KINDRED SPIRITS... Burying The Dead (An Original Story -- Part 3)

KINDRED SPIRITS... Burying The Dead
is a story of life and death… And what happens to the people we
leave behind when were gone...

INTRO:

In Part 2 of Kindred Spirits…Burying The Dead, Joe and Holly finally met… After seeing each numerous times over the years, each sitting across from that "mysterious" brownstone. They shared some coffee and Joe avoided answering her question of why he sits there so often… Joe finally enters that same brownstone for the first time and is confronted by a shadowy figure

If you missed Part 2 click here to catch up.., or follow @macksby

Part 3

As Joe stands there, not moving a muscle -- the lone figure in the corner pleads with him not to take the music box Joe is holding in his hand… Instead of freaking-out or being frightened by this unexpected turn of events -- Joe calmly reaches for the candle that is burning on the bar and holds it up in the direction of the lone figure -- it is a man, sitting on a make-shift bed of things from the brownstone… He is disheveled.., but not really dirty -- not your typical looking homeless guy…

Joe feels absolutely no threat from this man.., and he steps toward him holding out the music box -- and says, "Here you go, I was just admiring it - it's beautiful" and hands it to him. "Thank you.., it was her favorite piece of music -- are you Joe…" says the man.

Joe's eyes widen, to the size of silver dollars -- thinking to himself, how can this guy know my name… And if things aren't strange enough already, they are about to get much stranger… Joe moves closer to the man and pulls over an old milk crate and sits down just in front of him...

"How did you know my name..?" Joe asks him…

Without any hesitation, at all -- the man replies… "The figures that show-up in the basement every now and then, told me -- they'v been wondering when you would come…" That calm facade Joe is trying to portray is starting to fade.., but still holding it together he asks the man -- "What kind of figures do you mean?" The man replies --

"Im pretty sure they live down there.., but they only show themselves to me, sometimes… Usually, when Im really hungry.., or…" The man struggles with his next sentence -- "When I think about killing myself… I think they're ghosts."

Joe doesn't know what to make of what this man is saying… But he does know about.., those thoughts he used to have right after his family was taken from him.., and how suicide seemed like the only escape from the pain… But, he also does't know, if this guy is just looney tunes…

Joe looks at the man -- "How long have you been here?"

The man reaches for a box of cereal and starts to eat some… Joe asks again -- "Have you been here long?" The man puts down the cereal and opens up the music box… The dark angle lit room is filled with it's beautiful music…

Out of nowhere, Joe shoots straight up --

"Wait, I know this music.., my mother listened to it all the time, waiting for my Dad to come home…"

The man replies, almost smugly -- "I know, she told me…"

Joe is starting to get a little agitated with this guy… "Whaddya mean, she told you -- she's been…"

The man finishes his sentence -- "dead… I know. So is your Dad and your sister… And there is another lady down there, too -- they don't seem to know her though."

Joe's whole body is shaking… Nobody has ever spoken so nonchalantly to him about the death of his family… His first reaction is anger, but he immediately squashes it -- he finds it almost impossible to be angry with this man -- he can sense the same kind of hurting in him.., that exists in himself…

As Joe start pacing, the man continues --

"I was sleeping in the backyard, not long after Beth died… The whole city was in pain and nobody knew how to morn so many unnecessary deaths -- I was sure I would freeze to death.., and I was fine with that -- it's actually what I prayed for, right before I closed my eyes… And when I woke up.., your mother and that other lady were covering me with that tarp, to keep me warm. All they said was -- Beth wants you to live…"

Joe starts to tear-up… Just hearing this -- it is definitely something his mother would do.., for anyone. Before the man closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep he finishes his thought --

"I fell asleep and had the most beautiful dream of Beth and me… And how we would huddle together in bed under the covers when it was so cold -- she hated the steam heaters, said they dried out her skin -- so we never turned it on, we would just hold each other tight for warmth… And when I woke up, there was my favorite brand cereal sitting right there."

And then.., the man just closes his eyes and falls asleep…

Joe leans over.., and just like his mother, takes the tarp and lies it over the man… He looks around the place for the entrance to the basement, opening up different doors -- nothing… He's not sure what to make of this shoe situation so he decides it can wait until tomorrow… Before he heads back to his apartment, he hops the the fence in the backyard and goes into the bodega next door -- he buys a few boxes of the mans favorite cereal.., and before he leaves he places them beside the man.., as he lies there sleeping.

He picks up the music box -- opens it up.., and listens to the music he has heard since his childhood… The one thought that keeps going through his head is -- who is the other woman the man was talking about..?


Stay tuned for Part 4.., What will Joe do with all this new information… Does he actually believe this man living in the brownstone has met his family. Are there really ghosts living in the basement… And who is the that lady...

To be continued...


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