Alaska Young suddenly found herself on a cloud, next to a boy approximately her age.
"Hi", she said.
"Hi", he said.
And for a while they both just stared down from the cloud in silence, each busy with their own thoughts.
„So, what's your name?", the boy suddenly asked. "Alaska", she replied. ""Alaska? Like the state?" He asked again, in surprise. "Yeah", she grinned. "And yours?" "Augustus", he told her. "Augustus? Like the roman emperor?" They both started laughing.
"Talking about something more serious- why are you here?" "Car accident." , she briefly informed him, looking away, head down. Obviously she didn't want to talk about it. To prevent further questions from his side, she asked what brought him to… this place. "Cancer.", he said, just as briefly as she did. "I'm sorry." She said. "Me too", he replied. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Placing one of them between his lips, he offered her one as well. "No, thanks. I only used to smoke because I wanted to die, so apparently I don't need them anymore.", she declined in a sad tone. He grinned and shook his head. "So why do you smoke? I thought you had cancer?", she asked him in confusion. "Hazel used to ask me the same question. I told her it was a metaphor. I put the killing thing right between my teeth but don't give it the chance to kill me. I never lit them." That for sure surprised Alaska. "What a waste of perfectly good cigarettes. You're so pathetic. I like that." She said, grinning. She was equally pathetic, why did she never think of such an awesome habit? But the more important question: "Who is Hazel? Your girlfriend?" she asked him with that smile your friends give you when they ask you about someone you like. "Yes she is. She doesn't want to unlove me, so she technically still is. I can't tell you how thankful I am for the little infinity she gave me. So, Miss Alaska, do you have a special someone who is missing you right now, down on earth?" She pointed down, to where she thought Culver Creek must be. "There he is. There's Pudge. He is still trying to find out what happened to me, poor boy. He loves me. Present tense."