Road Trip To Nowhere (MxM) (ONC 2019 Entry)

FOUR

"Life is to short for hate. You should never let your bad emotions get the best of you. Sometimes you might get two of the same sweet, but one is sour. If you get the sour one, don't feel bad. You'll get another chance, or you could change the sour candy into something worth wild."

-Bowie

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After leaving the tattoo parlor and getting the rundown on how to take care of body ink, we were back on the road. Nothing much happened after that. It was mostly boring stuff. The day was slowly coming to a close with the wind turning cold and the sky turning orange. It was quiet. Nothing, but the sound of the tires against the gravel.

"Will," until he broke the perfect silence. "Do you believe in reincarnation?"

I stayed quiet. I honestly never thought about that. I never really believed in any religion, or take zodiac signs seriously. "I honestly don't know. But it's something many people believe in." He's been asking me random questions all throughout this trip. He one time asked me: "Do you think more people eat the cream or the cookie of an Oreo?" He's such an odd person, but I guess I don't have much of a say in that question since I told him I eat the cookie and throw out the cream. Not many people would do that.

"I do. I believe that every part of our body is not only from our parents but also from the people before us. Like scares and birthmarks. Also on how the way we act." He took in some air through his nose. Probably trying to calm down his nerves. "Like me for example. I'm a very optimistic person so that probably means that my soul is pretty young. That it hasn't been out in the world for very long."

It was silent for a moment before I spoke up, "and my soul is probably very old since I'm so stubborn and not as happy as you." Benji started to chuckle from my words. "Do you ever wonder what the afterlife is like?" He goes quiet fast. Maybe he doesn't want to think about death so soon? His grip tightens on the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white.

"It's something I thought of before, but not often. Like what everyone knows, there's Hell and there's Heaven, lastly, there's the Purgatory."

"You believe there's a Purgatory?" I asked him.

"Well yeah. People aren't perfect in this world, but I believe everyone does have some evil in them." Well, he isn't wrong. I've met so many people who seem all sweet and kind, but deep down everyone has a secret.

"I guess that would make sense." I rub my arms for warmth.

"Hey, wouldn't it be cool to meet the other people who are connected to our soul? Like someone from the 1800s, that would be wicked." The sky was turning darker by the second. Stars were beaming little dots in the sky, but around 5 light-years away there far bigger than they appear.

I pick at the plastic that covered the gauze on my arm to protect the freshly inked skin. "I've always wanted to know what it was like to live in the 1920s."

"That would be neat to relive that time." The orange light blinker was seen clear through the dark from the car. Benji pulled into a gas station and parked. "Okay, I'll be back, unless you want to come in?"

I looked at him for a bit. "I'll come in. I need to use the restroom anyways." I unbuckled from my seat and got out. The air smelled gross, obviously gas, but also the smell of window cleaner and rotting food in trash cans. I hate gas stations.

Benji was walking to the front doors, so I followed not far behind. Once walking through the glass doors, the usual bing sound was heard when entering. Benji walked over to the snacks section. Probably going to get sugar high or something. Does he ever eat food with nutrition?