Matthew woke with a start. He crumpled his sheets in anxiety as his eyes searched the room carefully. He thrust open the window to his left, letting the dawn soften the harsh darkness. He glanced about his flat as it filled with light. His clothes were scattered about, and a miniature stove rested squarely between the bathroom and the door. He could have almost mistaken it for his old flat. Well, except for-

FLASH!

            A brilliant light scorched Matthew’s eyes. He fell back and over his bed with a loud thump.

            “Perfect! That one’s a keeper!” A warbled Irish voice squealed as Matt heard the click and whirr of the photo being processed. The voice’s owner floated over to Matthew, who picked up his purple-tinted glasses and placed them on his face. Matthew held up a hand to let the photographer help him up, but he was content blinding him again with his camera. Matt rubbed his eyes and swatted at it aimlessly.

            “Trevor, can’t this wait until later?” The photographer snapped another picture and swooped to get a better angle as Matthew pulled himself up and off of his bed.

            “Of course not! It’s my job, y’know, nothing personal.” Trevor slung his blinding device back over his shoulder, allowing Matthew a moment to see him properly. Trevor’s skin was colored a bright shade of blue, with dark rings around his eyes that made him look almost like a sick raccoon. His grey hood was down, allowing his large ears to stretch. They were enormous, each the size of dinner plates and pitch-black, the same black as the top of his head. His grey hood was baggy and seemed to turn to smoke at the end, so that it formed a wispy tail for the odd little creature that curled and spun as he gave Matthew a look-over. “But just think about it: The Matthew Blake, of the world-famous Wossname, and you’ve already been dead for a month!”

            “Yeah, don’t remind me.” Matthew began making a pot of coffee. He had no need to get dressed- he was still wearing the same hoodie and jeans he had worn all month. Trevor inspected the coffee suspiciously, and quickly took a picture for good measure.

            “But this is an important event for the recently departed!” Trevor said the phrase carefully trying not to offend Matthew. “Most people don’t even make it to last a week, let alone a month. And you still haven’t been registered at the DDP-“

            “-The what?” Matthew poured himself a cup, and sipped it absentmindedly. The afterlife was still not quite what he had expected. The coffee was exceptional, for one. And this jabbering blue thing…Well, that was a whole other story.

            “The Department for Deceased Persons. They’re the main soul management branch for Soluna, and they go a bit mad when someone doesn’t file the paperwork.” Matthew nodded, but the words barely registered to him. The coffee was only just beginning to kick in. Trevor continued, but he only heard half of the words. “…Thousands of illegal souls…unregistered…never will know who’s…just tragic…you even listening to me?” Matthew continued sipping his drink as he carried it to the window. Outside, more of the blue things were zooming off, and he could even see a couple humans on the cobbled streets below. The sun was slowly rising, creeping over the green horizon onto the pearl-white buildings of Soluna. In the background Trevor continued talking, but Matthew gazed out of his window. The city stretched for miles in every corner, each building a different height that gave the impression that they were like waves in a giant stone sea. Matthew watched more of the blue things as they went about their ways over the city. He noticed that the majority of them all flowed to a single building, a large white pillar right in the middle of the city. Already the pillar’s shadow engulfed much of Soluna, as if trying to reach the edges. Matthew sipped his coffee again and turned back to Trevor.

            “Alright, let’s go to the DDP.” The blue thing was still in the middle of his lecture, and was now practically shrieking.

            “Absolutely not! You don’t listen to me! I said we need to go to the- wait, what?” Trevor sank a foot in surprise. Matthew noticed his tail went straight through the floor, as if it didn’t exist at all.

            “Yeah. I’ve gotta get that registration thing done, right? Let’s roll.” Without even thinking, Trevor snapped a photograph and blinded Matthew once more, but the photographer was too excited to care.

            “All right! Yes, we are on our way, Mister Blake sir!” Trevor gave a mock salute and immediately dashed through the door onto the other side. Matthew finished his coffee and opened the door, which rippled and shimmered where Trevor had passed through it. He took a look back into his flat and out of his window before leaving. Meanwhile, the sun rose over the Land of the Dead.

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