whisper.
“ I've
never been in the ocean.”
Star
looked at her for a long time, amazed to have met someone who had
never been to that part of heaven. She felt an upwelling of
compassion for this messed up young person.
“ Ah,
then this will be very special.” She turned to hang her car
keys on a hook and grab a towel herself. “Full moon tonight
too, how fortunate you are indeed.”
Star
reached into a trunk just inside the porch of her place and pulled
out a long oversized t-shirt. “You might not have a swimsuit,
or you might not need one. Either way, here you go.”
Some
moment or two later she and Star were walking toward the sea, just
before dark and I found myself moving above the trees.
To
the east the horizon shimmered under the weight of the approaching
moon, ready to burst forth any instant.
Suddenly,
in the dark air ahead of me came a shock, a rush of blackness.
Seemingly
just ahead of the moon's light, racing ahead, was something from the
mainland, to the northeast. Something I could feel as much now as I
might have when I was alive - a warm wind. A sudden burst of grief
from across the sea just before the moon crested the horizon.
Instantly
I was there. Trying to comfort her, impossible as that was. I had
to close my eyes, as it were, when I saw that it was my Mom reading
my Facebook posts.
~~~
Agatha
thought that she might never breathe another breath. She had gone
onto Facebook to pull up some pictures of Janet and I, to show Adam.
The
little bar on Lake Tahoe Boulevard had two computers with Internet
access for the price of two Coors Lights. Adam liked that. He could
use two cold brewskis while Agatha went hunting around for pictures.
As
the second beer washed away the day's dust he noticed Agatha crying
at the computer. Walking up behind her he saw Facebook was open.
“ Honey,
what's wrong?”
Agatha
couldn't talk, having just now only caught her breath. She dragged
her finger across the screen to point out something. Finally, Adam
saw it.
Jimmy
Turner: “ I
just wanted to let you all know that I am dead.”
~~~
Alex
had spent the better part of his day telling various law enforcement
types the same story. He wondered if it would have been easier to
Xerox something and hand it out. Park Rangers, County Police and
finally four Military Policemen had driven down from the Pohakuloa
Training grounds near Mauna Kea.
Everyone
wanted to see Cabin #94. Everyone wanted to interview the nurse.
And finally they had all visited the Lava Lounge and the booth in the
corner.
Alex
remained at the Lava Lounge as the last MPs left and his presence was
required no other place. Larry soon showed up with plate lunches
from the Lava Rock Cafe, having missed the free lunch he had been
promised.
“ Did
you have enough money?” Alex asked.
“ Yeah,
but I gave the change to the Salvation Army guy outside.” He
sat the boxes down, pulled up his stool to the bar and nodded to the
bartender as she slid a cold frosty one his way. “Besides,
Alex, I figured it would do us both good to balance our karma a bit.”
Alex
shook his head. “I guess so. But, we didn't do anything wrong
ourselves.”
“ True,
true,” Larry conceded. “But, we were in the presence of
evil or lunacy or some other bad mojo.” He put a good dent in
his fresh drink. “Besides it was only a dollar fifty.”
Alex
laughed out loud. “Good, as long as we were only near a dollar
fifty worth of evil, we're cool!”
Nodding,
Larry laughed lightly. “No worries. I've got an emergency
twenty in my pocket if we need it.”
~~~
Adam
was horrified. What kind of thing was this Facebook? He had heard
of it, never gave it a second thought and now was seriously doubting
it could possibly be a good idea. What would people now consider
proper etiquette? Announcing suicides? What else could it be? He
had heard of kids getting in trouble with nude pictures or bullying
or proving their indiscretion any number of ways. But this!
“ I've
never been in the ocean.”
Star
looked at her for a long time, amazed to have met someone who had
never been to that part of heaven. She felt an upwelling of
compassion for this messed up young person.
“ Ah,
then this will be very special.” She turned to hang her car
keys on a hook and grab a towel herself. “Full moon tonight
too, how fortunate you are indeed.”
Star
reached into a trunk just inside the porch of her place and pulled
out a long oversized t-shirt. “You might not have a swimsuit,
or you might not need one. Either way, here you go.”
Some
moment or two later she and Star were walking toward the sea, just
before dark and I found myself moving above the trees.
To
the east the horizon shimmered under the weight of the approaching
moon, ready to burst forth any instant.
Suddenly,
in the dark air ahead of me came a shock, a rush of blackness.
Seemingly
just ahead of the moon's light, racing ahead, was something from the
mainland, to the northeast. Something I could feel as much now as I
might have when I was alive - a warm wind. A sudden burst of grief
from across the sea just before the moon crested the horizon.
Instantly
I was there. Trying to comfort her, impossible as that was. I had
to close my eyes, as it were, when I saw that it was my Mom reading
my Facebook posts.
~~~
Agatha
thought that she might never breathe another breath. She had gone
onto Facebook to pull up some pictures of Janet and I, to show Adam.
The
little bar on Lake Tahoe Boulevard had two computers with Internet
access for the price of two Coors Lights. Adam liked that. He could
use two cold brewskis while Agatha went hunting around for pictures.
As
the second beer washed away the day's dust he noticed Agatha crying
at the computer. Walking up behind her he saw Facebook was open.
“ Honey,
what's wrong?”
Agatha
couldn't talk, having just now only caught her breath. She dragged
her finger across the screen to point out something. Finally, Adam
saw it.
Jimmy
Turner: “ I
just wanted to let you all know that I am dead.”
~~~
Alex
had spent the better part of his day telling various law enforcement
types the same story. He wondered if it would have been easier to
Xerox something and hand it out. Park Rangers, County Police and
finally four Military Policemen had driven down from the Pohakuloa
Training grounds near Mauna Kea.
Everyone
wanted to see Cabin #94. Everyone wanted to interview the nurse.
And finally they had all visited the Lava Lounge and the booth in the
corner.
Alex
remained at the Lava Lounge as the last MPs left and his presence was
required no other place. Larry soon showed up with plate lunches
from the Lava Rock Cafe, having missed the free lunch he had been
promised.
“ Did
you have enough money?” Alex asked.
“ Yeah,
but I gave the change to the Salvation Army guy outside.” He
sat the boxes down, pulled up his stool to the bar and nodded to the
bartender as she slid a cold frosty one his way. “Besides,
Alex, I figured it would do us both good to balance our karma a bit.”
Alex
shook his head. “I guess so. But, we didn't do anything wrong
ourselves.”
“ True,
true,” Larry conceded. “But, we were in the presence of
evil or lunacy or some other bad mojo.” He put a good dent in
his fresh drink. “Besides it was only a dollar fifty.”
Alex
laughed out loud. “Good, as long as we were only near a dollar
fifty worth of evil, we're cool!”
Nodding,
Larry laughed lightly. “No worries. I've got an emergency
twenty in my pocket if we need it.”
~~~
Adam
was horrified. What kind of thing was this Facebook? He had heard
of it, never gave it a second thought and now was seriously doubting
it could possibly be a good idea. What would people now consider
proper etiquette? Announcing suicides? What else could it be? He
had heard of kids getting in trouble with nude pictures or bullying
or proving their indiscretion any number of ways. But this!
Similar Books
