“Hey could you two grab an early bite? We’re going to get a whole bunch of customers soon, I can feel it.” Logan rubbed his hands eagerly, but Ever wasn’t sure if it was in anticipation of more money to be made, or whether it was because he was cold. The ice cream store didn’t have heating. Taylor wore a black skivvy with the neck rolled down, while Ever wore his long sleeve, flannel top underneath the apron.

  “If you’re expecting a whole bunch of customers soon, why shoo us away, huh?” Taylor challenged.

  “Just go!” Logan barked, pointing at the door. “Less time yapping, more time eating. If I call you, you come back right away.”

  Ever was already half way out the door. He held it open for Taylor, who stuck her tongue out at her uncle.

  —--

  “What was it like?” Taylor stared at the plain patch of grass where they had lain together at the end of the summer, the half-eaten lamb souvlaki temporarily forgotten in her hand.

  Ever chewed his ham and cheese baguette slowly and swallowed. “What was what like?”

  She let her gaze get momentarily taken by a dog-walker with four different breeds. “Like… coming to life.”

  Ever sat on the bench and closed his eyes. “Prickly. Bright. Loud. Too… Much.”

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  Taylor nodded slowly. “Who - or what - were you before you came here?” She let him finish off the last few bites of his lunch, while she threw the remainder of hers in the bin.

  “I don’t remember much about the Underworld. I was just a soul that Mentor Death picked out.”

  “Why do you call him Mentor?”

  “Because he’s my teacher. I’m his apprentice. I’m learning how to reap from him.”

  “What’s reaping like?”

  “I took you to that one in the cemetery a couple months ago.”

  “Yeah and it was just… windy.”

  Ever nodded. Taylor was a human. He had to remember that it was normal for her to not see or feel anything when reapings happened.

  “Done successfully, a reaping is peaceful. I listen to what the soul wants, the scythe forms a sensory bridge and helps them experience this feeling one more time, then they fade from this world and travel to the Underworld.”

  Now it was Taylor’s turn to nod. The two of them sat there in silence. No buzzing phone from Logan - yet.

  “Hey Ever…”

  He looked at her. She was leaning forward slightly, gripping the bench, her knuckles white. Her navy blue fringe swept across her eyes and cheeks. All he could see were her lips, slightly parted.

  “You’ve got to bring Zoe Trick or Treating with us this week, OK?” Her demeanor had snapped back to her normal, cantankerous self. “What are you waiting for? Text her now!”

  It was as good a reason as any to catch up with her. Ever pulled his phone out and he began composing a message.

  “Aah damn,” Taylor said, pulling out her own buzzing phone. “That would be Unc. Let’s go, reaper.”