Angela wrung her hands together for a moment, not knowing how else she could help the old man. "Um...is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Enderlander?"

Turning in his chair to finally face her, he asked quietly, "I know that you are busy, my dear, but would it be a terrible imposition for you to perhaps sit with me for just a short while?"

Angela glanced at her watch and then looked a bit nervously at the closed door behind her, unsure if she wanted to be alone with this man, not to mention the fact that the room also contained a dead body. But when she turned back to Mr. Enderlander, she saw only a tired, old man who had just lost his mother, someone who had been there beside him for more than seventy years. Angela couldn't imagine a relationship lasting that long and decided that after such a loss, she could be a big enough person to give him a few minutes of her precious time. "Sure, I can stay a while," she told him and flashed a brief smile. "I've finished my rounds and have a few minutes to myself."

The old man's face brightened considerably at her words. "Thank you, Angela," he said, softly. "Your company will do me a world of good, right now."

"Oh, that's all right," she told him, moving over to stand near the foot of the bed. "I really did like your mom. Even though she was real sick, she was always kind to me--never demanding, like some older patients are when they're in the hospital."

"Yes, well, that was her way," he said, and turned to gaze at his mother's face.

They were quiet for some time and Angela noticed the black box he still held. "So, what were you doing when I came in?" she asked. "If I'm not prying, that is."

"Hmm? Oh, not at all," he said and held up the box so the dim light reflected off its smooth, dull surface. "In our culture, the spirit of a departed loved one must be guided to the next world by someone who is still living. That honor usually falls to the oldest living relative, or if no relative survives the deceased, then the tribal Shaman offers to be the guide."

Confused, but intrigued, Angela asked, "What culture would that be?"

"Ah," he said, turning eyes toward her that now seemed to glow in the