"So let's get this straight, gramps."

The police officer was unbearably young, so what could HE know of a love that lasts a lifetime and beyond? Gabe stared at the teenage cop. Throwing his long hair around, constantly touching himself to keep the buzz of his youth going full blast and deaf to anything above the din of his rushing blood.

"Last night you dug up the bones of your wife and this morning we found them in a sack behind your apartment."

"Yes, I'm not denying that."

"But what the hell for?"

"What time is it, please?"

"Don't bother about that, you have plenty of time to come up with a good reason."

"I need to know NOW!"

"Don't get so agitated, it's only around quarter of twelve am."

"Oh, you must let me go immediately or there will be no hope for me and her…"

"What is SO important about the time?"

"You will never understand, it's the only thing that will keep her with me."

"Looks like you already tried that once, pops."

"I'm begging you, let me go, and I'll come back later and answer all your questions."

"No, we need to do this now! What were you going to do with the bones?"

Gabe looked into the astonishingly clear and cold eyes of the youth and took in all of his reflections and his shined to a chromium polish uniform and saw the folly in continuing.

"Gabe, you look harmless. Did you love your wife?"

"Why the hell are you asking me that?"

Then the tears flowed.

"I miss her more than you can imagine, but it is that religious zealot her sister that wants to drag her down to hell with her."

"Whoa, gramps, you're getting all worked up over nothing."

I hope he distracts easily, Gabe prayed. All of his generation do. But he was suddenly called out of the room, and the door didn't shut all the way, the teen cop being too preoccupied with walking "cool" to notice.

Gabe dashed out of the police station and into his Dodge, cranking it up full, and went winding through traffic to drive up to the Marina just as the clock hit 12:02pm.

He saw the last moment of the spirits shimmering across the bay, the clouds forming faces and bodies. He caught the exquisite sight of the curve of Ana's high cheekbones and the curious way that she tilted her head as if listening to an inner voice.

Then he saw the arms entwining, Ana and Claudia, who was finally leading her away, hand in hand.

He fell to his knees, the soft earth giving way as he sunk into the soil, cursing his fate and feeling the crushing of loneliness eking the life out of him.

He remained there until the police dragged him away.

Gabe's brother-in-law came to pay his fine, and also arranged for the proper burial of Ana's bones.

There was a voicemail message when Gabe finally returned to his tiny studio apartment late that night.

Two voices that eventually blended into one.

"Your beloved wife, do you know what she did? The slut. She screwed around with MY boyfriend that summer, as though she couldn't get her own. He was tainted goods when I married him, but I redeemed him. In time. Now I need to do the same with Ana."

The second voice, clearer than she had sounded in the past years of illness: "My baby, my love. I am going. You won't see me anymore in the reflections. Or feel me next to you on our bench. I am taking my sister, and we are going together. It is meant to be. She will be taken care of, as will I. I will wait for you to join us."

Followed by a most curious sound of scraping.

© 2002 Paul Wood
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