Most people think that a Grimm is an evil soul, one that gets pleasure from hanging people. Most people assume we enjoy watching people swing from a noose of our own creation. People couldn't be more wrong. Or at least in my case. It's a hard trade to learn, hanging. You have to measure it out just right, so the person isn't in too much pain before they die. If it's not done properly, the person will swing there for hours, waiting for death to come and capture them. I've seen death too many times to count. I've smelt death more than you would believe. It's horrible to witness, but even worse to know that you aided in killing that person.
The first time I tied a noose, I didn't think it was so bad. I thought maybe, just maybe, I could survive doing this for the rest of my life. People don't understand that every time you tie a noose, every time you lower it around someone's neck, you're commiting a crime yourself. Usually, the victims beg me to set them free. Usually, the victims call out for their family, their wives, their children, their husbands, their mothers. I've learned to block out the hysteria. I've learned to keep my face impassive as I pull the bag over their head, learned to pretend that my heart doesn't break when are screaming for the victims in the back ground. I work with two other Grimms. It helps, because they know what it's like too. They are just like me. They've been thrown into this because there was no one else. They hate it too. We try to help each other. If someone is scheduled to hang and one of us ever had fond memories of that person, some one else will take the job. The hardest thing I've ever had to do was string up a friend to his death.
I let a man free once. It was early on in my career, I had only been working for a couple of weeks. I had not yet learned how to tune out the desperate pleas for reconsideration. This man was so heartbreakingly desperate, I couldn't help it. As I pretend to put the bag over his head, I whispered to him when to run and where, and for how long. The man escaped, so they tell me. I managed to convince the Sheriff he had escaped on his own accord, but he still punished me. The next day, I was forced to hang my oldest brother, John.
They tell me that things like that break people. But I was numb. I have never let anyone go since that fateful day. I have never spoken to anyone outside the two other Grimms that day. I don't leave my cottage on the outskirts of the village unless I am called upon. Then I don my black cloak and hood, and lean on my walking stick. I walk to the gallows and sit at the foot of the place where so many souls; both innocent and guilty, have swung. And I begin on my noose. My fingers move of their own accord now. They know exactly what to do, and exactly how long it needs to be. The rope is rough and cheap, but it's strong and it does it's job well. It can kill a man in an instant, if done properly.
That's my gift to all who visit me in my lonely world. I make sure that when they leave this world, guilty or not, they do not suffer any more pain for their crimes. What happens after the people are dead, after they stop swinging, after I check their pulse and pronounce them dead, is up to God. If there is a God.
I decided a long time ago I wasn't sure if I believed in God. The day I hung John, the day everything is my world was changed forever, the day I decided everything was worthless, was the day I stopped believing in a higher power. Because if such a high power exists, why would he let me string up my own brother?
I don't believe in anything, and that's how it should be. Grimms with hope aren't worth anything. Grimms with hope are the ones who let poor souls go, out of pity and grief. Grimms with hope are dangerous indeed.
We're named well. We're the Grimm Reapers, because the tidings we bring aren't joy and happiness, it isn't love and hope. We bring the promises of the real world into the lives of families being ripped apart at their seams. We bring tidings of death and grief.
We are the Grimm Reapers.
I loved this story. Telling this from a Grimm's point of view is very interesting, comparing they're pretty much in the background of every story. Anyways, great job, and you seem like a wonderful writer.
Hi!
This was very unique and very interesting to read! This story captivated my attention for sure.
It was quite different to decide to write about a Grimm Reaper's life. My only concern is that you will get stuck trying to continue the story and have trouble finding a good plot since you have already mentioned some things that would have been a good for it. For example, you could have left out the part about the character having to hang his brother, and instead, made your character come up with some complicated scheme to free his brother and then run away into the woods or something.
I also think that at the end, you might want to only state " We are the Grimm Reapers" once because you take some of the power and danger away when you repeat it.
This was very outstanding! Overall this is a good start, let me know how it turns out!
Hello. This was really interesting!
Nitpicks
It seems strange to talk about deciding to not be sure. And, your character later goes on to say he doesn’t believe in God. There’s a big difference between not being sure you believe, and being sure you don’t believe.
General
Definitely an interesting take on the life of a hangman. I like how you made us sympathize with someone we normally wouldn't. That's one of the great things about writing.
But, it's mostly a monologue, and there's not much of a story. Do you plan to expand this into something more?
I feel like your last line could be stronger. You've already mentioned the hangmen are called Grimm Reapers, so it's not very powerful the second time around.
Keep writing!
Prolix