I stood on the front step of the house, trying to act reasonably cool about the fact that Aken was coming to visit, but really being far more excited than I should be. Since fewer souls had started coming to Duat, we"d been able to spend more time together, and it had become one of our rituals to sit and drink wine from my vineyard while watching the sunset. It was something I looked forward to when I was starting to prepare for my descent to the afterlife, and something I thought about when I returned to the land of the living.
A lone figure approached the house and I lifted my arm to wave at him. My dogs had other ideas, and they raced past me to go and say hello. Aken stopped in his tracks and made sure to pat them all, giving them the fuss that they were clearly demanding.
A smile pu
