Adonai:

Three months have passed since Anwir's terrible accident, a terrible death for someone so young ... a plane crash caused by a terrorist attack. Now I, Adonai Melek, stand right here in front of the grave of one of my dearest and few friends. This time around there is no meeting to share any progress or anything else, just mourning.

Long trees devoid of any signs of life are the cages that keep the soul of the dead in this place, this cemetery. The fallen leaves represent the respite of the people damned by misfortune or age.

Inside the cage, tombstones left and right at the end of soil tattered by the touch of time. Some tombs were taken care of, some awaiting the inevitable demise that could be seen from the growth of grass around them, and the indecipherable names engraved on them with photos long since gone.

Under what would normally be the shadow of a tree crown lies one such tomb, a simple look at it could tell someone how new it was. And only one name is engraved on it, Anwir Doyle.

"I never expected you to go first. I guess life really is full of surprises." I said while drinking from a small cup filled with alcohol.

Sharing a toast with the soul of my friend, the casket underneath the soil being empty.

"It's a shame, they couldn't recover the body, not for you, not for no one really, that bombing got rid of every single one, and if not, perhaps they are laying somewhere in the deeps of the ocean."

Forming thoughts in such a situation sure is hard, in this ocean of silence around me I can't be interrupted either. I can only take my time contemplating about the meaning behind it all, and the things I want to say to someone who can't reciprocate.

"After you died it was a mess you know?" I said while taking another sip. "Kath started shaking, saying that she can't cry, it's not right for someone who wants to become a warrior. Stella fell on the ground crying. As for me and Maverick, well I can only talk for what I felt at that moment."

The feelings you get when someone close to you dies it's something that never changes no matter how many times you experience it.

"Absolute sadness, you can't instantly get accustomed to the fact that you won't see someone else ever again, you won't talk to them, you won't hear about them. From that point they are just a memory in the passage of time, a memory that becomes more blurry the older it becomes, that's how time heals everything, by making us forget about it."

It is a cold but true reality, once someone dies there's no going back, it's something that can't be fixed no matter how much you try. Even in the books that have magic at their base, reviving someone is in the realms of miracles, and who knows how reviving would even work in our world.

A world where there's this one being above us all, a being who's not fair, who wants to not be alone, who designed a war .... no ... a universe for their own personal goal, ironically a goal that they can just make it happen by willingly, but they probably don't want an empty shell. No, they want someone who lived, someone with memories, someone who can share something with them, something that he doesn't have a big hand in, someone different yet equal to them.

"It's ironic isn't it?" I asked, waiting for no response, drinking another sip, thinking that maybe in this very moment he can read the thoughts in my head.

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Staying in this place makes me feel like time itself stagnates, almost like I can feel the touch of the dead clinging to me, the pressure of the world resting here.

*Gulp*

"It's strange and magical, isn't it? Almost like you can interact with them, even if they are not alive anymore. Maybe that's why we come here to chat, in the hopes that our voices will be heard."

A strange yet familiar(?) voice started talking so I turned around. When I turned my sight I saw a relatively short woman wearing high heels, a white business-like dress. Long dark blonde hair with brown eyes can be seen under the shade of the umbrella she is holding.

"Young man, don't you think it's weird?" She said in a calm tone approaching me and then standing down next to me.

"Huh?"

"We stay here talking to 'people', knowing they can't respond, hoping they hear us, knowing the truth all along yet we still choose to do it. Is it truly magic that makes us come back? is it just hope alone? is it something more?"

"Who are you?" I asked.

When she heard that question she turned her head who was looking down at the grave to me and showed a gentle smile, while patting my head. The sense of calm and familiarity that comes from it ... it's strange.

"Just someone you'll never see again, so don't worry about my name, let me just enjoy your company for a bit." She responded with a bit of a cheer in her tone.

"Okay... are you here visiting someone?" I asked.

"Yes... someone very dear to me died and I'm here to have one last chat with them... Well I did that already, then I saw a young good looking man staying here alone so I came to see what's happening. I thought something like 'what if he's trying to steal' I can't let that happen." She laughed.

I have been here for a while and I never noticed someone entering this place, maybe she's good at making no sounds or maybe she was already here long before me and I never saw her.

"I would never do such a thing, and I'm here to visit a friend." I said as a matter of fact.

"I'm sorry for you, it must be hard, and yes I'm sure you would never steal, you're not a bad person."

"How do you know what type of person I am?" Curiosity and trying to make a joke made me pose the question.

"It's just intuition, female intuition."

Unable to continue after such a response, silence took once again over the place.

"Was he a good person?" The blonde stranger asked me.

"Yea, well essentially I guess, he was dealing with some stuff at home, and took a deal his father offered him but that eventually led to this. I wonder if his father is regretting it."

"Almost every parent would mourn over the death of their children ... but the world is also ugly and cruel so some of them don't care at all ... make sure to remember that and cherish it if you have loving parents, as not everyone is that lucky." She said with a sense of bitterness.

"My parents are not with me anymore ... but I cherish the memories they left me with." I said automatically.

It feels strange how I can be open with a stranger, usually something like this wouldn't come out of my mouth, but this time it just did.

"I'm sure you do, as you should." She said while patting my head again.

"I'm not a child anymore, so can you stop doing that?" I said.

"Oh but you're looking like a child from my perspective, maybe I'll listen to you when you grow a bit taller, even if that's unlikely at your age."

"Hag." I said straight into her face.

"Foolish youngster, who are you calling a hag?" She closed her eyes and showed a smile that only spelled imminent danger as she grabbed my check and stretched.

After her hand left my face she got up and looked down at me, while I was still sitting.

"Looks like my time is up, it's time for me to go home." She said with a bitter smile

"Thank you for keeping me company, I guess it was the other way around from what you said." Expressing my gratitude I got up and looked at her, her heels making her a bit taller than me. "Also without the heels you're shorter than me, so who are you to talk?"

"Haha ... yea ... you're right." She said as she turned to leave.

As if something was moving my body I extended my hand trying to catch the woman in front of me. Getting a grip of myself I stopped and said "See you again."

Noticing my words she turned her face to me, crying while saying "No, not again, this is a goodbye for the past. Goodbye Ad... young man, make sure to not lose yourself in despair."

The breeze starting from behind me took my attention for a couple of seconds, turning around to see what was not there. I stared at the sun, and when I turned my head back to the strange woman ... she was already gone.