"You ever think about…" Davy paused, waving his hand dismissively. "Nah, never mind."
Sometimes Mike got a sense that the words 'never mind' meant more than a mere dismissal. There was something within the tone, the inflection, that caused him to believe that there was something important on Davy's mind.
As busy as he wanted to pretend he was, Mike sat down on the railing next to his roommate, looking out over the beach. It was starting to get cool with the sun going down, which drew out the songs of the night-birds ready to take over the evening from their daytime cousins. Their sound was ominous and haunting, with a hint of bitter loneliness that reminded everyone who heard it that they had it good - that they were loved and wanted.
Mike didn't prompt Davy to continue; the boy was talkative, and he'd do that on his own, given enough time. As the light diminished, the shorter young man finally gave up what was bothering him. "Mike, you ever think about death and stuff?"
He shrugged. "You know me. No use thinkin' of stuff that hasn't happened yet."
Davy nodded, but that wasn't the end of the conversation. There was a tense set to his shoulders betraying the thoughts still on his mind. Mike didn't want to shut him out, but he also wanted to convey that there was no use thinking of it, because no one could really predict what would happen. One of life's greatest mysteries awaited them all.
"You think we'll go on, Mike?"
"I dunno. Don't think everyone makes an imprint on the world. But someone'll remember ya, if that's what you're worried about."
"Nah, that's not it."
The songs of the night-birds and Davy's musings about death were starting to get to the usually stoic Texan, in part because nothing about this conversation was direct. He wanted to grab Davy by the shoulders and give him a couple good shakes just to get a few answers, but he settled for slouching and giving an impatient sigh instead. A subtle hint.
But there were no answers. Davy stood up and brushed himself off, retiring back into the house, leaving Mike out on the deck to lose himself in thought.
Years later, Mike returned to the beach, as near as he could figure to where their house would have been. Maybe a little farther south— oh, it didn't matter. Close enough.
He looked up at the stars, shivering in the cold, and gave a salute to the moon. More and more, he thought about their conversation, and more and more, he wondered about what waited for him beyond. And Davy still wasn't giving him any answers.