*
"Hey, you know that Beatles' song, right? Eleanor Rigby?"
Clara nodded.
Death hummed a couple of lines anyway:
"All the lonely people.. Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people.. Where do they all belong?
That concept of belonging, it fits, you see."
"But isn't belonging just an idea?"
"No, not really, that's either some enlightened detachedness or angsty teenage talk. No offense." he grinned. "Humans are social animals, the concept is natural. What I meant was, I have this idea of everybody belonging together in life. And death. It doesn't occur to everybody to think at such a scale, and to actually pull it off in any respectable way is more of a challenge than what you'd expect. And yet, it's very simplistic."
Clara tilted her head. "I guess.. Yeah, I can see that. What I can't see is people warming to that idea."
"Not unlikely as you might think. Dear old planet Earth is a horrible place, sure, but it's a great one, too."
"You keep talking in ultimatums."
"Mm, a habit of mine. I'm sure you understand why."
*
Clara stared at the boy, his utterly familiar face. "I.. know you."
"Hello, Clara. Yes, you certainly do."
*
"It's mostly pointless to look sullen and hope that someone's going to take pity and engage you in a conversation."
*
"A sophisticated mind is less likely to be found among the innocent."
