The tension in the room was palpable as the man who seemed to be a relative of the deceased glared at the stranger beside Soul. She was there to arrange the private viewing but she didn't expect to find herself standing awkwardly in the middle of them, not sure what to do. Suddenly, the door swung open and a woman walked in.
"Stop this at once!" she demanded, looking sharply at the glaring man.
Soul was taken aback by the woman's uncanny resemblance to the deceased. She looked almost identical to the deceased, except for a small scar above her left eyebrow.
The woman walked over to the man in front of them and they spoke in hushed tones. Then, the man left them without a word. The stranger's expression remained stoic, but she noticed a flicker of recognition in his eyes.
The woman turned to her and spoke softly, "I'm sorry about the commotion. My sister's husband has been acting strangely since her death."
She nodded, still feeling a bit uneasy. She couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something more to the argument than just a grieving husband's outburst.
As the woman led the way into the room where the private viewing would take place, she couldn't help but glance over at the man following close behind her, who had been silent ever since the argument earlier.
She tried to break the awkward silence between them.
"So, do you come here often?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.
The disguised reaper turned to her and gave her a small smile. "Not really. I only come when I am needed," he replied cryptically.
She furrowed her brows in confusion. "What do you mean 'when you are needed'?"
However, he wasn't able to answer her question because the woman spoke. "I'm Sarah's twin sister, Laura. This is the room where you'll be arranging the private viewing. I'll be in the room at the end of the hallway to your right if you need anything", she said rather hurriedly before smiling at her and walking away.
She watched as Laura left the room, her mind still reeling from the encounter with the deceased's husband. She couldn't help but wonder about what he said.
She couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something off about the whole situation. The strange behavior of Sarah's husband, the eerie resemblance between Laura and the deceased, and the cryptic words of the mysterious stranger all seemed to add up to something much bigger than a simple funeral.
When they stepped into the viewing room, Soul couldn't help but gasp at the sight before her. The room was filled with photographs and mementos of Sarah's life, arranged in a way that made it seem like she was still there with them.
She walked around the room, taking in every detail, when suddenly she noticed something odd. A photo on the table caught her eye. It was of Sarah with a man she had never seen before. She picked up the photo and examined it closely.
The man in the photo had the same piercing blue-green eyes and jet-black hair as the mysterious stranger. She couldn't believe her eyes. Could it be possible that he was somehow connected to Sarah's past?
She turned to the man who was on the other side of the room, looking at something.
Soul walked up to the mysterious stranger who was looking at a photo on the wall.
"Excuse me, can I ask you something?" she said tentatively.
The stranger turned to her, his expression unreadable.
"Yes?" he replied, his voice low and measured.
"I couldn't help but notice that you look a lot like the man in this photo with Sarah," she said, holding up the photo she had found on the table.
The stranger's eyes flickered to the photo before returning to Soul's face.
"That's because I am him," he said simply.
Her eyes widened in surprise. "You knew Sarah?"
The stranger nodded slowly. "Yes, I did. A long time ago."
Soul couldn't believe it. There was something about the stranger that made her feel uneasy, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.
"What was your relationship with Sarah?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
The stranger's expression darkened. "It's complicated," he said cryptically.
She could tell that he wasn't going to give her a straight answer, but she had to try.
"Did you come here to pay your respects to her?" she asked, hoping to get some insight into why he was there.
The stranger hesitated for a moment before answering. "In a way, yes. But my reasons for being here are not as simple as that."
She felt a shiver run down her spine. There was something about the stranger that made her feel like he was hiding something.
"What do you mean?" she pressed.
The stranger's eyes flickered, and he seemed to weigh his words carefully before speaking. "Let's just say that Sarah and I had some unfinished business," he said cryptically.
Soul's curiosity was piqued, but before she could ask him any more questions, Laura entered the room with a vase of flowers.
She reluctantly put the photo down and turned to Laura. As they began to set up for the private viewing, she couldn't help but wonder what unfinished business the stranger had with Sarah and what it could possibly mean for her own involvement in the funeral arrangements.
As Soul worked in silence, she couldn't help but feel a strange magnetic attraction toward the stranger. There was something mysterious and alluring about him that drew her in, despite her reservations about his presence and his cryptic words.
She tried to shake off the feeling and focus on her work, but her mind kept drifting back to him. She wondered what it would be like to get to know him better, to uncover the secrets of his past and the unfinished business he had with Sarah.
As the private viewing began, she found herself stealing glances at the stranger as he stood solemnly by the side of the casket. There was a melancholy air about him that she found both sad and intriguing.
After the viewing, as Soul was packing up her things, the stranger approached her.
"I need to speak with you," he said quietly.
Soul's heart skipped a beat at the intensity in his voice. She couldn't resist the pull she felt towards him, despite her reservations.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
The stranger looked at her for a long moment, as if searching for the right words. Finally, he spoke.
"I know this may sound crazy, but I need your help. There's something I need to do, something that only you can help me with."
Her curiosity was piqued. "What is it?" she asked.
The stranger leaned in close, his breath hot against her ear. "I need you to revive Sarah," he whispered. "And I think you're the only one who can help me do it."
Her heart raced in shock at his strange request. She didn't know how to respond. She stared at him in disbelief. "What do you mean revive Sarah?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Maybe she didn't hear him right.
The man leaned in closer to her. "I mean exactly that," he said, his eyes locked onto hers. "You have a gift, Soul. The ability to revive those who have passed on."
"You can bring the dead back to life".