Excerpt

The cemetery was dark when he arrived. Though he never found graveyards creepy places, often tempted fates as a boy by taking short cuts through this one on the way home from a movie. He did not believe in ghosts, that is, to say nothing of friendly spirits who would tip someone off to secrets not found in conscious thought.

As he made his way through the maze of stones, he saw the brilliant, yellowish eyes of a black cat sitting on top of a very large tombstone. It blinked once as if it turned out a great light, creating total darkness, and disappearing into the darker night.

It was without thought that he found himself in front of Lucy's marker. However, something was different this time, He could not put his finger on it, nor did he have an answer.

Something or someone was tugging at his shirttail. He almost turned to see what it was when he knew that there would be nothing there. He had heard nothing behind him, but he turned his head slightly anyway to see if his peripheral vision would pick up anything. Nothing. Then he heard a voice, softly at first, then growing louder. It sounded almost like Lucy's but he could not be certain, as it had been more than thirteen long years.

The messageher last message that she would meet me after work at the bar we often stopped at on the way home or to a restaurant.

"I'll see you at Ralph's after I pick Jennifer up and take her to her dance lesson."

I had forgotten about Jennifer's lesson she went to three times a week. Now it all came flooding back to me, jogged my memory from some smoky dream. Those were the last words I had heard from her. When she did not show up at Ralph's I called home but there were no messages on the answering machine. I felt as if I should be somewhere but I did not know where. After another drink, I did go home but there was no one there.