Northern_Lights_2019

39 “Why are you here?” he asked again. “Who wants to be alone after they die?” Nina said meeting his gaze. It was the quietest the cemetery had ever been since Nina had come to occupy her time there. The middle-aged man blinked as his breath caught in his throat. His eyes were redder than before. Nina thought she imagined them glossing over from tears because he turned quickly from her and wiped at them. “I think the better question is who wants to be alone while they are alive?” Ali said, his shoulders sagging. Nina looked at his drooping frame. “No. People who are alive can always find others to be with, and even if they are shells of their former selves, they still have the one thing the dead do not, and that is to be alive.” “Tell me, girl. Do you think heaven and hell are the only places to go after death?” His back was still turned to her. “No, there are too many religions and beliefs for just one to be real. I think they exist and don’t exist all at the same time.” “What do you think happens then?” Ali turned to face her, not even bothering to wipe away his tears. “I think our soulmates end up waiting for us to pass on. Your father is waiting for your mother, and when she passes, I’ll find a new person to sit with.” “What if she’s not his soulmate, how can you tell?” A flicker of panic showed on his face for a brief moment. Nina had no way of telling, but she believed Gloria and Hector were meant for each other in the afterlife. “I don’t know, but isn’t it comforting to know someone is waiting for you beyond this life? It’s less scary that way, don’t you think?” He let out a slow breath and turned to face his father’s grave once more. “I think,” he said. “I think you are the loneliest girl I have ever met.” He walked away. Nina thought about that moment with Ali from time to time as she sat with Hector. She had felt a little hollow on the inside after he left, and Nina was not quite sure what that meant. He had yet to come back to visit his father, which made Nina a little sad. How lonely it must be for Hector to wait while no one comes to see him. “Do you think he will come by for a visit tomorrow, Hector?” Nina asked the stone, that hollow feeling of emptiness surfacing inside of her. The headstone was silent. They never said anything back to her, but Nina knew they were listening because what would be a better way to pass the time?