The Good Reaper by Dennis J Butler Read Free Book Online Page B

idea of how much things cost. That
was enough excitement for me for one day. I walked back to my apartment, trying
to make eye contact with people. No one looked at me and I began to wonder if
my punk hairdo was making people avoid me but I knew I would figure it all out
eventually.
    Sunday morning I made a test run to the hospital to see if I
understood Frank’s directions. I walked two blocks to the elevated subway and
watched people using the token machine for a while. I waited until no one was
around before using it. I tried to put money in and I thought I was reading the
instructions correctly but nothing seemed to work. I tried another token
machine but still nothing seemed to work. I was confused and I began to panic.
I was wondering if every simple thing I would have to do would be so
embarrassing and frustrating. I tried a few more times before I felt a light
tap on my shoulder. “You need help,” I heard a soft voice say from behind me.
    It was time to speak up more confidently than I had done at
the grocery store. It was time to be one of them. My voice cracked a little and
my words seemed to die as they came out of my mouth. I wondered if it had
something to do with the gravity, or perhaps it was just my Ranjisi voice.
“What am I doing wrong?”
    “Your bill is wrinkled. You’re obviously not from around
here.” The young woman stepped up beside me and took my five dollar bill. I
watched as she flattened out the bill and unfolded the corner. It slid right
into the machine and the tokens came out. “Don’t they have soda machines where
you’re from?” the woman said with a little laugh.
    I laughed along with her thinking to myself, “No we surely
do not have soda machines on Ranjisan,” but what came out of my mouth was, “Oh,
I forgot about that.” Of course I knew it didn’t make sense but there was
nothing else I could think of. Apparently anyone and everyone on planet Earth
knew how to use a simple machine you put money into; everyone except me that
was. I thanked the woman and wondered if I should try and have a conversation
with her but I just stood there looking and feeling awkward. I had missed two
opportunities to try and have a conversation with a human.
    When the subway pulled in and opened its doors, the young
woman hurried to a seat at the far end of the car. I wondered again if I should
go sit with her. She seemed friendly enough. But then I remembered reading that
people in large cities on Earth are sometimes unfriendly. On Ranjisan it would
be considered perfectly normal to sit with a stranger and begin a conversation.
I walked to the far end of the car and sat opposite from her. She looked up at
me and smiled. “Thanks again,” I said. “I’m Luke.” I expected her to say hello
and tell me her name but she just smiled again and looked back down at her
phone. I was thinking that she probably thought I was strange or that I was mentally
delayed in some way.
    The subway ride to the city put things into perspective. I
assumed that people generally live out in Queens where I was living and they
worked in the city where all the big buildings were. When I reached the
terminal in the city, I had to look for the 1, 2, or 3 train headed downtown.
It was simple. I took the number 2 train eight stops to Franklin Street. When I
stepped out onto the street level, I could see the St. Elizabeth Medical Center
on the opposite side of the street. I was ready to begin my new life as a
human.

4
- The Hospital
     
    Monday morning I arrived at the hospital about an hour
early. I waited in the lobby until just before 9:00 and walked into the Human Resources
Department. I already knew from Frank that my HR contact was human. I spent a
half hour with Millie Walker, completing all the tedious paperwork. I realized
that Frank couldn’t tell me all the details of how the position was arranged
but I assumed that somewhere higher up in the hospital administration there was
someone from Ranjisan.
    I spent