The next day, around 10 a.m., Zaire opened his eyes and started squirming in bed.
It was almost winter.
The cozy snug of the thick blanket almost made him forget his predicament.
Almost. For a couple of minutes, anyway.
Getting up, he stretched. After drinking some water, he gazed at himself in the mirror.
He had a personal battle to face today.
You can do this, buddy.
After freshening up quickly, he grabbed something ornate that stood on his bedside table.
A copper urn. Simply made, yet sturdy.
Bright had accompanied him last night to find it.
He was a good dude. Although... he really loves Messiah.
Zaire made his way downstairs.
There, he saw Nala gazing blankly out a window.
Her eyes were... colorless.
He bit his lip. All he could muster was,
"Good morning, Nala. Do you want any breakfast?"
Nala turned and smiled.
"Good morning to you too, Zaire. I've already prepared some cereal, milk, and toast. They're in the big silver container right there."
"Did you eat?"
The question came instantly.
Nala smiled blankly.
"Then I'm not eating either."
"Please, don't do that."
"Okay, I won't. I'll eat. But..."
"...but..."
"After breakfast, we're going out."
"I don't—"
"That's a condition you have to fulfill, Nala."
"...alright."
*****
"You know, he was a bit of a nutcase sniff."
"..."
"But a good nutcase."
"..."
"At the same time, I think if I'd been a better friend, I probably would've aimed to tighten his nuts a bit."
"..."
"He did... drugs and other weird voodoo shit. He was just this carefree yet weirdly paranoid sort of guy... I loved him. I still do, if he's out there somewhere."
"...sniff..."
"Hey, girl, c'mon, don't cry. I'm not."
"It's hard, Zaire. I know my father would want me to be strong and... fight. But I can't. Every day, his last moments replay in my head. It's crushing. I want to move on. He'd want that too, but... I don't know..."
"You know, Nala, if something happened to my father, I'd hurt myself. I'd probably blame myself too. And I fear the moment that's yet to come—when I learn about his current situation. He'd hate all the self-harm and mental crash-out I'd—hopefully not—have if he's... you know. All I want to say is: grieve. Cry. Break down. Everything. But never alone."
Tears streamed down Nala's eyes.
Seeing her cry, Zaire started crying too.
Wiping his tears, he continued,
"I miss Ari. And I needed you here for this cremation. Without you, I'd probably be alone here with a bottle of alcohol... sniff. I mean, leave me and Ari alone, and something stupid is guaranteed to happen... hahaha... But now he's dead. If I hurt myself, he wouldn't be here to drag me out. Shit, fuck... he really is dead, isn't he?"
Nala walked closer to Zaire.
Softly, she touched his back and rubbed it lightly.
Zaire smiled, but he wept harder.
"Ahh, it's embarrassing, crying in front of an attractive girl."
Nala rolled her eyes. But her tear-streaked face held a subtle smirk.
"Nala, yeah. Let's both grieve. It's probably presumptuous of me to say it, but fuck it—I'm emotional, and I'm feeling a bit preachy. I consider you a close friend. My first friend in this clusterfuck of a world. Let's grieve, but also try our best. At least for each other."
Nala cried, and Zaire hugged her.
The fire behind them burned silently.
Ari was probably up in the smoke, grinning, watching his friend.
Zaire knew his loss was nowhere close to Nala's.
But both had losses. And losses are such a sure thing in this new world.
They're both humans, though. Humans have a knack for dealing with trauma and loss.
It's their special power. It's popularly known as relationships.
People lose bonds, and other bonds come to help cope with that loss.
The most important thing, though, was making bonds.
Zaire would form bonds for his sanity, and he promised himself he wouldn't let any of his bonds suffer.
Nala would not suffer.
Zaire would make sure of that.
As much as he could.
*****
Nala sat under a nearby tree, eating instant noodles and chocolates.
Her eyes lingered on Zaire.
He'd wanted this moment alone.
Zaire sat near the pyre, looking at the last dying embers.
Ari was gone.
Last night, Zaire had understood. He'd been dragging Ari's body for himself.
All that for Ari's parents nonsense was complete cope.
It was his selfish desire to keep the last remnant of his past beside him.
Zaire rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a cigarette.
He stood and walked to the last flicker of fire.
Lighting his cigarette there, he scoffed,
"You see this, bitch? Your entire ass had to be burned just to light my ciggy."
He smiled and looked at the setting sun.
He turned to see Nala watching him.
He smiled and waved.
Finally, taking a long drag, he opened his arms.
Looking at the sky, he screamed,
"BYE, BROTHER! SEE YOU IN ANOTHER LIFEEEE, BITCHHHHHH!!!!"