There were few benefits being dead. It was something Reynard learned on his fifth day being dead, and he hated each part of it. The fox stepped through the oak doors of the museum, before observing the statue of a wolf he wasn’t familiar with. Part of him wondered if the wolf still lingered before stepping through a set of glass doors. Part of him expected them to slide open, but that was an old thought from an old existence.

He found himself in the gift shop first. Various white stands held books about the recent displays, one of which was about the Egyptians. He remembered what he learned about their deities at school; how Anubis, the judge of the dead, would way the soul of an individual against the feather of an ostrich. If the heart was lighter then they proceeded into the afterlife, if not it was devoured by Ammut and destroyed. Part of him wondered if he'll be judged in the same manner.

He shook his head and noticed a display filled with various trinkets. Some were plush toys of Egyptian deities and creatures, while others were small replicas of obelisks and a sarcophagus. “They’re certainly making their money out of this,” he said out loud. Some part of him expected to him to hear Lex chastise him about his snark and how this was a way of revenue, but it never came.  

He reached out to grab a jackal plush, but he felt his hand pass through it as if it were sand. That was the downside with death, Reynard thought. Connecting with the world was difficult. When he was first realised he wasn't bound to physics; he started to wonder why he wasn't phasing through the ground but could move through walls. As there was no guide to consult he guessed it was about expectation; some part of him expected not to fall through the ground, yet another part expected him not to obey physics. He stopped questioning it after he was knee-deep in concrete, but he could alter expectations. He reached out to the plush again, this time thinking about picking it up; making contact with the soft cotton, and how it should feel. He curled his fingers around its head and lifted it. It felt off to him like his hand was numb, but he let out a small chuff despite it. He was holding it. He brought it closer to inspect it.  It was pure black with golden highlights painting the details of the face in a cartoonish manner. Part of him admitted it was cute and something Lex would have liked.

“You know this is the last place I expected to find you,” a voice called out to him. It had a calming effect on him and made him feel drowsy, something he hadn’t felt in the past five days.  

Reynard turned around to see a black cat standing in the doorway. She still looked the same the first time they met on the road, dressed in a pink flannel shirt and blue jeans; her green eyes glowing with purpose.

“Where did you expect to find me?”

“Your apartment or site of death,” she replied in a matter-of-fact tone. It gave him the impression that most spirits didn't go very far. The cat walked around the gift shop, her tail swaying as she glanced at the displays, before tutting. “Follow me”.

This is it, Reynard thought as the cat neared him. He clutched the plush tighter and prepared himself. Two steps away. He squeezed his eyes closed and braced for the icy touch. One. He felt nothing. He opened one of his eyes to see the cat standing at the entrance of the first exhibition, the green glow of her eyes seeming to view his very essence.

“Relax. I’m not going to reap you,” she said and turned to walk into the exhibition. “Not yet anyway.”

Reynard watched as she entered, leaving him alone for a moment. There was some part of him that wanted to run and find the most secluded place in the world to hide. But he knew it wouldn’t work. If the reaper was able to find him here, then she could find him anywhere. The fox sighed as he entered the corridor, still carrying the plush.

 The cat introduced herself as Resi, one of many reapers tasked with ferrying souls to their desired afterlives. Reynard oddly felt a bit disappointed; he expected a tall thin man in a suit or a cloaked figure with a scythe. Resi laughed as she explained that people tended to be comfortable when things look normal - but her boss did carry a scythe.

They paused looking at the paintings that decorated the corridor depicting various battles, all taking place on barren fields. Resi studied one depicting various burning ships of the English.
"That's wrong," she said before moving on into the Egyptian exhibition, not explaining what the error was to the fox as he trailed behind.

The Egyptian exhibition was the main draw of the museum: Forty display cased dotted the floor, each filled with various objects from the past era. Rusted tools were held on plastic stands, while the fragile scrolls were unfurled for peering eyes to see. As the two of them walked past, the cat peered over each object and provided commentary over the ones she deemed interesting. What Reynard didn’t expect were the type of objects she talked about. She talked about a decayed wooden scythe and how the farmer, Bakari, used it to reap the corn; a stone slab with an engraving of a coiled snake, which she said was a game called mehen and she went into detail of how she once played an intense game against a Prince. She fell silent when she saw a small wooden horse with wheels.  

Reynard wanted to ask if she was okay, but she quickly moved on to the main draw of the exhibit: the mummy. The sarcophagus stood alone at the end of the hall, and it was a sight to behold. It was a made of some kind of stone, which had eroded to an off-yellow over the years, while the head of the sarcophagus was decorated with flaking paints filling in the details of the face. Various hieroglyphics ran up down the body, most of the colour being muted from degradation. He read the label and learned what little information was available, thought to be a priest and found in the fifties.  

“Did you reap him too?” Reynard gestured to the sarcophagus, but the cat shook her head in response. The two fell silent for a minute before another question popped into his mind. “Why didn’t you reap me when I died?”

It was something he’d been wondering ever since the collision. He wasn’t sure who was to blame, he had headphones in at the time but the driver was speeding. Next thing he remembered after the initial pain of the collision was waking up and seeing his body two feet away from where he laid, his limbs twisted in unnatural angles with blood starting to pool underneath him.

The realisation came in two parts. First, he denied that this had happened. He watched as paramedics and the wolf who hit him walk through him, unable to hear his pleas for help. That’s when he realised the truth. He had died. It was then he saw her, peering over him before vanishing.

Resi opened her mouth before closing, carefully choosing her words. “You said you needed time”.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You thought it,” she replied. If he was alive Reynard would have been surprised that someone's mind could be read but being a ghost killed his shock value. “It’s why I told you about the ones I’ve reaped here. I need you to understand”.  

Needed to understand what, Reynard thought. That he wasn’t the only one who had died? That he would also be reaped and forgotten to the cracks of time, remembered in hushed whispers and rotten trinkets.

“Yes,” Resi said, making his head snap up and lock eyes with her. “Everyone dies at some point. Some will be forgotten, others misremembered, but I’ll remember.” She grasped his upper arm and guided him to a nearby bench, sitting themselves down.  

Reynard was fidgeting with the plush as the cat gave some spiel about balance in the universe; how death wasn’t the end but he didn’t care. He was dead. He knew that he'll be shuffled off into whatever afterlife but he couldn’t leave until he saw Lex for the last time.  

“Who’s Lex?” Reynard looked up to Resi, who’d stopped mid-sentence. “You’ve thought about him a lot the past hour”.  

A wide smile spread over Reynard’s muzzle as he started to talk about him. “Lex is my…” The smile faltered a little as he corrected himself. “He was my boyfriend. He actually works here and I was hoping to…”

Resi put a hand on his shoulder as if to say, I understand. There was a brief moment of silence between the two before she asked to talk about him more.

Where do I even begin? Reynard thought. He mulled over his choices before starting at the beginning. It was mid-December, just after a heavy night of snow, when Reynard bumped into the jackal. Well, it was more of a slip into him while carrying a cup of coffee. It happened in less than a second and both of them were tangled together in the brown snow. At first, the fox was mortified thinking he'd hurt him, but the Jackal merely laughed and helped him up before offering to buy him a new coffee. It was an offer he happily took.

There was a cafe around the corner so they both went inside an and ordered americanos, sitting next to the window. It was then the jackal introduced himself as Lex and the two hit it off easy, bouncing from one topic to another. If anyone saw them they would’ve thought they were old friends catching up but it soon had to end as both were running late for their jobs so they traded contact information before heading their separate ways.

The two met again the next day around five, most of the shops were closing but the cafe they were at was still open. It was the same drinks just different seats, this time being in the middle of the cafe. Reynard paid this time, much to Lex’s protest, and they talked in-depth about their day and the recent movies they’ve watched. It was then Reynard let slip that he was bisexual. At the time he didn’t know why he mentioned it, perhaps he was testing the waters, but he watched the jackal’s ears redden as he talked about how he was going to his first Pride
 the following year. When it was time to leave, Reynard suggested that they meet up next at a restaurant.

“Those were the three best years of my life,” Reynard said. He still found it odd referring himself in the past tense, it didn’t feel right. “To be cliché, he was my everything and now…” He trailed off again, fidgeting with the plush. Nothing felt right to him any more. The more he remembered about living, the more hollow he became and the more he wanted to leave. He had too but not without seeing Lex one last time.

“He’s downstairs,” Resi spoke up. “Would you like to see him before you cross over?” She watched as Reynard nodded. She gave a small smile knowing the hard part was over. By letting them talk about themselves, it helped them realise they didn't belong on this plane of existence anymore. It also allowed her to remember them, in case they had no one left.

Reynard stood up and started to walk out the exhibition, heading into a side corridor to get to the basement, but froze mid-step as the cat called out to him.

“You know, you could phase through the floor..."

                    -------------------------------

The basement was where the museum kept and maintained all the artefacts when not on display. Each object here was meticulously catalogued and stored in drawers or steel-lined cages. There was an odd feeling in the air, one that passed Lex as he was doing an inventory check. It was different than the occasional shiver that ran down his spine, but he put it to the copious amount of caffeine he’s consumed lately. A sharp knock at the open door made him lose focus.

“What?” Lex snapped as he locked his gaze onto the bobcat. Part of him wanted to scare him away, but the bobcat locked eyes with him and stared down. Lex was a foot taller, yet he felt minuscule at that moment. Worthless.

“Alex, I think you should take some time off,"  The bobcat said. He had noticed a drop in quality from Lex for the past few days but he expected that. No one would be fine after a loss like he experienced.

“I’m fine, John” He replied before turning back to the computer. He wanted to lose himself in his work and forget everything that had happened, even if it was for a few hours. It would keep him away from his apartment that now felt too empty/

John walked towards the computer monitor and turned it off. “You're fine. Really?” The bobcat stared him down, taking note of Lex’s red and sunken eyes. There was also a stale smell that made him wrinkle his nose, but he wasn’t sure if it was from the room or the jackal. “You look like crap. When was the last time you slept?”

Lex was going to object but he kept his gaze low, and his ears were pinned to the sides of his head. He couldn’t remember getting more than a few hours sleep or when he had a proper meal.  

John sighed before putting a hand on the jackal’s shoulder. “I understand, really I do, but you’re no use to anyone like this.” It was a bit harsh but he saw Lex nod slowly. “I’ll put you down for annual leave for the next two weeks. Okay? “

“Yeah,” Lex muttered. “I’ll finish up here, then head out.” He looked at John, who looked like he was going to say something but nodded instead. John got him to print off the inventory audit for the Egyptian display, before leaving Lex alone, closing the door to allow some privacy.

Reynard watched as the jackal massaged his temples before shutting everything down. He got Resi to give him some room to talk, reminding him that Lex won’t be able to hear anything but after seeing the rough state he was at a loss. All he wanted to do was drag Lex into a hug and never let go, but he couldn’t. He was still fidgeting with the plush as he tried to find the right words, the more he thought about it the more he realised that goodbyes were the hardest thing.

“Rey, I really need you right now.”  

Reynard snapped his head up as he heard Lex speak, hoping that he could see him somehow, but he saw Lex looking at the ceiling.  “I’m here,” he replied. It was the natural thing to say and he placed the jackal plush on his desk.

“I know you’re busy right now, but...but I miss you so much.” Tears started to well up in his eyes and run down his cheeks. “I don’t know what to do. You always had plans for these situations. What would you do?” It was then he felt a strange tingling on his shoulder. It didn’t feel like pins and needles but something foreign but calming.

Reynard watched as Lex gazed over to where he was standing before moving it away. It seemed to help him as the jackal took several deep breaths to steady himself.

“Christ, I need to go to bed," Lex said as he wiped his eyes on his jumper sleeve. "I hope you're happy up there and I want to say that I love you.”

“I love you too,” Reynard replied before he removed his arm. He did his best not to break down crying as he took the first step towards the door. It was difficult as every nerve was telling him to stay. The next step was easier and he saw Resi had walked in the room, leaving the door open, and patiently waited for him to come closer. He looked back at Lex and swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m ready now.”

Resi nodded and snapped her fingers making a shimmering portal of gold appear in the door frame.

It was hypnotic to look at, releasing wave upon wave of calmness and what Reynard could only describe as joy. He gave a final look at Lex, who was shuffling a stack of paper and gave a sad smile. The cat took his hand and they walked into the portal for the next world.  

For a second the room went freezing for Lex and he turned to look at the door, finding open instead of closed. Did John forget to close it? He shrugged and picked up his bag, then he noticed something on his desk. It was a small jackal plush, one that hadn’t been sitting there beforehand. He went to pick it up, feeling the soft cotton and smiled.