[The Ghost explains anyway.] The afterlife is often cold and lonely. Believe me, I would know. The dead often go a long time without a touch of kindness.
[In the memory, Dan gets that selfie with Eliora, showing off her fresh braid with him squeezing her to his side, her new book clutched tight to her chest. She goes through the photos and dates them with a marker. Navidad 2017, New Salem ND. He slides them into a paper baggie and tucks them safely into the inside pocket of his jacket, where they won't be forgotten.
The Ghost smiles, and somehow the room seems warmer.] Yes. You understand that too. They often don't, when they're in the middle of it. They see themselves as having more time than they do, and they always have more love than they think. I showed you this because your friend here may need to remember that someday, and another immortal seemed the right person to retain the message for later.
[Dan and Eliora split their takeout food between themselves and sit in front of the TV, watching The Nightmare Before Christmas after Ellie shoots down Dan's suggestion of A Christmas Story, Dan drinking and eating his orange chicken and peaceful and Ellie silently mouthing the lines to a movie she clearly knows by heart. Outside, it's gone dark, and snowflakes appear and vanish in the halos of streetlamps.]
no subject
[In the memory, Dan gets that selfie with Eliora, showing off her fresh braid with him squeezing her to his side, her new book clutched tight to her chest. She goes through the photos and dates them with a marker. Navidad 2017, New Salem ND. He slides them into a paper baggie and tucks them safely into the inside pocket of his jacket, where they won't be forgotten.
The Ghost smiles, and somehow the room seems warmer.] Yes. You understand that too. They often don't, when they're in the middle of it. They see themselves as having more time than they do, and they always have more love than they think. I showed you this because your friend here may need to remember that someday, and another immortal seemed the right person to retain the message for later.
[Dan and Eliora split their takeout food between themselves and sit in front of the TV, watching The Nightmare Before Christmas after Ellie shoots down Dan's suggestion of A Christmas Story, Dan drinking and eating his orange chicken and peaceful and Ellie silently mouthing the lines to a movie she clearly knows by heart. Outside, it's gone dark, and snowflakes appear and vanish in the halos of streetlamps.]