The first thing I noticed was that the pain was gone. The tall, thin, hooded figure let me bask in that for a moment.
IT IS TIME
"Oh," I said, looking down at the frail vessel I had inhabited all my life. "Right."
COME
"Do you remember," I asked as we walked, "everyone you come for?"
YES
"Fondly?"
I DO NOT JUDGE. AS A RULE, I SPEND LITTLE TIME WITH PEOPLE AS THEY LIVE
"No, but you spend some time with them after, like now."
1/2
Death halted.
THERE WAS ONE, TEN YEARS AGO. HE TAUGHT ME A LOT ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN
"To be where the rising ape meets the falling angel?"
AH. I HEAR YOU HAVE MET HIM TOO
