Is that a book?

  Ever turned a page, not responding. The book was resting on his thighs while he sat with his back against the wall opposite the window of the treehouse. Better keep reading while there’s still light.

  Hello, Earth to Ever, or should I say, Gaia to Ever, hur hur hur…

  *Oh sorry Mentor, I was just reading.*

  This is the book that that soul had to read before he was happy to come down?

  *Yes, it is. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.*

  Ah yes, Marcus Aurelius. One of the finer specimens of human if ever I saw one. I didn’t have to reap him personally, nothing was really keeping him on earth. Went straight down to the Elysian Fields.

  Ever closed the book gently, resting a hand on the cover. Marcus - the ghost, not the philosopher - had read from the beginning, not making it very far at all before the reaping was complete. Ever had taken his spot, returned to human form, sitting with his head in the book until the library had closed.

  *Control what you can, accept what you can’t.*

  I control all, I am Death! Ever’s mentor boomed before dissolving into cackles.

  *This is one of the first things that Aurelius says.*

  I am familiar with his works.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Ever looked out the window. If he let his eyes glaze over, the space in the treehouse seemed to darken to nothingness; all there was was a slightly uneven sky-blue square with a patch of cotton cloud to the corner.

  *Chaos suggested I stop thinking like a human, but that doesn’t solve the problem.*

  The problem?

  Ever swallowed. *The feeling that Taylor is avoiding me.*

  Right. Death was silent for a while. Ever heard him sit back in his sumptuous office chair. Ever, I must admit that like Chaos, I’m also glad that you’re a bit of a mess with your thoughts around Taylor.

  *Mentor?*

  The reasons though are very different. While he relishes in raw chaos, I see you living like every human that I’ve crossed paths with: fragile, illogical but somehow finding a way to rebound. This is exactly why I sent you to Earth. This will help you become a reaper surpassing my reputation.

  Ever was lost for words.

  *I… thank you, Mentor.* He’d never embraced Death - never could embrace Death - but right now, he was imagining him in the treehouse with him and enveloping him with his human arms.

  Speaking of Taylor… you might want to switch into reaper mode and go out to the road outside the cemetery.

  Ever thought of asking why but decided against it. Something in Death's tone told him that this wasn’t a prank.

  Ever floated backwards down and out of the tree, ignoring the waves and hellos of the resident ghosts. It didn't take him long to come to the outside of the graveyard.

  Taylor stood outside the fleur-de-lis wrought iron fence. She was looking at her phone then looking back up and around a few times, as if making sure she was in the right place.

  “Taylor? Why are you here?” His question spoken in soul form fell on her deaf, human ears.

  He shouldn't have done it, but he had to know. Ever floated behind her and peered at her phone. There was a photo of Ever’s drivers licence from the registration of Mid-Summer Nights.

  She had uncertainty, tinged with black fear in her eyes. “What the hell are you, Ever?” She whispered.