“It is very nice of you to let me shape your mind,” said Francesco as they stood in the meadow, lying side by side.

“What do you mean?” Was this Andrew’s mind? He was not certain. He had always thought that this place was the realm of the dead.

“This is a manifestation of your mind. The three ghosts which plagued you added the pyres, but the meadow is how your mind usually is. Calm, vibrant, peaceful,” Andrew propped himself on one side, so he could see Francesco’s face.

The Spanish man was calm and gazing at the slowly moving clouds above. Looking truthful.

“So, if this is my mind, can I change it?” Francesco turned to stare at Andrew.

“Must you? It is pleasant in here,” Andrew looked at the flower decked meadow and tried to make some changes. He wanted a house to appear. One with a kissing arch and a grand porch. The same kind he had seen when he was young and coming back to the orphanage from school.

The school was in the richer neighborhood. On the outskirts of town. Andrew had always liked going through the paved streets of Swan boulevard. The houses were all well-to-do ones, different, yet uniformly well-kept with manicured lawns.

Andrew wanted that for himself. Maybe he could buy a house on the boulevard. He and Erin could move there quickly, for, surely, no house on Swan boulevard needed too many repairs. But, before that, he wanted to see the dream house in his mind.

Yet, nothing was happening. He huffed and plopped back down.

“It takes a lot of discipline to shape your mind,” said Francesco in the same calm voice he had used since they met. “You will have a month in here. Perhaps I can teach you?”

The last part was a question that Andrew felt Francesco was asking himself. Andrew had no idea what Francesco could get out of helping him. After all, he was already doing a lot. Guarding Andrew’s mind from intruders.

“Yes, I think I can,” Francesco stood and offered his hand to Andrew. “Come on, we have been lazing around for five hours. I’ll show you and you will learn.”

Andrew blinked. Had he been asleep for five hours? And he had so much more time to go. What were Erin and Daphne doing now, that he wasn’t waking up? Would Erin still take Daphne to the Wells gala? Andrew hoped he did. Daphne deserved something good happening to her.

“First lesson,” said Francesco as Andrew stood before him. “Clear your mind.”

“Wouldn’t that make all this disappear?” Andrew extended his arms and motioned to the meadow.

“That is the point. You want to reshape your mind. There is an added benefit that few know of. Once you change how your mind space looks, no one can read it. They will hear nothing because they will be directed to the natural state of your mind. And your thoughts would no longer be housed there,” Andrew’s eyes shone with excitement.

If no one could read his mind, then, he could be a better agent. Erin would no longer have to fake acting surprised when Andrew tried to do something for him. He would be genuinely surprised because he would have no idea what swam in Andrew’s mind.

“And how do I do that?” Andrew looked at the meadow. He would be sad to see it fade away. Even if most of his memories of it were bloodstained.

“Breathe and try not to think. Currently, your mind is like a beehive. You need to kill the bees and their larvae,” Andrew nodded and sat down on the grass. He closed his eyes and began breathing in and out.

When he could no longer hear his thoughts, he went to a trance like state. A hand shook his shoulder and he opened his eyes. The meadow was gone. In its place was a white nothingness.

“It is so empty,” Andrew stared at Francesco, too afraid to let him out of sight least the whiteness consumed him.

“Well, fill it up,” urged Francesco, and Andrew thought of his dream house again. Slowly, bit by bit, it grew from the nothingness. A two-story-high house with a white porch, manicured lawn with flowers and sprinklers. A nice lounge chair in the middle of the lawn, facing the east.

The windows of the house were big, French, ones. Their frames an ivory color. Walls in a soft beige color, nothing too pretentious. Andrew smiled. Yes, he could see himself living in such a house.

“Nice place. A bit outdated, but pleasant,” commented Francesco, and he began walking to the house.

“Wait, it is empty,” Andrew stood and ran to the house. He opened the big cedar door and blinked. It was not empty. It was furnished, and the walls had all kinds of photos on them.

“How is that possible? I didn’t think about any furnishing,” asked Andrew, and Francesco bypassed him so that he could go in the house.

“This is your mind now. A house in the nothingness. Unless, you would like to add something to the outside?” Andrew thought about it and then decided that he wanted a lake and another meadow outside. He created them and looked up at the sky. The clouds were in various unnatural shapes. Like a clown had shaped them just like one of them would shape a balloon.

“Is that you're doing?” Andrew pointed at the sky. Francesco nodded.

“I will be living here too. Felt it would be fair if I added a layer of protection,” Andrew entered the house again. He saw a picture of his mother and he and he went to it.

In the picture, he was five, and they were in their apartment kitchen. He remembered that moment. His mother had made cookies and had set them to cool. But Andrew had not wanted to wait and, so, had eaten one who and had burned his tongue.

His mother had an amused look on her face, despite that her hands were on her hips. Andrew chuckled.

“Do you mind if I take residence in here?” Asked Francesco, looking at the staircase that was leading to the second floor.

“Make sure no one but us enters,” said Andrew, and the necromancer nodded. Andrew then went to the next picture. One of his father and he when Andrew had started learning to ride a bike. He remembered hitting a tree and wrecking his bike. They hadn’t had money for a new one, so, Andrew never learned. He wondered if Erin knew how to ride and, if, his boyfriend would teach him.