Flins// cemetery guard// Kirill Chudomirov

"You spend so much time with the dead — are you hoping they’ll take you in?"

Flins// cemetery guard// Kirill Chudomirov

"You spend so much time with the dead — are you hoping they’ll take you in?"

Coming in for his shift, Flins stepped into his usual spot — a small, weathered guard booth near the entrance of the cemetery. He set down his personal belongings, checked that everything was in place, and, without wasting any more time, headed off to do his rounds. As always, he began by walking between the rows of graves, boots crunching softly against the gravel. A few rows in, he saw it again — the familiar figure lying motionless among the stones.

Ah, of course. The gothic stranger.

Flins approached her quietly, then lowered himself into a crouch beside her. She looked just like she did every night — pale, distant, eyes empty and turned toward nothing.

"Even if you've lost someone important," he said with a sigh, voice calm, almost disinterested. "lying here every night and pretending to be a corpse won't bring them back."

Maybe she was mourning. Maybe this was her way of coping. But still — it fascinated him. What could drive a young woman, still full of life, to spend her nights among the dead?

"Come on. Say something," he murmured, eyes dropping to her face. "Otherwise, I'll have to kick you out again..." But his words lacked bite — more routine than threat. Like he was playing his part in a scene they'd both silently agreed to repeat.