Ever lay on the grass in the park, sprawled out, his eyes closed.

  Children laughing. A car beeping. Leaves rustling. Heat. Sweat.

  He didn’t need to focus on sense as much, instead letting the inputs come to him.

  Enjoying your vacation then, are we?

  Ever’s eyes opened and he sat up abruptly. There was a thrumming in his chest. His heartbeat. Margaret’s face swam into memory.

  “A small price to pay for an obedient heart.”

  *You surprised me, Mentor.*

  Death chuckled in Ever’s head. You would be surprised how often people tell me that.

  Ever closed his eyes again, laying back on the grass.

  Tell me what you’ve learnt this week.

  Ever remembered: his arrival, right here, in this very spot. Being disoriented, nearly being hit by a car. Reading a sign, meeting Taylor, getting his first job.

  *Life is chaotic, especially once you start moving. It can be dangerous. It makes you feel things.*

  Ever focused on his heart; it had already slowed down after the initial surprise of his mentor speaking to him.

  *The things that you feel want to come out.*

  Things?

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  *Feelings.*

  His initial outburst on his first day of work painted itself vividly back into his mind. Ever had no idea where that had come from. It had just surged out from deep inside him and had to escape. Would he have died if he held it back in?

  *What’s a Death growl?*

  The air shifted subtly, the trees stopped swaying in unison, holding their breath. A monstrous, discordant bellow from the very depths of the Underworld vibrated through Ever’s skull. Ever squeezed his eyes shut, assaulted by the sound that felt like it could have ripped the ground beneath him asunder.

  What felt like minutes later, it faded away. Ever opened his eyes. Looking up, all the birds calling in the trees were flying further and further away in the twilight sky.

  It’s a vocal technique used in death metal rock music. Something I’ve been practising for a while.

  Ever had no response to that.

  Anyway, what did you think of your first reaping of Margaret?

  Ever thought back to that night. *She was knitting some clothes for someone. I thought that was what was keeping her here.*

  What was it actually?

  Ever was contemplative for a moment. *She had a routine. She wanted to stick to it, even in death. Your scythe became that little bottle of heart medicine.*

  Indeed. People can be so stuck in their routines that they can die and not even notice. How pitiful it is to sleepwalk through life like that.

  Ever wasn’t sure how he felt about Death’s comment, so he kept quiet.

  *Actually, there was one thing. The readings said that when a soul was ready to be reaped, the scythe would present a menu of all the human senses. Why did I only see taste?*

  I’ll be honest, Ever. That surprised me as well. The scythe is a mythical tool that’s existed for a long time. I wield it, but I don’t control it. Maybe with a new reaper, it starts on easy mode?

  *Easy mode, Mentor?*

  Ah, I’m talking about video games, something humans play to pass the time. They watch screens and role play as characters, completing missions like beating monsters or saving the princess. Sometimes, these games let you choose whether you want to play on easy mode or hard mode.

  Ever was silent for a moment. *Maybe the scythe knew that my introduction to earth was on hard mode, so it wanted to make my first reaping on easy mode?*