A Life Without Wings

Chapter two
The Appearing

Later that evening we find, Abigail, working down at the local cemetery cleaning up the tombstone with a mixture of bleach and some homemade lye soap for the man that she still loved more than life itself. She sits in front of the grave with a sobering thought knowing he was never coming back or at least not in this lifetime. She wipes the tears from her eyes as she begins to speak to him as if he was sitting right beside her, which if the truth be told he was closer then she ever realized as she looks at his grave marker. There he was or rather his spirit that was sitting cross-legged right beside her. She says, "Clifford, how I wish you were right here beside me? Its times like these a woman needs a good man right by her side with just a few encouraging words to help her through the day. I guess that is not going to happen today or any other day on this side of heaven." She looks up on top of his tombstone and there stood a nickel standing on its edge. She knew she had just cleaned the top of the stone, but yet there it was a free-standing nickel just like Clifford used to do when he would buy his favorite drink, "A grape soda pop." She thought to herself "How strange." She finished up at the tombstone and headed back to the house to prepare the boys for bed. She stops, looks back at the graveyard momentarily, but dismisses the event as pure chance. In the graveyard stands Clifford's spirit watching her every move as he asks himself, "why did I ever drink that creek water?" In a few moments, his image fades away like the dissipating smoke from his uncle Henry's smoking pipe. She tucks Garland and Soda Pop into their bed and as she asks him, "who paid for his soda pop today at Hoot's store?" He said, "well, daddy of course?" She gives him a disapproving look knowing that was an impossibility. She says, "You know what the good book says about telling fibs?" He gives her the most honest look and says, "Mama I am not telling a frib? I am honest Indian." She tucks him in and for some reason, she knew he was not lying even though she didn't understand about the nickel that had to seem to appear almost by magic. She had a strange feeling like someone else was in the room, the same kind of feeling she had when Clifford was laying beside her in bed on those late Mississippi nights under a full moon. On the following day, she makes her way to Hoot's store to inquire about how Soda Pop was able to purchase something to drink. She walks into the store just as a traveler enters the door at the same time. He bumps into her, but ask for her to pardon his manners for being so clumsy. She looks up at his six-foot frame, slightly muscular build, and a smile that could break your heart. She is stunned when she looks at the man that could have a been Clifford's twin brother. She is still holding his hand from their previous introductions, as she says, "I am so sorry for staring, but you are the spitting image of my husband or I mean my former husband, God rest his soul." He says, "I am very sorry, but I have never been married, a bachelor my entire life." He says, "May I please have my hand back it's really beginning to sweat." She very quickly pulls her hand back as she apologies for her staring. He walks away, and as she is standing there in deep thought. The clerk asks if he can help her but her eyes are glued to the stranger as he walks away and she has completely forgotten why she came into the store. She stands there momentarily feeling a bit lost until her memory is sparked when she sees a little boy sitting on the floor cross-legged drinking a soda pop. She says to the clerk, "oh' yes now I remember, my boy Soda Pop was down here yesterday and came home with a grape soda pop except he didn't have a nickel to his name." The man scratches his head and says, "oh' I remember now his daddy bought it for him or at least that was what he said. He stood there talking to his daddy, but everyone knew his daddy died ten years ago excluding present company (as they both glance at the new fella that had just arrived into town from parts unknown.) The strangers look back at them with a smile, as he tips his bottle as to say, " here is looking at you." "I remembered Clifford and he came from good stock, so I was going to give him a soda on the house. The funny thing was shortly after he left the store a nickel appeared on the countertop standing on its edge." She looks on the countertop as the clerk tries to stand his own nickel on its edge with little success. It was about the time the stranger walks up to the counter and tosses a nickel upon the top of the counter, but after he walks out and the nickel quits spinning, it stood on its edge just like Clifford had done almost every day of his life. The clerk leans into Abigail and says, "now that is the strangest thing I have seen in a coon's age and for some reason, that guy has creepy written all over him." She watches the stranger as he climbs into his old broken down car and drives away. She stands there nibbling on the nail of her little finger as the clerk says, "sometimes they come back." She turns her head in a snap and asks, "what did you say?" He then repeats himself and says, " I said, you be sure and come back and bring Soda Pop with you." A distant stare comes across her face as she says,"that was what I thought you said." But in her heart, she knew that was just a lie. She exits the store and the man behind the counter says to the man that just appeared from what seems to be nowhere, "do you think she has a clue?" The clerk answers with a smile, "not a clue." As they vanish as if they were never there because at this point I am not sure they ever were myself. It was about nine in the morning when a clerk comes out of the storeroom and says to himself as he turns the open sign around to face the street and says, "I just feel this is a great start to a beautiful day."

End of chapter two