“Do you ever wonder what’s up there?” she asked me, looking up at the sky.
I glanced up briefly, using my hand to shield my eyes from the sun’s glare. I shrugged and shook my head. “No, not really.”
Her arm around my waist tightened a little. “Do you ever wonder about much, Mark?”
I turned my head, looking into her eyes. “Violet,” I said, “you fill me with so much wonder I don’t have room for any more.”
Her face twisted into a look of disgust. I couldn’t immediately tell if it was mock or genuine. “What the fuck, dude?”
“What?” I tried to feign offence. “Are we undead types not allowed to be romantic or something?”
She grinned. “Love you, silly.” She stood on tiptoes and gave me a kiss.
“Love you too.” We held each other for what seemed like days. For all I knew it may have been. She wouldn’t tell me just what she was, but she seemed to have dominion over time. Or at least my sense of it. We held each other, saying nothing, just savouring the comfort we found in eachother’s arms.
“So,” she broke the endless silence. “What do you think is up there?”
I sighed, shrugging my shoulders again. “I dunno. Like, y’know, planes and clouds and stuff?”
“You know I can still kill you, right?”
“Again, you mean…” I joked.
“Yeah, but properly…” She didn’t sound like she was joking.
“Okay, fine. The universe is big enough and weird enough that there pretty much has to be other life out there.” It’s not so much that I believe in aliens but that I don’t believe in the lack of them.
“Weird? What’s weird about it?”
“You’ve had centuries to get used to being undead, Violet. I’ve had… I don’t even know how long because you mess with my senses and shit.” I realised I was sounding angry again. She looked hurt. “I’m sorry, babe. It still feels pretty new to me.”
“I understand,” she smiled. “I suppose I found it a little strange too, at first.” She wrapped her arms tighter around me. “So what else is up there?”
“Well,” I pondered. “I don’t remember there being any sensations or visions or whatever between you killing me and ‘undeading’ me…
“Undeading?” She laughed.
“Whatever.” I gave her a squeeze. “I don’t remember being any of that stuff so I’m guessing there’s no afterlife…”
“No afterlife?” She laughed again, only this time more in disbelief. “If there’s no afterlife, where do you think we are?”
MS Poetry 