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Karon picked up the two shovels from the ground, returning them to the hearse. He then sat down in the driver’s seat and pulled the rearview mirror lower so that it faced him. “Proper?”
He wiped the mirror with a finger, then looked at himself in it again. “Does this count as proper too?”
Karon looked out the window. He had to admit that a cemetery at night really was a place that could calm the heart, because everyone lying in it had already found peace.
He sat there a while longer, checked the time, then started the hearse and drove toward the cemetery gate. When he reached the entrance, he saw the old groundskeeper sitting there cooking macaroni over a little stove.
“Not sleeping anymore?” Karon greeted him.
The old man shot him an irritated glare. “If I sleep, who’s going to close the gate?”
“It’s almost dawn.” Cemeteries opened in the daytime and closed at night.
“Heh, the dead are more punctual than the living.”
“You’re really responsible.”
“If you come back in the middle of the night a few more times like this, I’ll probably be lying in there soon too. Do you know how hard it is for an old man to get one good night’s sleep?”
“I’m very sorry. There won’t be a next time.”
“No, next time you’ll pay more!”
“Alright.”
The old man smiled, stirring the macaroni in the pot with a spoon as he asked in a perfunctory, casual tone, “What a pity you’re in such a rush to head back, otherwise I’d invite you to breakfast. Or no, I guess this still counts as a late-night meal now.”
Karon opened the car door, got out, and walked over to the little stove. “I’m really hungry.”
“…” The old man.
When the first pot of macaroni was done, the old man took half, and Karon took half.
“Tomato sauce, here.”
“Do you have chili sauce?”
“Only tomato sauce. Everything else is heresy.”
“Alright.”
Each of them took a plate and a fork and started eating. Very soon, both plates were empty. The old man smiled and asked, “Full now?”
Karon shook his head. “No.”
The old man went back inside, brought out another packet, and poured it into the pot. As he did, he said, “I can tell what you’re trying to do. You’re planning to eat back the fee you just paid for me to open the gate.”
“Do you have a fridge in there?”
“I do.”
“Then another day I’ll have someone bring over some meatballs and sliced meat, so we can...
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