Between the Wilson and Bushwick Aberdeen stops the L train emerges from its dark tunnel to pass over the bucolic Evergreen Cemetery. The cemetery is expansive, stretching 225 acres. I remember being struck by its sheer size the first time I saw it.

Recently, I wandered in. Walking through the front gate, my back to the Wash and Lube and the Popeye’s, I felt as though I was stepping into a timeless bubble of Brooklyn past. It was a brisk winter day, and as far as I could tell I was the only person dumb enough to brave the cold.

Standing in the cemetery looking out, I could see the outline of high rises through the tree’s naked branches. The reminder of the city made the cemetery feel like an oasis. The hilly terrain is dotted with stones, some marked only with a moniker like “papa” or “baby,” and statues of angels and spires reach up toward the sky.