“You can see me?” Ever nodded. He stood up; she shrunk away. “Don’t go.” He placed the cigarette perpendicular to the bench rails so that it wouldn’t fall through the gaps. He closed his eyes and took a breath in. Upon exhale, he became ghostly and see-through just like Harmony.

  “You’re… Death?” She said hesitantly.

  “Not yet.”

  The scythe stood up in place, a little to the side.

  “You’re here to send me…” the end of her sentence burned up, spent ashes.

  “To the Underworld, yes. But not while there’s something for you to do here on Earth.”

  She held his gaze, fear gone. With his own eyes, he directed her attention down where she had been crouching.

  “Oh right.” She looked a bit embarrassed. Fortunately for her as a ghost, she couldn’t blush.

  “May I?” Ever asked. He became a human again right in front of her.

  “S-Sure.” She floated aside as Ever walked to a row of bricks that blocked in a flower bed. He touched one after the other, until one seemed a bit looser. He looked back at Harmony over his shoulder, who nodded. With a firm yank, the brick came loose. In its central indentation was a space for a disposable lighter.

  He picked it up, sat back on the bench and picked up the cigarette. Logan’s lighter had a button that popped a little flame up; this one had a spark wheel.

  “You’re meant to…” Harmony floated closer to Ever. “Like this.” She did her best to show the thumb action to create the spark. After a few tries, the flame was created. The soul stared at the fire, entranced.

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  Here goes nothing. Holding the cigarette the same way that Logan did, he dipped the white end into the flame, where it promptly came alight. Harmony continued staring as Ever brought it up to his mouth, hesitating before closing his lips around it. He took a deep breath in - coughing violently almost immediately.

  Harmony giggled. “That was like my first time too, with Matt.”

  “Matt?” Ever managed to squeak out, coughing into his arm.

  “Yeah. My parents hated him.” She had a faraway look on her face. “‘He’s not good for you,’ they kept saying. I didn’t care.”

  Ever tried having another drag. This time he took it slower. It tasted slightly acidic, but there was a certain smoothness to it.

  “I only knew him for a semester here. He was trying to finish his deferred arts degree, but I think we both knew he was never going to finish. He was my first in many ways: first boyfriend, first time smoking, first…” she turned away slightly; her ghostliness once again saved her blushes - literally.

  “What happened?”

  “He left one day. Blocked me. Wouldn’t return my calls.” Harmony settled next to Ever, floating slightly above the bench. “I spiraled. Started failing subjects. Smoking became one of my vices, the closest thing for me to taste him again.” She looked sideways at Ever, eyes trained on the smoke. She licked her lips.

  Ever placed the cigarette down, this time on the hand rest on the side of the bench. He changed back to reaper form. Almost straight away, the scythe glowed.

  SENSES

  Hearing

  Smell

  Touch

  Sight

  Taste

  With the flavor lingering, he selected ‘Smell’ and ‘Taste’. The scythe flashed brilliant white and shrunk until it was a thin, narrow strip. No sooner had it lowered itself into Harmony’s index and middle fingers, she took a deep drag. Her eyes fluttered. She winced as she exhaled deep and long, pain and pleasure inseparable.

  “It’s not Matt that I can’t let go of. It’s the memory of who I was when I was with him.”

  Ever stood up and walked out of the courtyard, leaving the smoke from the smouldering cigarette to have one last dance with the disappearing ghost.