationwide and worldwide, they have put at risk their own nation’s economic and social stability. We are here to request your professional advice and services to try to solve these problems or at least provide a suitable guidance towards achieving that goal.”

“You cannot deny that it is surprising and shocking the attitude of several owners or heads of several powerful

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private companies and financial institutions, since they won’t admit or accept any reform or control to be applied to their way of doing business, operating their activities and managing their finances. The National Treasury of each nation is sacred, and it cannot be put at risk anymore since it belongs to all the citizens and enterprises that contribute with their taxes and efforts. It is important to produce and create a perfect and manageable Scale of Taxes which should be fair to all taxpayers. All taxes should benefit and support the economic and social stability of all citizens, companies, and government institutions. Everybody should pay: the poor, the rich, the average or middle class worker, small or large companies proportionately. The tax laws must force private entities and public institutions to be cautious and responsible in handling their financial resources entrusted to them, especially in the private sector which tends to grant and pay extremely high bonuses to just a few people which occupy high positions, while hundreds or thousands of people are laid off in those same companies or institutions. Unfortunately, there are laws that support strongly the greedy public and private financial systems that rule most nations. Furthermore, those laws support the fact of considering under strict ‘confidentiality’ some important financial matters which should be known by all citizens, clients, and customers, since all data related to finances should be clear, transparent, of public knowledge, and truthful!”

“We consider that fair and adequate reforms should be made to bring balance and more control upon all the financial operations and activities performed by governments or public institutions and by private institutions or companies, in order to avoid their causing any local, regional or worldwide financial depression or bankruptcy. No government should cover up or assume the losses of private entities due to their incompetence, greed or bad management.

However, if a government is strong and stable enough to do so, they would be free to proceed, as long as they assure the recovery of all the funds provided from the National Treasure to refloat any private enterprise. Do you think, Mr. Morgan, it is possible for human beings in this world to find formulas to reach and keep balance and stability in the economy and social reality of each nation and among nations? In four months there will be an important meeting, and we need you to prepare a project related to possible solutions to the bad economic situation that most countries, if not all, are facing now, since all nations are interdependent on one another to some extent.

Your project will be discussed by all the other participants to the meeting who will also bring other proposals to discuss.”

The economist expressed with deep concern and interest, “I am not God, but I will do my best to contribute to this noble and urgent cause and great need. I never thought that I would be visited by five Grim Reapers, about whom the newspapers had

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written a lot. Here I am now in front of a group of them, asking me for assistance. Remember that I am a limited human being; and it won’t be an easy or simple task.

James continued, “Powerful influential private groups and public institutions will have to yield and accept deep reforms in the private and the public sectors. I have thought about several strategies to reorganize the relationship between the State and the Private sector in my country, and I think that they could be of some assistance to other nations; I have detected several laws that need immediate amendment or abolishment to improve the financial management, control, and supervision within both sectors.” “Fantastic, James!” Peter George said with full enthusiasm. “Thank you! It is good to have people like you, who are willing to contribute to finding wise and creative solutions to those serious problems that are affecting humanity’s general living conditions. It is true that those solutions will require the unselfish support and good will of all people, powerful and non-powerful; but, fortunately, we will be close enough to persuade people to turn in favor of measures that will ensure the stability and wellbeing of all human beings.”

Homework for the ones who have the capacity Sunshine stood up and approached James and added, “I am sure you have heard or read that in a previous meeting, high authorities worldwide committed themselves to revise all their Constitutions and laws in order to formulate them based on the Ten Commandments or Key Principles of Coexistence; that is to say, without any ambiguity that would allow any misinterpretation, corruption or evil manipulation of their content in favor of bad and selfish greedy people and their businesses. All those specific laws which feed the greed and pockets of people in the private sector and in the public sector, especially the laws that regulate the financial management in both sectors, must be revised, modified, and abolished if necessary.”

“As you have been told, in four months there will be a meeting with the participation of Heads of State, Congress people, professional authorities in the economic, social, health, education, cultural, social housing, labor, food and agriculture fields in both the private and public sectors; insurance companies directors, private and public health centers representatives, the press and other means of communication directors, banking and financial institutions’ representatives, environmental groups, and religious authorities related to financial administration and management. The goal of the meeting is to seek and find the best way to bring material balance to all corners of planet Earth. That would bring spiritual balance to all human beings

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in the long run, hopefully in the short run. We are here before your eyes, because our Big Boss from beyond thinks that you can provide all the necessary material resources and professional orientation to perform a peaceful revolution towards a significant change at all levels for the well being of society. All the participants should always bear in mind that all human activities affect people, nature and all creation; that is why the material balance is required to relieve the stress or the stressful living conditions under which human beings live nowadays. Here is a list of important subjects you must take into account in order to prepare your project for the meeting.” Sunshine stretched her arm and handed out the paper to the economist. He had to study, analyze, and develop those subjects for discussion at the meeting. As he read the list, his eyebrows would rise every now and then; and one of his eyebrows would be raised higher at certain moments as if he were expressing in his mind: What?!

Before sitting down, Sunshine added, “You can cross out any subject on the list that you consider unnecessary in case the human society leading authorities have already attended the specific matter successfully, of course, for the benefit of all.” The subjects on the list were: -TAXES AND EXEMPTIONS: Formula to establish: fair scales of taxes and tax exemptions; fair, efficient, and effective scales of taxes distribution and investment for the development of the people and the nation; all tax funds for the Public Treasure should not have dark or evil sources that violate human rights and human dignity; -EMPLOYMENT: Employment strategies for the creation of jobs in public and private sectors. Fair working conditions and constant supervision by authorities in both sectors; -PUBLIC SOCIAL BENEFITS AND SERVICES: Ensure efficient and well-managed public social benefits and services; constant supervision of beneficiaries to avoid fraud, cheating, or abuse on the spending of public funds and provision of public social benefits. Sanctions; -SALARIES AND BONUSES IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS: Formulas to establish: fair scales of salaries and bonuses in both sectors. All salaries must have a solid valid back-up to avoid abuse in setting too high scales of greedy salaries and bonuses; monthly report on public expenditures, including salaries paid by the government to all public employees, including congress people and high authorities; Austerity rules to limit public funds expenditure when organizing meetings, parties or gatherings of public employees, including expenditure on gifts or prizes; regular auditing of public funds expenditure at all levels to protect the National Treasury and taxpayers;

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-PRICES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES AND PROFITS IN THE WORLD OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC BUSINESS: formulas to establish a fair scale of prices and profits at all levels (producers or manufacturing companies, seed suppliers, farmers, intermediaries, raw materials, manufactured products, retailers and wholesalers). Formulas to establish a fair scale of prices for products; supervision and control to assure good quality of products and services; establishment of clear, simple, and fair rules in the free market system and fair rights and duties of businessmen, costumers, and employees. Formulas to establish a fair scale of prices for the shares of enterprises in the stock market and efficient regulations to supervise and control the prices of the shares in the stock exchange market for the protection of shareholders against fraud; all kinds of contracts to be signed by clients, customers, or individuals with private or public institutions, banks, savings institutions, other financial entities, etc., must not be printed in small illegible print.

-PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BANKS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: Formulas to establish fair interest rates for loans, savings, and credit cards services; fair scales of commissions to be charged to clients or customers for different financial services nationwide and worldwide; supervision and regular auditing to avoid abuse and greedy earnings and prevent make-up actions on all the financial data concerning funds and management in all banks and financial institutions to protect clients and prevent tax evasion.

Establishment of no secrecy policies on public or private accounts before the eyes of specific tax and justice authorities, especially when people and companies are under investigation, and to avoid frauds, disappearance of money from bank accounts, or abrupt closing of financial institutions based of sudden bankruptcy. Banks and financial institutions will be responsible for the money of their clients which should not disappear from their bank accounts, especially when their debit bank cards have not been robbed, used or lost. Formulas to establish a fair scale of insurance fees to cover losses due the robbery of funds on bank accounts and credit cards; all the conditions of contracts to be signed by any individual, enterprise, or client must be presented in very simple, clear, non-confusing terms and in very legible print, especially those contracts regarding the opening of bank accounts, the request of credit cards and loans, or any kind of lease; strict control of all credit card purchases made by telephone to control theft of personal banking data on debit cards or personal credit card data; -HEALTH AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS: Formulas to establish a fair scale of fees to be charged for public and private health services to

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guarantee efficient public and private health care and services; all fees must have a solid back-up to avoid abuse and greedy earnings; formula to establish a fair scale of prices to be paid for the medicine in the public and private health centers; formula to establish a fair scale of prices for health insurance policies that will benefit all parts involved: patient, doctor, insurance companies, and health institutions in both the public and private sectors. Formulas to establish a fair scale of tuition fees for efficient and high quality public and private education; all tuition fees must have a solid back-up to avoid abuse and greedy profits or earnings. Formulas to establish a fair scale of book prices for schools, colleges and universities to avoid abuse and greedy profits; -RETIRED EMPLOYEES OR PENSIONERS AND OLD PEOPLE: Formulas to establish a fair scale of retirement pensions which should cover for all basic needs (housing, food, medical care, public services: water, electricity, telephone); creation of jobs for the retired and the old people capable of working. Financial support for the old who do not have any pension; -THE GAP BETWEEN THE POOR AND THE RICH: Formulas to reduce the gap between the wealthy and the poor people; deep analysis of the causes of the gap in order to find a solution to many social and economic problems; -IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS: Renewal of all social security id cards, adding more security devices to avoid theft of identification data; government authorities and institutions in charge of the issuance of the identification documents of citizens, as well as private and public banks or financial institutions and businesses, must assume their responsibility in case they accept false identification data to grant loans and credit card services, or purchases of goods and payment of services on a credit basis. Protection of all citizens, clients and customers, affected by the robbery of their identification data; they will not be responsible nor will they assume any responsibility for the loans or purchases made using their names or identification data or documents falsely; -BURIAL SERVICES: Formulas to establish fair prices for burial services and fair premiums for public and private insurance policies for burial purposes; -NATIONAL SECURITY AND LAW AND ORDER AUTHORITIES: formulas to allocate a fair amount of funds required to support law and order authorities and national security, both locally and nationwide, including borderlines; each nation should not attack or intervene in a war, unless it had been attacked and has to defend itself. No nation should consider

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itself the father and protector of all nations. All nations and governments must seek peace and prosperity together.

-NATURAL RESOURCES: Formulas to establish: the protection and control of natural resources in each nation and worldwide; fair prices for natural resources to ensure their continuity of existence and to avoid running out of natural resources and the extinction of animal and plant species; formulas to establish fair prices for fuel resources worldwide to avoid abuse and greedy monopolistic policies applied by nations who have large deposits of oil or fuel resources and by private international companies; formulas to establish fair amounts of investment on scientific investigation to find a suitable alternative fuel to replace any harmful fuel that is used and causes damage to the people’s health and the planet; the replacement fuel price must be accessible to all since it affects the prices of all goods and services at all levels, and it must be fairly formulated to avoid abuse and monopolistic public and private greedy policies; reinforcement of measures at all levels to protect nature and the environment from pollution; supervision and control of the disposal of waste; -PUBLIC SERVICES: Formulas to establish a fair scale of fees for water, energy, and electricity supply, telephone and internet services to ensure their constant supply; supervision to prevent the monopoly of public services; supervision of correct usage of public services by customers to avoid misuse or waste.

-IMPORTS AND EXPORTS: Formulas to establish a scale of fair taxes and customs duties for imports and exports among nations; constant supervision of fair trade agreements to ensure fair profits and fair labor conditions and earnings for all workers and business people; establishment of fair competition rules for good and high standards in the quality of products and services; clear and fair competition rules between the imported products and the local products of the nations, in order to formulate fair prices for both and to assure the protection of national industries, without any abuse on both sides. Banning of imported subsidized goods and low quality products, since their prices would be too cheap to compete fairly within the domestic market, and the manufacturing of any national product would demand the payment of taxes, social benefits for workers, and production expenditures that affect the prices to be fixed on a product to be launched in the national market of any country; -GOVERNMENTS OR LEADERS OF THE NATIONS: Democracy should be the suitable and universal system for the election of leading authorities and the approval of all political, economic, educational, health, cultural, and social national

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and international policies to be applied within a nation and with other nations. The formula of democracy should be: one person = one vote. Severe punishment against public or private high authorities or high-position employees who ruin their nations or enterprises by stealing, misusing or diverting money from the Public Treasure or from clients or investors or citizens to private accounts; severe punishment against those who get their nations or corporations into debt for greedy private personal interests and purposes; convicted people in both cases may be released from prison only they give back all the diverted and stolen money; -GUNS AND WEAPONRY: Analysis of weaponry sale and purchase operations, and the role they play and effect on the financial system of nations in both the public and private sectors. Risks involved in not controlling the sale and purchase of guns and weaponry; stricter control of guns sale.

-Submission of any other better ideas or suggestions which may have been omitted on the list will be accepted.�

When James finished reading the list of subjects, he remained in silence for a while watching the paper. Ian stood up, walked towards him and stood in silence beside the chair where he was sitting. When James saw our twenty-five inches tall colleague beside him, he smiled tenderly.

Ian said, “James, the list may be too long; but it is for your reference and guidance. As our colleague Sunshine has told you, any subject on the list may be crossed out in case the financial system of the world is applying it successfully in every nation at present. All the participants to the meeting will have to consider that the material balance is necessary.

The governments and private enterprises must work together to achieve efficiency, effectiveness and productivity. Both counterparts need to keep an eye on each other to prevent any sort of abuse or corruption, since human beings are not perfect. There is always the human tendency or inclination to satisfy selfish, unnecessary, and greedy purposes.

Not everybody has to become a millionaire to be happy or fulfilled in life, since the more money one has, the more complicated one’s life becomes, sometimes. Every single human being, man or woman, has the right to develop fully. The way high leading authorities manage public funds and the way private companies or institutions manage their private funds will affect their national security and their economic and social stability, as well as their sovereignty, democracy, freedom, and relationship with other nations. The weaker the nations, the more vulnerable they will become and more dependent on the rules of other nations who may take advantage of their situation, citizens, and resources. That is why the rules and

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laws for the development must be clear and fair and equally applied all over the world. To conclude, my dear friend, most human beings tend to forget that nobody will ever take a single penny to the afterlife.

Life on planet Earth is temporary; but all human beings must contribute, according to their talents, to the integral development of the human race.

Thank you for listening to us.” Ian went back to sit between Sunshine and Big Bone on the comfortable sofa.

Peter George stood up and said, “Dear Mr. Morgan, we must leave you now, since you have a long homework to do. Heaven trusts you and your professional capacity to prepare a project that will lead millions of people to reorganize properly their actions and policies in the different fields that exist in the economic, social, and cultural life of their nations. All the participants to the meeting will have to bring good, suitable and intelligent proposals for changes and reforms to be made to the systems that will influence and determine the destiny of millions of living souls. Bear in mind that the people who receive greater talents and gifts will be held more responsible before the eyes of God; that is, God will be stricter with them. Goodbye, Sir.” All of us stood up and bowed to him and vanished. The economist we had visited stood up in silence when we had gone, walked around his office for a while, and began to pray, because he could feel very deep inside his heart and upon his shoulders the great responsibility Heaven had put upon him and upon all the participants to that important meeting that would be held in four months.

An hour later, when he turned on his computer, he noticed that he had received more than one hundred e-mails from his colleagues. Based on the Subject line he could read on all the e-mails he had received, he realized that all his colleagues had also been invited to the meeting, which meant that other agents of the Grim Reapers had also paid them a visit and delivered an invitation and a list of matters to be discussed at that meeting.

Chapter 16 Seeking Balance for the Soul of Humanity Several teams of agents were summoned to the Headquarters of the world’s largest Christian church which was among the oldest institutions in the world. It was a very sunny day; and I was very excited because I had never been at those well-known headquarters. Today Mr. Death would have an important meeting with the Head of the Catholic Church, which had played a prominent role in the history of the Western civilization and had brought great changes and reforms at all levels.

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The spiritual balance of humanity had been neglected and underestimated, and something had to be done. The human mind, heart, and soul had to be enlightened mainly by the Ten Key Principles of Coexistence or Ten Commandments, which had been proposed to be taught at schools, since they should be considered universal laws common to all true religions and cultures. Furthermore, the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His teachings, as well as the knowledge of the leading prophets of other religions and their wise teachings, should be accessible to all men and women; that knowledge would also enrich the mind and soul of all human beings. No specific religious doctrine would be imposed to any man or woman, since there had to be tolerance and respect between the main monotheist religions and all other polytheist religious groups without any confrontation, including agnostic groups.

By all means, Freedom of religion had to be respected.

How could we, agents of the Angel of Death, facilitate that important spiritual knowledge to all human beings, respecting their freedom, intelligence and free will? There had to be a way to spread those truthful and edifying spiritual teachings, so that they could reach all corners of the living word. The prevalence of ignorance, as well as misinterpretation and evil manipulation of the content of the Holy Scriptures of religions had to be stopped or come to an end. That would be the main topic of the meeting that our Big Boss would hold with the Roman Pontiff tonight. The assistance of both, men and women of the world, would be required to achieve that goal.

Priesthood The chamber where the Holy Father rested and slept during the night had been arranged properly as usual. The Pope was praying the Holy rosary in his small chapel before going to bed; he had his eyes closed. When he finished praying, he made the sign of the cross and opened his eyes. Suddenly, he perceived that there was someone kneeling down beside him at the kneeler of his private chapel. He turned his head slowly to his left and saw a huge entity dressed in an indigo color hooded ministerial cassock robe.

The Holy Father could not see his face and would not dare ask him who he was, since he suspected who this entity was. As his heart pulse began to accelerate and his breathing turned deeper, he heard the voice of that spiritual entity saying, “Good evening, Holy Father, I have been sent here to talk to you before you go to bed and wake up tomorrow morning very early to keep on with your responsibilities. Do not be afraid, please. I have not come here tonight to take you. Therefore, you can relax now.�

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It was the first time, as agents, that we could see in our mind quite clearly that Mr. Death had appeared beside the Holy Father in flesh and bone; however, we could not perceive the features of his face. Tonight it would be a very special meeting, and the Pope would talk to him face to face. Mr. Death asked the Holy Father gently, “Shall we seat down?” The Pope replied a bit nervously, “Of course, please, let’s seat down.”

When both of them were comfortably seated, their conversation began. Mr. Death started by saying, “Dear Holy Father, your life as a priest, a bishop, a cardinal, and now as the Holy Pontiff, has been extremely fruitful for the benefit of the Christian world and the human society in general. It has not been easy for you at all, as you have had to face lots of attacks against you and the Church. The Roman Pontiff on duty some years ago made the right decision when he asked pardon for the terrible mistakes the Church had made throughout history. We know that the Church is holy and sinful, as human beings are weak and imperfect and must always try to seek perfection and sanctity and amend past and present errors. God knows that you and all your priests and missionaries, clerical and lay, are trying to do your best to spread Jesus Christ’s teachings.”

“All of you have tried to place in the hands of millions of people all the invaluable salvation means and spiritual treasures you have available in this Church. However, there is still a large percentage of the world population that has not been reached for different reasons. I have been sent here to ask you to think about the following proposal, which I ask you to take it into consideration as Head of the Catholic Church.

It is just a proposal not an imposition; and before you reject it, I would appreciate your sharing it with all your cardinals, bishops, and closest priests and confident friends.” The Head of the Catholic Church was listening to our Big Boss with great interest and curiosity.

Mr. Death continued, “It is important to take into account the shortage of priests that the Church is facing nowadays. Do you think it is fair for the world to expect that present number of priests to fulfill all the spiritual needs of humanity? In poor nations, for example, there are people who live in distant places; and although there is great religious devotion and piety in those small towns or communities, their soul, body, and mind need to be nurtured and strengthened spiritually by the Gospel and the holy means that only priests can administer. If the actual number of priests does not increase dramatically, you will need to consider the ordainment of laymen; that is, if you wish to consider only male human beings for priesthood.

Your Holiness, how do you think you could find a solution to that terrible shortage of priests? Only male priests can celebrate Mass and administer the Sacraments and spiritual means of salvation which are the real treasures of the

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Church. Jesus Christ redeemed all humanity; he performed a ‘catholic’ redemption; that is, a universal redemption. For several generations people have read in the Holy Scriptures and have heard from the pulpit that ‘the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.’ For how long do you think that situation should continue?”

The Head of the Church could not answer the question. “Dear Holy Father, I think the time has come for you to reconsider the ordainment of women as priestesses, especially those who are consecrated nuns and live in religious communities or congregations, theologians and those who have fulfilled their studies of philosophy and theology, and may have the vocation of becoming part of the priesthood of the Church. It would be convenient for the Church you preside over and the whole world if you would summon a meeting to discuss and reflect upon this important matter that may bring a crucial and important change in history and in the perception of the woman’s existence and her role in society at all levels, especially in those places where she is exploited and assassinated, and her human rights are not respected. That change may be of great assistance to achieve a truthful spiritual and material balance for all men, women, and children.”

The Pope opened his eyes widely and said in a loud voice, “Jesus Christ! That is impossible!” He stood up and held his head with both hands, and began to walk around his chamber, moving his hands all worried. Mr. Death looked at him and followed with his eyes all his steps around the room. Then he said calmly, “You are right!” The Holy Father stopped moving, turned around, and looked at our Big Boss with surprise and said, “What?” Mr. Death replied, “It is impossible right now; but that does not mean that it is going to be impossible forever. If it is God’s will, the ordainment of women as priestesses will take place and will bring a great change to humanity one day.”

Our Big Boss stood up and asked the Head of the Church to sit down and relax. The Pope sat down, held both of his hands together and said, “I am sorry; please, continue.” Our Big Boss kept on speaking, “We know that at present women perform many important roles in the activities of the Church you lead and in many other churches. We are aware that women have accepted obediently and open-heartedly the fact that the Hierarchy of your Church does not accept the ordainment of women as priestesses. Furthermore, you know perfectly well that nowadays, in the 21st Century, women are still lapidated, mistreated, discriminated, and exploited in many ways in different corners of the world. It is painful to know that in several sexist societies, the intimate parts of girls are sawn to preserve their physical virginity, because men consider that they have the right to rule and fulfill the dreams of women

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and girls, and determine their fate.

Apart from providing ‘more laborers for the harvest that is plentiful,’ this reform in the Church you preside over would teach all human beings that both men and women were created in God’s image and no religion or culture or tradition would have any power or authority to exploit or exclude or limit women and girls in their development, dreams or needs. The example your Church may give to all other churches, especially monotheist, by making this reform would invite them somehow to consider the possibility of doing the same. This may bring great positive changes in those sexist societies in a closer future, and it would give a new meaning to the unity of all human beings, men and women, to achieve truthful material stability and spiritual balance.”

“There are rules that will remain valid, of course, based on the decisions already made by the Hierarchy of your Church who have all the authority. You will have plenty of time to study, discuss, and analyze the situation and meditate upon this need.

Then you will decide if you, your cardinals, bishops and closest priests are capable of introducing this great reform of the ordainment of women in priesthood. Obviously, nobody is pressing you to rush. You can take all the necessary length of time you need to prepare all the bases for that great step the Hierarchy of the Church may decide to take, if you reconsider and approve in the long run what you have been proposed tonight. Well, dear Holy Father, I have not given you much time to talk; but you will have a lot to talk to the Cardinals and Bishops about this issue. Listen to those who may be in favor of it as well. As I said, if it is God’s will, the reform will take place! If it is not, then He may give you a hand to find a solution to provide more laborers to the harvest.

The time for me has come to leave you. May God always bless you and guide you. As usual, try to be wise as a serpent and meek and humble as a dove, like Jesus. Please, close your eyes now and have sweet dreams.” After those last words, our Big Boss vanished.

A few seconds later, the Holy Father opened his eyes and noticed that he was already in bed, wearing his pajamas. He sat on his bed and asked himself, “Was it a dream, my Lord? Thank, God!” Then he heard a familiar voice saying, “No, it wasn’t. I am the Grim Reaper, and I paid you a short visit to deliver an important proposal for you and the members of the Hierarchy of your Church to make an important reform if you have the capacity to do so; and if it is God’s will, of course. You will remember! Good night and have sweet dreams.” His eyelids suddenly turned heavier and heavier, falling deeply asleep again. The next day, early morning, when the Pope woke up, he found a visit card on his bed sheet with a golden scythe printed on it and something written in old English text: ‘Thank you for receiving me, Mr. Death.’ The Holy Father held the card with

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both of his hands and began to pray and meditate. A great responsibility had been placed upon his shoulders. Should he reconsider the matter and discuss it with his priesthood colleagues? Or should he keep the proposal in his heart and memory, and ‘file’ it for ever? He knew that if he found the best solution for the shortage of priests, he would have the alternative of postponing the proposal submitted to him.

However, how long would it take him, the Head of the Church, to reach the number of priests required to meet all the spiritual needs of the human race worldwide?

A truthful balance had to be reached between the material world and the spiritual world. Why had Mr. Death paid a special visit to the Holy Father of the Catholic Church? Why had he been chosen above all other religious leaders? As agents of the Grim Reaper, we knew that if the Catholic Church high authorities would ever decide to make such an important reform, it would be evaluated and maybe taken into consideration as an important example to follow by many religions and cultures worldwide. Many of them would also criticize them, though. However, everything was now in God’s hands!

Chapter 17 What Comes after Death?

Mr. Death had decided to visit all the teams of his agents.

When he appeared, he greeted us cheerfully, “Hello, dear agents. I wish to inform you that tonight you will be sent to visit one particular human being, and you will talk to him or her about the three Churches into which the Catholic Church is divided. As you know ‘catholic’ means universal, and that is why I wish all my agents to visit each human being that lives in the small universe known as planet Earth. Tell people that those three Churches are: the Church Triumphant in Heaven; the Church Suffering in purgatory; and the Church Militant on earth. Unfortunately, most people think that those Churches do not exist; others think that they are partly true or entirely an invention. You have ample knowledge about the religious doctrines that exist; and you know that those three Churches are mentioned only in the Catholic Church doctrine, even though some other religions consider similar places or states.

The Ecclesia Triumphans comprises those who are dead and resting in peace, in heaven or the afterworld; the Ecclesia Penitens comprises those souls who are presently in Purgatory, a place or condition of temporal punishment and purification due to transgressions against the Key Principles of Coexistence or Commandments and God’s precepts; and last, but not least, the Ecclesia Militans, which comprises all the human beings who are living and who are struggling in life and against sin, the devil, and the rulers of darkness in this

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world, in whom millions of human beings do not believe in, because they think that they do not exist.” Our Big Boss stopped talking, looked at us in silence, and then he smiled.

All the members of our team looked at him raising our eyebrows. Mr. Death added, “Yes, yes, I know what you are thinking! Obviously, not all human beings believe in the existence of those three Churches since they belong to other religions and cultures; and they have other religious beliefs or points of view related to the spiritual world; however, as you know, they do exist. It does not matter whether they believe in them or not. We know that these terms of the three Churches are used within the context of the doctrine of the ‘Communion of Saints’ in the Roman Catholic theology which considers that although people may be physically separated from each other by the barrier of death, they, however, remain united to each other in one Church and support each other in prayer; and human beings should be aware of that!”

“For centuries priesthood has represented the bridge or link or liaison between this physical world and the afterlife or spiritual world, since the priests or priestesses are considered closer to God or to the Gods that pertain to different cultures and religions.

They usually prepare spiritually the dying for departure to a new spiritual life beyond the physical world people are used to living in; or they bring spiritual guidance and relief to the living to bear the difficulties of life with faith, hope and love. Each culture or society has its own way of perceiving the afterlife based on their religious beliefs, Holy Scriptures, and traditions.”

“On one hand, some cultures consider reincarnation as an opportunity given to spirits to purify, amend their mistakes, learn more, and achieve progress. In human history, there have been mysterious cases in which children could describe perfectly well places where they had not ever been before; or they could identify people whom they had not ever met and describe their personal life circumstances. Those cases tend to have only one apparent explanation: reincarnation. In addition, well known psychiatrists have studied some very interesting cases and have performed hypnotic regression to several people. In those sessions the patients had gone back in time and memory where a specific problem affecting them had originated.

It had been considered very curious and interesting the fact that patients had described an experience from a former physical lifetime that had caused the problem which they are facing at the present lifetime and which needs healing. Those past life regression processes have helped patients overcome problems which had no explanation or apparent solution to modern doctors. It is difficult to deny the possibility of reincarnation when there are documents containing plenty of information about past life therapies,

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regressions, and apparent pieces of evidence for the existence of previous lives. However, considering or believing in the possibility of reincarnation is not a fault or a sin. Bad or evil actions are clearly sins or transgressions, some of which will demand sooner or later temporary or eternal punishment.

That is in God’s hands and depends entirely on His will, of course. Our mission is to open the eyes of the heart and the mind of all human beings while there is still some time left for them to change and amend errors.”

“On the other hand, dear agents, you know that there are other cultures related to Christianity that have similar concepts about life after death.

Based on their Holy Scriptures, traditions, and Hierarchy or leaders, Christians consider that there is only one life to live; and after death, the actions of a person during his or her lifetime will be judged; and then the soul of the person will be sent to Heaven, Hell or the Purgatory, based on his or her good or evil doing.

It would be natural for any human being to consider that kind of life conclusion and judgment of his or her soul very unfair, cruel, too hasty, dramatic, and drastic, since the human life is too short to achieve all dreams and too short to amend mistakes or wrong actions.”

Our Big Boss inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly and said, “All people should be aware of their human inclination or innate tendency to do, long or desire things which are condemned by the Ten Key Principles of Coexistence or Ten Commandments.

Those transgressions harm the soul and the body of the person who commits them; and at the same time, they bring pain and suffering to the lives of innocent people. As you know, God is merciful, patient, and compassionate. None of us is allowed to judge any human being; however, anything done against nature or against human dignity will claim for punishment or justice sooner or later, here or in the afterlife.

Human beings must be watchful and alert! All people must take into consideration that everybody will die sooner or later; and it does not matter whether or not he or she believes in Jesus Christ or in the prophets of other religions or in reincarnation or in other gods, or even if he or she is an atheist or agnostic.

Those universal Key Principles or Commandments are sacred and inviolable.”

“The universal order demands people to be watchful and vigilant of their actions and their consequences. We are Angels of Death; nevertheless, we do not know the day and time on which the death of a human being will take place, since we are called at the precise moment when the soul of a person must be picked up. It can be a baby, a child, a young person, an adult or a very old person. Every human being must be ready to depart from the living world at any minute; therefore, each moment and each day are important.”

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“Well, dear agents, as I have said, tonight you will visit in person a particular human being; and in a beautiful dream you will talk to him or her about everything you have been told.

That does not mean that the information will be swallowed or processed and accepted by people in less than twenty four hours. No way! We have common sense! Tonight, thank God, our appearance will not be so shocking; but people will see with their own eyes that Death does exist, and they must choose whether or not they wish the death of their soul for all eternity. We will be persuasive, not intimidating. You will ask people to investigate wisely and check religious sources and interesting videos in well-known websites if they wish to do so! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Please, we must also take advantage of human beings’ high technology, dear agents! Don’t you think so? Sometimes high technology can be very useful. We won’t vanish or destroy the beautiful beliefs of other religions and cultures at all, since they complement one another; however, we will unveil all the religious errors, practices, and abuse contained in many false cultures and religions!”

“When you conclude your conversation with the human being assigned to you in the first evening, you will inform him or her that in the next three consecutive evenings all people, based on their age and level of maturity and understanding, will have three very interesting dreams, one each evening: in the second evening, they will dream about Heaven; in the third evening, they will dream about the Purgatory; and in the fourth evening, they will dream about the terrors of Hell.

Afterwards, in the fifth evening, every person will have a dream related to his or her entire life up to the present moment; that is, actions, thoughts and feelings.”

“The state of his or her soul will be shown to every single living person on Earth, and the opportunity to change for the good path will be given to all human beings who are doing wrong. Those dreams will bring an important change in the human history and society, since everybody will be aware that his or her time in this living world may end at any moment; and, therefore, human behavior and attitude towards life must reflect a new perception of mortality: ‘Try to be good while you live.’ Nobody is perfect; however, everybody should try to walk towards achieving perfection and sanctity. That is all I have to say to you. Be optimistic! Everything will be fine!

Trust me! Oh! I was forgetting something very important.

Before you leave the person you have visited for five consecutive evenings, you will ask the person to tell you in the sixth evening, whether he or she is ready to die and come with you. Write down the reply you receive, in order to put it in our records for the future or to proceed to pick up the soul of the person who is ready to die and face God’s judgment.

Goodbye, and see you later. Go now and visit the people you must prepare for the great moment.

Your mission will

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conclude on the seventh day, and you will go back to our headquarters to review our experience in the living world.”

All of us said goodbye to Mr. Death, and we made a bow to him.

He vanished from our sight with a bright smile. Then we said goodbye to one another; and we agreed to meet on the seventh day at the same beach where we had arrived from our spiritual world to ride back home together.

“Dear reader of this diary, tonight you will meet me in person and in your dream. Let me introduce myself again, my name is Anna Pyrocephalus Rubinus, and I am an agent of the Grim Reaper. You have been assigned to me. Do not be afraid, please, because by now you know me a bit more than any other agent of the Angel of Death. You are very fortunate since you have an idea of the agenda that has been prepared for all the living related to the dreams all the people on earth will have in the next five evenings. Do not panic! At the end of the agenda, on the sixth evening, you will be able to express whether you are ready to die or not; and I will take note of your response.

Your moment has come to choose between life and death.”

“Please, relax and feel comfortable in your sleeping place.

Close your eyes now. Your eyelids will turn heavier and heavier … trust me … and have sweet dreams …”

Epilogue On the seventh day … it was a windy and cloudy morning. I met with the members of my team at the same beach where we had arrived together in the world of the living. Our horses were waiting for us on the shore. It was time to go back home again and have a meeting with our Big Boss. Ian was already in the air riding his small winged Pegasus. “Hurry up, my friends,” he said.

“We must leave as soon as possible. The message we have delivered in the heart and mind of all the human beings is very clear. They must not take time or life for granted, and they must change to bring balance and prosperity to all! Shall we go now?” In a matter of seconds we were all on our beautiful horses, crossing the ocean waters, heading home. I was feeling great that day, with full energy.

As we were crossing the ocean, we reached a light which was the entrance wall to our spiritual world; we could see the high cliffs at a distance. As we were approaching to our homeland, Ian came closer to our horses, since he was always flying ahead of us, and said to all of us in a whisper, “Bear in mind that we’ll be back sooner than you think, in order to evaluate how things have changed in the world of the living.

We shall give the human race some time. That is our Big Boss’s latest command!”

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Before we could make any comment about what he had just said, Ian yelled, “Yes! We are back! Look at the border of the cliff! There is Mr. Death; he is waiting for us in person! Let’s see who reaches him first!! We all rushed forward with our horses at an incredible high speed. When we arrived, we noticed that Simon, Alessandra, and hundreds of our colleagues were also there, waiting for us. We were the last team to arrive.

“Hello, there, my dear children.” Our Big Boss greeted us happily. “Congratulations! All of you fulfilled our first mission successfully. I am proud of you. Let’s go to our headquarters now and relax; we will have plenty of time to talk about your experience in the world of the living.” Our horses vanished, because they had to rest for a while; and Mr. Death told us that it would be good for us to walk and stretch our legs on our way back to the city.

We noticed that there were four music bands, one from each Community; and they had brought with them several instruments; such as, bass drums, cymbals, flutes, tambourines, trumpets, and many others easy to carry. The bands began to play skillfully beautiful martial music as we moved on towards our headquarters. I was so happy that I had not noticed that there were thousands of beautiful birds on the trees close to the cliff and in the trees along our way home. When I saw those birds, I realized that most of them were of one particular kind, and their color was the same, red and black.

Suddenly, as if Mr. Death had guessed my thoughts, he said tenderly, “Yes, Anna, they have come to welcome you all.

Those birds are known as Vermilion Flycatchers or Pyrocephalus Rubinus in Latin. Remember that you were the last soul that completed the number of the agents I required for the mission; and that is why I decided to choose for you the Latin name of those birds which are my favorite!”

I thanked our Big Boss dearly for the name he had chosen for me as one of his secret agent. He smiled at me and said, “You’re welcome!” Then he stopped for a moment, raised his hands and asked the four music bands to stop playing their instruments for a while. He snapped his fingers; and we all heard wind chime notes; at that moment many crystal cups full of champagne appeared in the air. We all held one cup in our hands, and our Big Boss proposed to us happily, “Let’s make a toast! May we stick together till the end of time! And May God grant us the opportunity to fulfill successfully our second last mission in the world of the living when the time comes, so that His plans upon the human race may have a happy ending for all! Cheers!” All of us joined our Big Boss and said, “Cheers!”

The sound of cups clinking together invaded the air. We all

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drank our cup of champagne slowly; it tasted deliciously. All the crystal cups disappeared when we had finished with the last drop of the sparkling wine.

Afterwards, Mr. Death asked the music bands to continue playing martial music with their musical instruments since all his agents were like soldiers who had returned from the battle field in the world of the living. As we were reaching the city, I began to wonder when our second last mission would take place. Ian appeared beside me with a little Vermilion Flycatcher on his shoulder and said, “Do not worry, Anna!

Relax! We have just arrived, and we need some rest. Enjoy death! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! I am sorry, I mean enjoy this life while you have some free time, because we will all have to receive a special training for our last mission. By then you will have grown up, and you will be twenty five years old; that is, seven hundred and seventy seven years old in this world. You cannot be ten years old and be short forever. You will be six feet and fifty six inches high by then!”

I opened my eyes widely in shock; and when I was about to ask him something else, Ian said quickly, “do not ask me anything else, please. Be patient! Your mirror will show your new appearance to you when the right time comes!” I smiled at him and said, “You are right, Ian! I need to grow up, be stronger and wiser, and be ready for our second last mission!”

In silence, we all kept on walking towards our Headquarters, listening happily to the music and hoping that our first mission in the world of the living had been fruitful.

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