Who Is She?

Can Spirits Die?

"Yes, Jack, we spirits can die but not permanently," Death says, "as long as one person still believes then the spirit can return. They just turn into a butterfly for a while and I look after them for a while like I did with Sandy after the fight with Pitch. Also like I did with Pitch after he was attacked by his own nightmares, which I will admit are quite beautiful once you get past the fact that they're supposed to spread fear. Sandy was quite the treat to look after and so easy to understand as a butterfly."

"Wait, you looked after Sandy? We were so worried that Pitch had killed him for good," Jack says, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"You were fighting and the other guardians and spirits, even Pitch, fear me. I didn't want to get in the middle of your fight because if I were to be injured or killed then there would be no one to care for me or bring me back, I would cease to exist," she says sadly.
Just then the two hear a familiar tinkling, Sandman floated down on a cloud of his sand, waving at the two other spirits but a question mark appears above his head as he looks at Jack.
"Hey, Sandy, what are you doing here?" Jack asks.
Death smiles, "He comes to visit me at times, you two are the only ones not afraid of me. Sandy and I sometimes work together, he lulls the sick people off to sleep with sweet dreams and I come in to guide their souls so it's as painless as possible," she says then pats Sandman's head.
Jack smiles a bit, "Well at least you've got two friends now, I hope you'll take care of me if I ever temporarily die."

"That won't happen for quite a while," she says then watches the shapes above Sandy's head, "It's very odd, I do have work but no one is going to die for two hours so I have time to spare."
"Wait, how do you know?" Jack asks in confusion.
"Oh, it's one of my abilities, I know when and where everyone will die, you have a few centuries until I take care of you, ultimately Jamie's belief in you will span across the centuries and bring you back."
"Do you always guide souls?" Jack asks.
"Well, sometimes I believe that someone is too young to die so I will talk to their soul for a minute or two and allow them to go back into their bodies. Manny sure gives me a tough time when I do that but he understands," she says, "it's what humans call a near-death experience. I suppose my pale skin and my wings may make me look like a skeleton with a black cloak so that's where that came from. Then there are those who believe in me without being close to dying, most think they're insane or creepy but I find them rather sweet."