The sun is beginning to set beneath the horizon. Along the desolate landscape of rotting trees and abandoned roads sit cookie-cutter houses, forgotten along with the era whose people they once sheltered. There are little bits of grass and weeds peeking through the cracks in the road and the yellow lines have become weathered through the years with drivers always continuing straight ahead, never looking back and never to be seen again. Time passes slowly here, with only the sound of rushing trains and chiming clocks left to remind us of the ever-flowing hours forever lost to the sands of time.

Now, it’s so dark that it feels as though the sun will never again replace the minimal brightness of the moon within the confines of this endless sky that’s been injected with the souls of all of those wandering people who have found themselves lost in the depth of the stars. Pulling my car to the side of the road, I hear the slamming of the door echo across the plains as I sit alone on a patch of grass, the wind blowing through my hair and a quiet thunder rumbling in the distance. The universe in itself is so large and yet, as I sit here, I can feel the earth continuing to rotate as it fights to keep the attention of its unwatchful god.

I look to the stars, but there are none to be seen, just the yellow moon filled to the brim with craters and soulless dreams. As I continue watching, the moon seems to blink as a lone tear slides down its profile which lies in the setting sun. The tear takes the form of a cloud which will eventually cover the very skies to which it was born. As the moon’s form changes over to that of the sun, so too will the cloud cover disintegrate beneath its rays leaving behind only lingering wisps and remnants of shade. The shadows of tomorrow’s sunlight will continue to loom large over the climate of today as every person alive only lives to see the sun rising again in the morning sky that hovers alone in an endless twilight.

All of this, I write down in a small notebook that I keep in the back-pocket of my tattered jeans. One of these days, these pages, filled with mindless ramblings will become my masterpiece, my lasting impression that I’ll leave to the earth after my ashes become dust in the wind. All I need is time.  

I stand again, feeling my knees cracking beneath the pressure of the gravity that has always weighed heavily upon my body. Walking towards the car, I look down to find a single flower blooming against the barren background of the dirt and grim, a single essence of beauty amid an atmosphere that has forgotten what it means to have any. I crack a smile and wish it the best before returning back to the car and beginning to drive, feeling my hands gripping the steering wheel, my mind blank but racing with incoherent thoughts. The minutes pass slower in silence, so I turn on the radio. Soon, the stagnant air is replaced by static-filled music that flows softly out from my speakers and into the interior of my car. My mind again begins to wander to parts unknown until my headlights strike a dark figure standing by the side of the road.

Thumb jutted out to the sky he stands with doe-eyes pleading and smile fretting. I shrug my shoulders and slow the car. I’ve never picked up a hitchhiker before, but nowadays, I’ll do anything for a little gas money and some conversation. There’s a beat-up leather guitar case next to him and he approaches my car with a spring in his step.

Where you headin’?

He speaks in a hushed tone and his voice carries with it a feeling of gentleness.

Shaking my head I reply, No where in particular, just seeing where the roads take me I guess.

He smiles. His teeth shine brightly against the backdrop of the night sky, perfectly straight and perfectly fitting to his face. I can feel my pulse racing. I smile back and bite my lips, a nervous habit that I’ve been meaning to will myself into not doing.

You want to hop in?

He nods his head eagerly and walks around to the passenger side door. When it closes, he turns to me, head bowed and cheeks glowing. I’m Kyungsoo, he says bashfully as he holds his hand across the seat to reach mine. His hands are warm with calloused fingers and nails bitten to the nubs, they bring with them a feeling of comfort, of hope.

Upon shaking I reply that mine is Jongin. Kyungsoo smiles again and mouths the name to himself, carefully pronouncing each syllable. As he does so, I feel my heart beginning to melt and a flush of red beginning to taint my cheeks. Rubbing the back of my neck, I scan my eyes back over to the road. It seems infinite, with no end and no starting point, just the middle, the endless stretch of highway that keeps me going, that keeps me sane.

Kyungsoo is humming softly to the song on the radio. His voice is smooth and sweet, befitting to the soulful melody of old Mo-town, Sam Cooke serenading a faceless listener. A small grin decorates his face and his head lulls softly from side-to-side feeling the music and tapping the tune lightly onto his thighs. Suddenly, he turns his head towards me and starts to speak.

So, Jongin, are you just planning on driving this for the rest of your life or what?

His voice is playful and his eyes are shining against the glint of the moon. I take a few seconds to think up a response.

No. I’m just driving until I find a reason to do otherwise.

Kyungsoo nods. I know he gets it. He takes his guitar case from the back and opens it to reveal an old Fender, with loosened strings from years of passionate playing beneath the stars. Kyungsoo begins to strum, melodic chords flowing freely through the action of fingers meeting fret, his voice cascading through the air and into the pits of my heart. I begin tapping a beat into the steering wheel and swaying my body back and forth, feeling the song seep into my pours leaving behind a tingling sensation of body meeting soul, life meeting the immortal. When the song ends, I hear myself asking a question.

So, what about you Kyungsoo? What are you doing on the road?

Kyungsoo’s eyebrows scrunch together and I find it may very well be the most adorable thing I’ve seen in my life. Lost in a field of deep thought, Kyungsoo begins his lips, pink tongue peeking out between white teeth. Finally, with his response in check, he gives up and answers.

You know what, I never really thought about why, just until when. I’m riding this stretch of highway until I can find that one thing that’s missing from my life. Whether it be a person, place, or entity, I’ll continue on down never-ending boulevards in search of it until I finally come across the thing I’ve been looking for all this time, the final piece of the puzzle that was never attempted or finished.

After finishing, Kyungsoo begins to play again, but this time, the melody is tinged with sorrow. I can’t help but wonder to myself what secrets he hides behind his careless façade of soft tones. With his voice still providing an aura of sadness, I open the window to air out the car. I hold my hand outside, the wind whipping against it with the feeling of pellets of rain persistently hitting my skin. The air is clean and desolate. I try to think of the last person who probably breathed it in, how far they are down the road now, where they’re going and where they’ve been.

By now, Kyungsoo has followed suit and opened his window as well. The chilled night air has infiltrated his system and a smile has replaced his tearful eyes and woebegone expression from minutes earlier. As I continue to stare at his profile, I realize for the first time the magnitude of his stunning features. His skin is milky-white and soft with large eyes and heart-shaped lips creating an overall feeling of innocence. He wears jeans and a pair of beat-up Converse high-tops with a loose-fitting t-shirt overtop and a fedora on his head. His hair falls out from the hat in dark strands that have become plastered to his skin over the course of the days.

I didn’t realize that I was staring until I look up to meet his eyes. I begin to slow the car until it reaches a complete stop. Kyungsoo continues staring back at me, a hint of longing displaying itself inside his black pupils. Before I cam comprehend what is happening, I feel soft lips meeting my own. Kyungsoo smiles into the kiss then pulls back. He cheeks flushed and his hair tousled, he grabs my hand and begins to speak.

Maybe you’re the one I’m looking for Jongin. Maybe I can be your reason for getting off the road.

My mind is racing and my heart feels warm in my chest. Leaning back in, I kiss him again. Everything feels so right at the moment, the wind continuing to blow outside, the birds chirping softly in the distance, and Kyungsoo, whose mouth taste like Cherry Coke and cigarettes.

When we part again, I get a great idea. C’mon, let go outside.

I run to the trunk and grab the blanket that I bought years ago from a Native American woman at a roadside stand in New Mexico. After grabbing it, I return to Kyungsoo and take his hand in my own.

We find an old oak tree and lie the blanket down beneath it. Checking my watch, I find that the time is now 4:46 AM. The darkest time of night has now passed and soon the sun will again rise to its spot in the sky. We sit in silence as Kyungsoo begins to hum again and I find that it may be my favorite sound in the world, lost with the wind that rustles through the trees that stand above us. I take out my pocket knife and turn towards the decaying bark. Feeling cheesy, I carve our names into it so that we will forever be remembered, even if it’s only by the dying wood of the setting that surrounds us. I hope that one day, years down the line, we can come back to this spot and see where everything began. Kyungsoo giggles when I tell him this and he says he wants me to stop with the romance, but I know that deep-down, he’s really enjoying my actions because his hand remains in mine, his head on my shoulder.

We continue to sit this way, hand-in-hand, Kyungsoo humming softly to the light of the moon, until I decide to lie down on my back and look up at the stars. Kyungsoo follows suit, and he curls up next to me, his warm body giving off a feeling of content. He kisses my cheek, smiling softly to himself. I want to stay just like this for the rest of time. Just the two of us, alone, basking in the silence of the world, the sound of nature softly lulling us to sleep.