Aye, that would explain it. Though now she can't account for his cheeriness, having heard the whole story. He must be in shock, poor man.

"Do you reckon you're dead?" she asks, never one to beat around the bush. That's possible, isn't it? Who knows in this place.

"I mean, that is, you don't look like any ghost I've ever seen, but they say you see a bright light before you cross over." He must have been a rubbish captain to crash his ship after only a few minutes in charge. She considers saying so for a laugh, but he might still be too shaken up for it. "You'd be surprised the kind of weird stuff I hear every day. Time can get ... bendy."