The Ghost of Death By Me Will Learn What Work Costs

The Ghost of Death By Me has a great deal to say, and I have listened to every word of it with the patience a man extends to something that does not yet understand its situation. He counts my speeches. He tallies my appearances. He has appointed himself the bookkeeper of my attention, which tells me everything I need to know about where his mind is and what it is not doing.

I have spoken often because there is work to be done and I do not leave work undone. That is not contradiction. That is discipline. The Ghost of Death By Me would not recognize the distinction, because discipline is a thing you build, not a thing you are given, and nothing about him suggests he has ever built anything at all.

He says he will finish me in under a minute. I have no quarrel with ambition. I have a great deal of quarrel with the man who mistakes a boast for a blueprint.

This Friday, the people in that house will receive the return they are owed on their attention. The Ghost of Death By Me will receive something else entirely. I do not need to describe it. The ring will make it plain enough for everyone present.