Strangers

Hearts

"Did it hurt when you died?"

Her hair was stringy and curled to hell. All her nail polish was perfectly applied expect for one bare, unruly finger.

"Yeah, still does some. You?"

"Some." His hands skimmed along to aching edges of his jersey, clammy and desperate for something to do. "Where were you when it happened?"

"School. I was taking a test, wonder if I passed." She mused.

"Doesn't matter all that much anymore, we died."

"No, we only died a moment. That's what they told me."

"They told me that too. I'm not sure its true"

"Why not?"

"Well doesn't it seem odd? Nothing's quite right here. Do you think it's all just this room?"

"I think we get our own. A little one. I hope it's not the same one I had before, it smelled like straight alcohol swabs. And I think I'm alive, why wouldn't I be?"

"Our hearts stopped, that's what they told us."

"Hearts can start again. You can always start them again."

"Doesn't change the fact they stopped at all."

She pondered for a second, she wasn't sure if annoyed or bored. "Do you want to be dead? Because your in the chair?"

"Maybe. And they said I'll walk again soon."

"Then isn't it better your still alive then? Means you can decide, since your not sure."

"Suppose. But what if were actually dead? Then wouldn't it just be cruel?"

"Well if this is the afterlife it's bound to be cruel. I'm not sure if we're in hell. Maybe it's purgatory. But he seems to young to be in purgatory." She said, pointing out the rosy cheeked boy a dozen yards away, lolling his truck back and forth.

"Then maybe it's heaven. Everyone here's young, could be we all go the heaven."

"Or we're not dead at all, and everything the nurse told me is true."

"How are you be any more relieved to be locked in a hospital?"

"You prefer dead?"

"I think we're past preferences."

He spat with acid sarcasm.

She pivoted, "What's your name?"

"James."

"Paige."

It felt oddly formal, most definitely backwards. But you can only ask that question once, so they took a moment to savor it.

"So Paige. What would you like to do your first day as a zombie?"

"So first I'm dead, now I'm a zombie?"

"Let's call it a compromise. Living dead."

"Good enough, guess we're zombies until further notice. I don't know, what did you always want to do?"

"I mean, nothing in particular. I guess the stereotypical things, skydiving, the ocean, sex. But your still the same person after you do it, so what's the point in doing them?"

"Okay well, before you died. What was some insane, reckless thing you did? " there was a pause, "Or did you at all might be better suited." as she took him up and down.

"I did something."

"What did you do?"

"It's unimportant."