Falling Angels: Chapter Six
Nov. 8th, 2009 03:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_siobhanI don't have pets that need feeding. I don't have plants that need watering. Yet somehow I feel like my house misses me when I'm gone for a long time. It's nothing concrete - maybe it's just he extra layer of dust or the fact that the silence has developed legs and started walking around and cussing. But coming home after an extended absence still feels likes like a relief, like something was holding it's breath.
The first thing I did when I got home was to drag out my wedding ring and Carl's old corsage. I lit a candle and put on a record of the song that was our first dance at our wedding.
He showed up of course. He didn't have to, and I knew it. Till death do us part was the vow. But I also knew damn well that he would never say no if I asked him for help. I heard Carl's familiar footstep on the kitchen floor and I jumped up from where I sat with the candles to greet him. He smelled just like he always did, like soap and musk but with an overlay of clean dirt. I let him loose from a long hug and he leaned back against the kitchen counter just like he always did when he was alive.
"How long has it been?" he asked me.
I thought back. "At least three months." I told him. "Maybe four."
He waved his hands, distressed. "I'm sorry." He said. "I meant to visit sooner. Time moves differently there."
I hugged him again. He felt warm and solid to the touch.
"You don't have to apologize for anything," I told him. "And thank you for coming when I call. You don't have to do that either."
Carl waved his hands again adn then launched into what he considered to be interesting conversation, aka gossip. Gossip from dead people tends to be solely focused around who has just shown up at the Gates of Dawn. Since I usually have no idea who any of those people are I normally just zone out for the whole thing, but this time I had an agenda.
"Have you seen Wayne?" I asked him. "Wayne is disappeared, we think he's dead. Have you seen him??"
Carl shook his head. "No Wayne." he announced. "You remember Sadie from High School? A wild dog got her. And Ismat from Storage Solutions, she ran afoul of a keprie on her way to work yesterday, burnt all her skin off. And Ching from the playground in second grade, she got eaten by a Grue yesterday. And..."
"Waitaminute" I said. "You're sure. Wayne is still alive."
Carl nodded. "Haven't seen Wayne. He's still alive. Now Melvin - he died in a vat of toxic waste. Ash got eaten by zombies. Debbi got stabbed in the temple by a hairpin - some chick who thought she was after her boyfriend. Fred got eaten by a pterodactyl..."
I sat and listened to what basically amounted to a radio broadcast, letting the words wash over me. I had to focus on one thing. Wayne was still alive.
The first thing I did when I got home was to drag out my wedding ring and Carl's old corsage. I lit a candle and put on a record of the song that was our first dance at our wedding.
He showed up of course. He didn't have to, and I knew it. Till death do us part was the vow. But I also knew damn well that he would never say no if I asked him for help. I heard Carl's familiar footstep on the kitchen floor and I jumped up from where I sat with the candles to greet him. He smelled just like he always did, like soap and musk but with an overlay of clean dirt. I let him loose from a long hug and he leaned back against the kitchen counter just like he always did when he was alive.
"How long has it been?" he asked me.
I thought back. "At least three months." I told him. "Maybe four."
He waved his hands, distressed. "I'm sorry." He said. "I meant to visit sooner. Time moves differently there."
I hugged him again. He felt warm and solid to the touch.
"You don't have to apologize for anything," I told him. "And thank you for coming when I call. You don't have to do that either."
Carl waved his hands again adn then launched into what he considered to be interesting conversation, aka gossip. Gossip from dead people tends to be solely focused around who has just shown up at the Gates of Dawn. Since I usually have no idea who any of those people are I normally just zone out for the whole thing, but this time I had an agenda.
"Have you seen Wayne?" I asked him. "Wayne is disappeared, we think he's dead. Have you seen him??"
Carl shook his head. "No Wayne." he announced. "You remember Sadie from High School? A wild dog got her. And Ismat from Storage Solutions, she ran afoul of a keprie on her way to work yesterday, burnt all her skin off. And Ching from the playground in second grade, she got eaten by a Grue yesterday. And..."
"Waitaminute" I said. "You're sure. Wayne is still alive."
Carl nodded. "Haven't seen Wayne. He's still alive. Now Melvin - he died in a vat of toxic waste. Ash got eaten by zombies. Debbi got stabbed in the temple by a hairpin - some chick who thought she was after her boyfriend. Fred got eaten by a pterodactyl..."
I sat and listened to what basically amounted to a radio broadcast, letting the words wash over me. I had to focus on one thing. Wayne was still alive.