Dan boosts Noah onto his shoulders as they cross the empty highway.

“Daaad...”

“Yeah mate.”

“Do you think Uncle Kurt might know Darryl Dixon?”

“Who bud?”

“You know, off the Walking Dead.”

“Mmmm...Why do you think they’d know each other?” Dan says.

“Well Uncle Kurt had a Harley and Darryl does. And Darryl has angel wings, and Mum says Uncle Kurt has them too.”

Dan sees the white cross up ahead and lowers Noah to the ground. 

“I reckon Kurt’d be keen on that Noah, Darryl maybe less so.”

Dan kicks a beer can to the edge of the footpath. 

“Ok Noah, have you got your card?”

Noah draws out and unfolds his hand crafted tribute, nodding.

They approach the crude memorial, and Dan frowns at the mess of bottles ringing it, like a white trash stonehenge. Noah’s quiet, folding and unfolding the crayon decorated cardboard. Dan takes his hand.

“Daaaaad…”

“Yeah Noah?”

“Mum says uncle died because he made a bad decision. And he did that because he was young.”

Dan draws a deep breath in and releases it slowly, feeling his eyes start to tingle.

“Yip, aah, yeah. Yeah mate, I guess that’s true”

Noah gives his own tiny sigh and looks up to Dan with an intense wee frown. Which just as quickly melts into a cheeky grin.

“He did do the best mouth farts though!“

Dan help giggling. 

“Ohhhh ho yip, he was the face fart champ alright.”

He lets go of Noah’s hand and begins clearing the bottles and cans from the base of the home made shrine.

He draws a carry bag from his pocket and starts picking up the cans and bottles, muttering to himself. 

“Double Brown. Corona. Wow, Flame...”’

Noah turns and looks up to him. 

“That’s what Uncle Kurt called you. Flame.”

“What do you mean? When was that?”

“On your birthday party. I made stinky stuffed eggs with him.”

“So wait...what...what did he say?”

“Yeah. Like, when it’s dark, and he can’t see anymore, and he gets lost. Then you’re a flame and he isn’t so lost. He said when the baby sister is made, I can be a flame.”

Dan nods and turns away, the chill of tears on his cheeks.

“Yeah wee mate. Yeah. I think you’ll be a really...a really bright flame. “