Ever started at ‘1.001 - Animals’. He floated directly through the first book shelf, changing his path if people were standing in the middle.

  -biggest, land based mammal there is known to man. It can consume up to-

  Ever stopped and looked back at the shelf. The refined, older, gentleman’s voice faded as quickly as it appeared. In his mind, it sounded like the person the voice belonged to was next to him, much like it did when Death spoke to him. Was it possible that his mentor had another guest in the Underworld with him? If that were the case, why were they discussing land based mammals? Maybe it was just cosmic interference.

  Ever continued through to the next shelf, floating gently through. No one in this row either.

  -Parthenon was a marvel of the Greek architecture, located on the Acropolis in Athens-

  -In 2006, when Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet. Suddenly, our solar system was one planet less.-

  The voices varied, male and female respectively with different accents to the first, but still, that same knowledgeable tone on a seemingly random topic… wait.

  Ever looked at the scythe in his right hand. The blade was shrouded in shadow amongst the books. He waved it through the next row of shelves, cutting through a collection of books:

  -concrete cubes are-

  -leather upholstery can be-

  -true that, one is able to-

  The scythe was dictating the books! The voices he was hearing must have been the authors who wrote them, almost like the scythe brought the knowledge to life. How ironic.

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  Ever kept floating along looking for Marcus, largely ignoring the voices in his head as the scythe touched books along the way. He was up to ‘1.020 - Philosophy’. Still no sign of Marcus. Where could he be?

  Ever just about passed the column when he did a double take. A man was floating, head level with the top of the shelf, eight feet above the ground. There he is.

  “Marcus,” Ever said, waving at the ghost. He held the scythe straight, so the blade wouldn’t touch any books while he was talking. “Hi, I’m Ever.”

  The man looked down. He was wearing thick glasses and had a receding hairline. His magnified eyes became wide as he caught sight of the scythe.

  “Hi there, I can’t go yet. Not until I read this book.” He reached in to grab it out, fingers passing through the spine.

  Ever floated up and looked at the title of the book: Meditations - Marcus Aurelius.

  “On his deathbed, my dad told me to read this book so I could make something of myself. Didn’t plan on getting electrocuted, falling off a ladder and hitting my head, though,” Marcus said sheepishly.

  The scythe came to life. In the darkness between the bookshelves, the mythical tool glowed with greater intensity, the blade almost looking blue with its gleam. This ghost wanted to read a book, what sense did that the desire to gain knowledge fall under?

  SENSES

  —--

  —--

  Touch

  —--

  —--

  With nothing else to select, Ever confirmed the option. Moments later, the scythe puffed out of existence, leaving behind a mote of light that hovered momentarily in front of Ever and Marcus’ faces, as if looking at them. It then flew at the book, which pulsed in affirmation as it absorbed the light, becoming normal once more. Nothing happened for a few seconds. Slowly but surely the book slid itself out the bookshelf, hovered down to the ground and fell open at a random page.

  Both Ever and Marcus floated down, their eyes pulled towards a passage that had been underlined in red pen: ‘It’s the truth I’m after, and the truth never harmed anyone. What harms us is to persist in self-deceit and ignorance.’