I was inspired to write this story after hearing about a murder-suicide a few houses down from my own. I won't get into details but I wanted to let out some feelings about the afterlife, just a few.
Dib is typing away on his laptop and the sound of the keys ticking away into the still warm air helps Zim think; about himself.
Zim sits comfortably on the soft sofa that is morphing around his weight and the alien wears an almost vacant look on his face, he is definitely thinking; about Dib.
The apartment is new, just like their relationship. It is hard to say where, why or how it all happened, one thing lead to another and another and another and so on. But it's safe to say that Dib is liable for realizing their change in behaviour. Thus, they find themselves on the rollercoaster of love. And Zim was still thinking; about death.
One can say that it is a horrible way of starting something as beautiful as a blossoming love and they can say that it will ruin the tender relationship that is just forming but Zim says that what needs to be said, needs to be said. It's Dib's decision on how he reacts to Zim's choice of action.
"Dib-thing."
"Yeah?" Dib turns around on his lime green plastic spinning chair. The happiness in his voice is going to be painful to shut down.
Zim shifts his position on the sofa to face the human but keep his eyes to the ground, for now. "Irkens have no souls."
Silence.
More Silence.
"What?" Dib reply's in confusion.
"I said, Irkens have no souls." Zim repeated and Dib stares at him some more before trying to understand Zim's statement.
"Is that your belief?" the human asked. Dib has the perfect way of talking to Zim it seems. A lot of the time Dib can pretty much understand instantly what the alien is hinting at and it was extremely useful for Zim.
"No, it is what it is. Irkens have no souls. We are artificial, made from machines. There is nothing remotely organic about us." Zim reply's.
"Is that a bad thing? Not having a soul?" Dib asks as he turns around, giving Zim his undivided attention.
"Not necessarily." Zim says and looks to Dib. "Not now."
Dib looks back at Zim, wondering what the alien is thinking. "When will it be a bad thing?" Dib presumes that Zim is warning him of something, something in the future or the near-future.
"When I die."
The two males sit in their seats for a bit. Dib is processing what Zim has told him yet for once, Dib doesn't understand what it means. Even worse, Dib is getting a very uncomfortable feeling in his stomach and an ache in his heart.
"You won't die for a while Zim." Dib assures Zim of this fact for that it is more than likely true.
"I know that…" Zim says in a faint voice.
"Then what's the problem?" Dib says with a hint of enthusiasm, there is nothing to worry about now; they have their whole lives ahead of them. Death is something of importance much, much later in life.
"The problem is that I have no soul, so when I die I won't be watching over you. I won't be able to see if you're ok, if you've moved on. I won't be waiting for you in heaven when you die or even be a ghost to haunt you. Once I'm dead, I'm dead; just a rotting corpse in the filthy earth." Zim says with volumes of despair.
Dib is stricken with shock by Zim's words. To think that his alien lover has thought such things is painful for the human. Here they are, a happy couple and Zim is already musing over his afterlife. Dib is understanding to Zim and knows that Zim is only telling Dib what he feels is the right thing to know. And who is Dib to tell Zim it isn't?
Dib stands up from his chair to sit next to Zim. "Does that bug you Zim? If I died, would you want to see my ghost? Would you feel secure if you knew I was watching you and knew that you've moved on?" Dib asks Zim sweetly.
Zim falls silent due to thought. Then he says "Yes…"
Dib smiles and hugs the alien tight against his chest. "I might not be able to either. I may have a soul but I can't say I can choose whether it follows you or not." When Zim squeezes harder against Dib, Dib rubs the alien's back and says "But there's one thing we both can do."
Hearing that, Zim moves to glance at Dib with his innocent and hopeful eyes pleading to know, to understand; even just a little.
"If one of us was to die and the other is left alone, remember that a spirit lives on through memory." Dib says with a warm hearted smile.
Zim returns the smile and hugs his human passionately as Dib too holds his dear alien close.