He and I sat together, feet dangling over the border, and watched baby black holes get birthed and stars die. I couldn't tell his age, y'see, not that it matters. He wouldn't even give me his name, y'see, not that it matters.
"What is it like to be immortal?", I asked.
He chuckled quietly before answering, "I am not immortal, little one. I will just just live forever"
His answer perplexed me. And who is he calling little one? Not that it matters.
"Is... is there a difference?", I asked with furrowed brows.
"Ah, you should learn to ask questions. Be objective if you want answers, little one", he said with a mild humor in his voice.
I was slightly confused by his response and that annoyed me. I wasn't trying to be funny, y'see, not that it matters.
But I understood exactly what he meant.
"What is it like to live forever?"
His demeanor changed slightly and he finally took his eyes off the symphony of the chaos of creation below our feet. He looked up, but there's nothing there to see, y'see, not that it matters.
"To live forever means watching everything you know come and go. Wars, times of peace, good times, bad times, all of it"
"Like watching a movie?"
"Indeed, like watching a movie. Only, you will never watch the same movie twice"
I understood what he meant. But I want more than that.
"Do you like cats?", he asked, still looking up at nothingness.
"Cats are only the best thing ever!", I answered with almost too much excitement.
"Living forever is having pets, too many to count. You will love the next more than the last, after all you have so much love to give", he paused.
"You will learn so much, and they will love you back. They will live to their full years, but it will look like days to you because the concept of time is something you abandoned a long time ago. When they close their eyes for the last time, you will feel the same ache. Every single time. You can tell they will miss you, and if there is an afterlife, they hope to see you again", he said and looked back down. I saw great sorrow in his eyes.
We were both quiet for a while.
"Is there an afterlife?", I asked.
"That is a question only the dead have an answer to, little one. That is something I would never know"
And with that, we sat in silence again.