Dr. Yang clicked off the pen light, taking a step back. “...And eyes are dilating properly. Everything looks good.” He made some notes in Zoe’s chart.

  “You mean except for the fact that I’m dying,” Zoe said, dead-pan. This earned a reproachful look from Ever sitting at her side.

  “Yeah well, unless someone finds a way to stop your prion proteins from folding the wrong way in the next few weeks, we know what your fate is going to be.”

  Zoe snorted. “Telling it like it is, doc. I knew there was a reason why I picked you.” He gave her a forced smile, although his eyes were genuinely soft. He patted her foot before leaving the room.

  “‘Your fate’,” Ever echoed, staring at nothing in particular. The dream from the morning lingered; he could almost see the jaws of the leaping monster imprinted on the darkness when he closed his eyes.

  “Yeah us medical professionals try to leave nothing to chance, no matter animal or human. It’s cruel to give people hope when it’s unrealistic.”

  The weight in the room shifted; Ever wove his hand into hers as if anchoring himself to her.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

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  She tried to pull her hand away from his but he firmly held her palm against his.

  “I…” her eyes started glistening. “I’ll tell you now.” She took a deep, shuddering breath, one that she had been holding for months.

  “My mum, she… she was clockwork defined. Up at 6:30 every morning, made me breakfast and lunch, even through high school. The best executive assistant, practically held her company together.

  “Then it all changed. She slept in, missed appointments. Apparently there were random outbursts at work. She would throw dishes, saying she was seeing monsters in the house. I was at university, living away from home. I deferred just to be back with her.

  “We took her to see a doctor. Got some blood tests done, saw specialists and yeah…” She tugged her hand again and this time, Ever let her go as she wiped her tears away. “Dad couldn’t handle it. Left a note. Nice enough to wish us luck, at least.” He winced at the acrid bitterness that stained her voice.

  “She died within the year from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Turns out there was family I didn't know about who had symptoms. They thought it was dementia. Anyway..." she breathed. "I went back and finished my studies. Started working, then started Vets R Us a few years later. I had been seeing the doctor annually who had diagnosed Mum but last year was the one year I missed it. That was the year I started seeing Nika. Bozo and the other animal ghosts came not long after.

  “So there's me realizing I'm either cursed or have CJD like Mum did. To take my mind off things, I go down Lygon Street, go into a random ice cream shop, the ice cream boy calls me ‘complex and sweet’ and the rest is history.”

  She clutched Ever’s hand in both of hers, this time letting the tears fall with naked abandon. “You’re not going to leave me as well, are you?”