"Who are you?!" screamed Hailie, pointing a shiny knife at the stranger, who was cooking dinner in her kitchen.

She wondered how fast Pride could show up here to help. Although the stranger didn't look dangerous, Hailie knew that looks can be deceptive.

"Oh honey, you better put that knife down before you hurt yourself," he said with his hands in the air. He slowly lowered them. "I'm Pride's friend." It took her a second to figure out what he meant by that. "Your little knife can't hurt me." There was a sinister shadow on his face as he said that but a moment later he was cheerful.

"You-You're a ghost."

"Bingo."

Hailie put the knife down and Gluttony turned around to check on his breakfast. There was an amazing scent flowing in the kitchen. Ah, he loved bacon. Was there anything yummier?

"You can eat?" she asked, analyzing his fluffy figure.

That ghost must have eaten a lot, but she thought it's okay. Actually she was kinda jealous, because he did not care how he looked. She was thinking about calories all the time when she was making herself a meal. And he... Well, he was just happy to eat.

"We don't have to, but we can. Others don't do it, but I just can't live without all this delicious food and addictive drinks."

She nodded, trying to figure out why Pride didn't want her to meet the rest of the ghosts. This one looked friendly.

"Cool." She frowned. "Hey, it's you who's stealing my food!"

She was shopping almost everyday, but her food was mysteriously disappearing from time to time. Hailie thought that maybe it was Lucien's doing, but the food disappeared also before he moved in.

"Yeah, sorry for that." He flipped his bacon. "But thanks for the shopping, I can't really do that as I can't leave the grounds of this house." Everything was ready. Perfect. "Wanna eat with me?" He put two plates on the table as if he decided for her.

She sat opposite him. Having such a long morning, she felt like starving. Somehow being next to this ghost made her hungry even more.

"So, what's up with you and cooking? That isn't a usual ghost thing to do."

"No, it isn't." He ate his scrambled eggs, getting lost in thoughts. "It started a long, long time ago."

The moment they saw each other it was like there was an instant connection between them. It wasn't love, no, it was a feeling that they had something in common.

Lady in an old-fashioned black gown, symbolizing her mourning. She was so calm even though there was a ghost standing right in front of her. Woman in the prime of life just sighed. Even her eyes didn't show any fear.

"Well, I suppose you live here much longer than me. I didn't mean to disturb you, sorry for that," she said with lightness in her voice, but in her face there was only sadness.

"You're not afraid?"

That was more than weird. He never met a human who wouldn't be scared of them. They were always petrified, never so tranquil.

"Death lives among us and takes its toll, sir. Dead bodies on the roads, laying and waiting for someone to take care of them, yet no one comes. There's just more of them, more death and suffering. At this point I would say there's more ghosts around us than the living ones."

"I see. The previous inhabitants also died." But it was because of them. They weren't saints and they deserved their fate.

"Do you wish to tell me your story, sir?" She made tea and took a cake out of the oven.

"You don't want to hear it."

He was no ghost, but a demon. And he wasn't entirely dead.

They sat at the table. He laid his eyes on the pie, thinking it's probably delicious. His appetite made the lady hungry too.

"It's a shame you can't eat with me, sir. I feel so lonely here with no one else left."

"Actually..." He stretched his hand and took a piece of cake. It was warm and fluffy. "I'm a special kind of a ghost." He wasn't sure, but after a moment of hesitation he raised hand and took a bite. "Wow, that's like an excellence in my mouth."

So many new flavors. That ecstasy made him pleading for more and more. Human food... Its taste was nothing like his ghostly creations.

"Glad you like it, sir." She smiled, the first time since she moved in. Ghost or not, she was desperate for a companion. Outside world was a dangerous place now. "I've planned much more. Want to help me with the supper?"

"I-"

"Come, it'll be fun. As you said, you're a special kind of ghost."

He had no idea how to cook. It didn't matter. For once he wanted to try something new.

"She was an extraordinary woman," said Gluttony, finishing his breakfast. He learned from her how to cook, how to enjoy food and drinks. They've spent almost every day together, laughing and cooking food for those in need. She was just a human, but she managed to teach him something he never forgot.

"How long have you been living here?" asked Hailie.

She was more than curious to find out how they've died and why it was them who stayed in the house as ghosts. All the other people who died here, and there were a lot of them, didn't come back. What was special in that unlucky seven?

"Since the beginning. We are the very first inhabitants of this house."

Maybe they were a family, who died in some kind of an accident? Pride also never mentioned their past.

She nervously moved on the chair, before asking, "how did you die?".

There was no sadness in him, no regret. His lips upturned a little, which made Hailie feel uncomfortable. The ghost seemed friendly. He even gave her breakfast, which was in fact delicious. But Hailie understood that unlike with Pride, she was feeling fear. She didn't know why.

"Pride hasn't told you?" No, she didn't and he knew this. Maybe it was a time for that human to find out a little more? "We're not dead. Not alive either."

Hailie frowned, trying to decipher what his words meant. How can they not be dead? They're ghosts!

Unless they're not... What are they then?

"What?" That's all she was able to say.

He took dirty plates and put them in the dishwasher. It seemed like he ignored Hailie, busy with thinking when it'll be time for lunch.

"What do you mean? And what's your name?"

He finished cleaning the table. That was the right order. Cook, eat and clean. Only then he looked at her.

"Tony." He decided not to tell his real identity. Tony was a fine, human name, leaving her clueless. The others would be mad if he revealed that they were the seven sins demons. "You better ask Pride what we are."

"I'm asking you."

Greed appeared behind Hailie, who waited for an answer. She needed to know, the curiosity was too strong. Both of the sinful demons knew about it and so Greed delicately nodded, giving a sign to Gluttony.

"We're not ghosts," he reminded, hoping that Pride won't be too angry. "We're demons."

She held her breath and widen eyes. That couldn't be true. Ghosts she could stand, but demons? As the evil creatures who can possess humans, who can seal a pact, who can turn your life into miserable worthless existence? Pride wasn't like that! Or was she? No, Hailie refused to believe it.

"Take care and see you around, Hailie," he said like it was no big deal.

Leaving her alone in the kitchen, he went to the hall and stopped next to an antique Venetian mask. In his mind, Gluttony and the lady in the black were dancing. Her big, modest gown sliding over the floor as she showed him steps to the waltz. Yes, another thing she taught him.

„I hope you found your peace," he said, drifting away to the last memory of her.

The lady, no more dressed in black gown, but in a long, white sleeping dress was lying on her bed. Her body seemed so little, hidden under a quilt and blankets. There was no more strength in her. She looked like a doll without any motion. Her skin was pale as if she was already a ghost. Seeing her like that, it made Gluttony sorrowful.

„You seem worried, my dear Tony," she said with her voice soft as always.

Even in her last moments she was so calm. She accepted her leaving for the other side to meet with all those who died long before her.

"I will miss you." He was sitting beside her bed, holding her weak hand with wrinkles.

She coughed, leaving blood traces on a napkin. That was an awful disease, the one that the doctors couldn't heal. He wished there was anything he could do, but there wasn't. No possibility to save the lady, to give her more time. Death had come and it felt like it was waiting behind the door to take the lady to the realm of the dead.

"You gave me a beautiful year of my life. Thank you, Tony, as for my last wish I could not ask for anything more."

If only there was a way to heal her... but it wasn't up to them. Human doctors have spoken and the lady had a maximum of two days.

"Without you, who is going to cook dinners and cakes with me?" he asked, trying to make her laugh. She smiled, feeling happy even though her time has come.

"What you've learned, you can never forget. You'll be just fine, my dear."

"I wish to thank you too as you taught me a great lesson. All the things we've done together, I'll keep them in my memory forever and close to my heart."

She delicately squeezed his hand. Her eyes were getting weak, as her whole body. Gluttony was sure he's going to miss her a lot, their little night talks, their dancing and cooking.

That's how it was. While they were immortal, all the other humans must die sooner or later, once again leaving them cold and lonely. Maybe that's why they should have no heart, no emotions - because having those felt like a Hell in farewell moments.

And yet Gluttony wouldn't trade his new discovered emotions as memories of the lady in the big black gown were so dear to him.

He learned a lot from her, but there was that one most important thing. The one he knew nothing about before their meeting. The one he despised in the past. She changed everything.

The lady taught him the meaning of friendship.