Always

*Mary was on her way home from her 2-week business trip which ended with a big Halloween party when she decided to stop by her grandmother's house for a visit. She pulled up to her grandmother’s house and knocked on her door. Greeting her at the door was a middle-aged woman wearing an all-black dress and dark brown hair kept in a low bun. Her skin was pale but she was very beautiful. She looked like she belonged in the Edwardian era. Mary wondered who the woman was and thought she was just dressed like that for Halloween.

The woman asked if she could help her. Mary told her that she was there to see her Grandmother. The woman smiled and opened the door more and told Mary to come in. She told her that her Grandmother in upstairs in her bedroom. Mary asked who the woman was and she replied that she was hired as a caretaker by her family. The woman led Mary upstairs to her grandmother’s room and gently knocked on the door.

Mary’s grandmother looked in the doorway and greeted her granddaughter with open arms. Mary ran up to her grandmother and gave her a tight squeeze. She thought her grandmother looked great. Mary got a call from her mother last week and told her that her grandmother wasn’t doing so well and she was looking sickly. Mary was happy to see that her Grandmother was doing much better. Mary and her Grandmother talked about everything. Mary’s job, family memories, their health, Halloween. As they talked, Mary couldn’t help but notice that the caretaker never moved from the door, not to sit or anything, she just stared eerily at Mary, which she caught at the corner of her eye.

Feeling uncomfortable, Mary thought it was time to leave. She hugged and kissed her grandmother goodbye and told her she would be back soon to visit. Mary took out her phone and took a quick photo with her grandmother. Her grandma told her next time she’ll have cookies ready for her when she comes back to visit. Mary smiled gently. When she got to the door, she told the caretaker to take good care of her Grandmother. The woman grinned a creepy grin and with a low raspy voice, she replied she would, always. Mary, disturbed, went for the front door. As she got into her car, Mary looked up and could see the figure of the woman staring at her. Mary drove off feeling unsettled. When she got home, her phone began to ring, it was her mother. Mary told her mother that she had just gotten home from her business trip and stopped to visit Grandma.

Mary could hear complete silence on the other end of the phone. She asked her mother what was wrong. In a confused and concerned voice, Mary’s mother told her that her Grandmother died 2 days ago. Mary’s heart dropped. She asked her mom what she was taking about and told her about the middle aged lady that said she hired her as a caretaker. Mary’s mother told her that she didn’t hire anyone and tried to call her and tell her that her grandmother passed away in her sleep but she didn’t answer her phone. Mary told her mom that again that she really did see her grandma. To prove it she went to her pictures and decided ti send the one she took with her grandma to her mom.

She clicked on her photo app and what Mary saw next almost made her faint. There was the picture, but next to Mary wasn’t her grandmother, but decrepit skeleton. Even more unsettling was the caretaker next to Mary, grinning that creepy grin and staring directly at her. The eyes on the woman winked and Mary dropped her phone and screamed. She could hear her mother calling out to her. Mary hesitated picking up her phone, and when she did, the picture mysteriously disappeared.

Mary told her mother she was ok and she would call her back later because she needed to rest.

2 weeks later, Mary was getting rid of some Halloween decorations from out of her closet when she came across her stories about monsters and demons her mom bought her when she was in middle school. She looked through it and remembered how much she loved this book as a kid. She was turning the pages when suddenly her hand froze. Mary felt a lump in her throat and her body became hot. Under the title of Grim Reaper was a picture of a woman. A woman that looked familiar. She had grey hair tied in a low bun and wore a long black dress.

Mary put her hand over her mouth and struggled to breathe. She couldn’t believe was she saw, what she read. Apparently when Mary came to visit was the day the Reaper was finishing collecting her grandmothers soul. It made sense as to why a skeleton was showed in that picture, but to make it seem like her grandmother was still alive, not to mention Mary had hugged and kissed and decaying body. Mary felt sick. She couldn’t stop thinking about that woman and her creepy smile. She didn’t tell her Mom or anyone for that matter. She just hoped her Grandma’s soul was at peace. She took one more look at the picture of the woman, closed the book and threw it into her fireplace.