The third time Tahani takes a sip of antimatter, she's almost alone and not at the same time.

It was a bad day of sorts for Tahani. One of her designs had fallen prey to a minor miscalculation in the measurements for one of the neighborhoods. Apparently, she made the area far too small, which resulted in a plan only suitable for half the required humans. Of course, it was a common mistake, but at that point, Tahani felt that she should have progressed past the point of trivial mistakes. For goodness' sake! She was only a few Bearimy's away from being certified! Glenn had told her that it was fine and Val had offered to get her some antimatter with her favorite flavor just to cheer her up. Of course, the demons' act of kindness cheered Tahani up, but it was that stupid mistake…

Well, after revising her architectural plate again, she decided to go on a few hours' break. Tahani had planned on visiting some of the newer neighborhoods in person just so that she could take notes for her future projects, but decided against it. For one, that endeavor would only seek to remind her of her mistake, which was not something that she wanted to do at the moment. Instead, she made her way back to the Good Place for a stroll.

She thought about visiting Chidi and Eleanor again, but after consulting Janet, she was informed that they were visiting sights from Earth. Well, not one to waste time, Tahani had merely nodded and began walking in a random direction.

At one point, Tahani had summoned Janet to summon a cup of antimatter. Once Tahani had it in her hands, she noticed that it was at the right temperature; perfect for sipping while on a nature stroll. Upon opening the lid, Tahani smiled and whispered a small, "Thank you, Janet" before continuing on her way. Janet always somehow knew how she liked her beverages.

The neighborhood that she was walking through gradually became overrun with trees and greenery. Humanity became a footnote as the trees towered like giants and the air became still with natural silence. The only thing that Tahani was aware of was that she felt at peace. It was akin to the feeling of that first time she felt fulfilled from her needs as a human, before she decided to help all of humanity by becoming an architect.

It was beautiful.

At one point, Tahani found a small wooden bench that stood upright in front of what appeared to be an archway made of intertwined branches. Hmm… Tahani meandered over to the archway, obviously not naturally made and hesitantly touched it. Her fingers traced the wood—there was something inlaid within the braided branches, something that told her there was something old and ancient… She was about to walk through the archway, just to see what was on the other side when—

"Yo! Dude, be careful!"

"W-wha—" Tahani found herself lifted off her feet and carried back to the wooden bench. These were arms that she knew well, once upon a time. That was the voice that she used to hear time and time again that spoke through convoluted analogies and metaphors. This was— "Jason!"

"Hey! What up homie!" Jason set her back on her feet and smiled in that goofy way of his that Tahani had been infatuated with once upon a time. Fortunately, Tahani had outgrown that period in their relationship and was looking at him like he was an alien or a—

"Tell me you aren't actually a demon inside of a skin suit."

Jason rolled his eyes good naturedly at his friend. "Nope! Well, at least I don't think so. Unless that river water I drank earlier was actually water from Florida. Then I'm about fifteen percent sure that I'm actually white."

"Why—How—Can you…?"

She rubbed the bridge of her nose before gesturing towards the bench.

"I think the both of us should sit down." Once they were seated, Tahani interlaced her fingers together and faced Jason in earnest. "Why are you still here, Jason?"

"Well, Janet and I said goodbye a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long—"

"Jason, darling." Her voice was a warning, one that Jason took immediate notice of.

"—time ago and I was about to go through the door and everything—" Jason pointed to the wooden archway. "—but I was like, what about Janet?"

"Erm?"

"You know that necklace I made that I showed you before the farewell party? I kind of lost it and I never gave it to Janet. But! Here's the thing, I actually found it!" With a whoop of triumph that was usually reserved for anything resembling a win for Derek Bortles, Jason fished his hand into one of his pockets and pulled out the necklace that he had been ecstatically talking about. "Turns out that it was in another pocket this whole time!"

"Oh, congratulations! A highest of fives for your accomplishment!"

"Heck yeah, baby!"

With a resounding smack that filled the forest's silent air, they high fived each other with the aplomb of preschoolers learning how to accomplish such an action.

"So, are you going to call Janet? I don't think she's busy right now and…it's been so long. Aren't you tired of waiting?" A touch of worry laced Tahani's tone as she placed a comforting hand over Jason's shoulder.

For once, Jason's demeanor lacked the ease and carefreeness of any native Floridian. He seemed… almost wise and considerate. "Nah, it doesn't seem right. When I want Janet to come by, I want it to be on her own terms because I know she's busy and she probably doesn't know that I'm here." Jason thought for a second before continuing. "Also, I am become nature through the silence of the generations that come before me."

Tahani's mouth fell open.

"Oh my… Jason, are you coherent now?" Tahani cupped Jason's face with both of her hands, as if in doing so would shock him out of his sudden induction into personhood. "When did you become so considerate of Janet's feelings? And…." Tahani thought back to what her friend had said, sudden realization filling her soul. "Are you a monk now?"

Jason thought for a second before nodding slowly.

"Sure, why not! Monks are pretty dope, kind of like Aang and his little monkey friend. Except, I don't have a monkey friend. But I do have Janet's necklace! Did I show you the necklace?"

Tahani nodded quickly. "Yes, Jason, you did." She smiled warmly at him before gesturing to the cup that she had with her. "You want a small pick me up before I go?"

Jason shook his head. "Nah, it's been nice and all, but…" Jason tilted his head towards the canopy of the forest, his gaze filled with serene yearning. It was the same look that Tahani had seen with the monks that she had lived with Bearimy's ago. "You just gotta go, ya know?"

Tahani nodded.

With that, Jason bounded off to the forest with a holler that could have woken up half the forest.

As Tahani took a small sip of her antimatter, she noted that there was a tad more sweetness and flavor than what she was accustomed to. Normally, Tahani would have balked at such a flavor, but found herself settling against the trunk of the tree.

It dawned on her that she quite liked the taste.