[ Some things really do stay the same. He can't help but smile at such a thing. ]

I was alive, the first time I met him. Our second meeting was quite some time later, and I was no longer alive by then. [ It's a casual admission. ] He didn't know, at first, and he was rather concerned with my mental state when he found out.

[ He shrugs. ] So he has his reasons to be worried about my continued happiness, though I'd rather he'd have worried about himself a little more.