The thing about Death, once you have crossed their path once, is that they are always there. Beyond space and time, beyond everything, they wait, they watch, and their patience is - usually - endless.

Still, it's nice to be sought out by those who met them as children, long before they fully grasp the fear of ending that age brings. They always appear as a friend to young, frightened souls like those...and their reunions, however bittersweet, are just a little warmer than the average rendezvous.

So when Fran chooses to look for them, there they are - sitting back at the base of a tree, smile inviting as an open grave.

"Guten tag, Fran. It has been a while."