Axel was a preacher of sorts in another life. This life, if you'd count the body as one, yet another if you'd count his current lifestyle as a second. After the death of an acquaintance he felt it right to speak after the service, as he imagined due to her short stay in this world not many would show. A little tipsy and very much enraptured, Axel took to the streets. He didn't go to any specific corner, yet he spoke aloud, fervently, as he walked along.

Axel didn't recite anything from any book, as he'd given away the holy scripture with the nightmares that followed his departure from the church. His mind though was still alight with much philosophical text, and maybe more so his soul.

"Another Vegas hopeful lost to the battle. Life, death. What does it all really mean? Is it just a cycle, or is it something more than that? Do parts of one life seep over into other moments, other expressions of life, even after the black hooded hand of death reaches out and captures the soul? Are small instances really so insignificant, or does everything, everyone, every little bit of life affect and shape the other? And by what measure? By what instruments do we see and experience life reaching out beyond the little momentary expressions, and touching more to come?"

"Could it be that every life matters. That every small increment truly makes a difference and adds to the ever now moment, to this very place in time. Our short time here may have seemed small in one way, yet to some it's big enough for it to mean more than just the time itself. The soul is bigger than the body. Time only exists as a thought. We lay each other to rest with the best of them and hope for our souls to find their way home, wherever it may be."

After the short, or maybe lengthy outpouring of his metaphysical self, Axel withdrew a hip flask, poured a little liquor on the ground then took a swig. He was no longer a priest and now more so a gangster, so he could do what the fuck he liked. And, he did, even if it meant a drunken ramble as he staggered aimlessly through the streets.

Axel slipped the metal container back into his inner jacket pocket as he continued walking, free of thought, but maybe a little more full of soul.