Only A Few Minutes, Just A Few Words
See, I had been sleeping pretty deep.
Then I get sucked into this dream.
Wait. Let me start about six months earlier.
My old friend John was back in town for a few days.
He had remarried.
He introduced us.
We talked for a few minutes.
Just a few words.
She was one of those people,
that you are sure that you have known for a long time.
A very long time.
Big liquid eyes.
The face of a saint.
The three of us only talked for a few minutes.
Just a few words.
I was in my car.
They were on the sidewalk.
Only a few minutes.
Just a few words.
Things like " Hey John!"
"I want to introduce my wife to you"
"Still living in New Mexico"
"Gotta go now"
Only a few minutes.
Just a few words.
Like I said before,
I had been sleeping pretty deep.
Then I get sucked into this dream.
In this dream I am at Walgreens.
In the check-out line.
Paying for some double print fotos.
Probably fotos of some party.
I don't know.
This woman walks by me.
I can only see her back.
But she seems familiar to me.
Maybe the hair.
But I am watching her.
When she gets to the door,
she turns around and smiles.
Then she says to me,
"I just wanted to say goodbye"
And she walked thru the door.
And she was gone.
Only a few minutes.
Just a few words.
Then I hear my alarm clock.
The one that I bought at Walgreens.
The six inch tall one.
The one with the yellow smiley face.
The loud one.
The one that finally died that morning.
So, while I was reading the morning paper.
Maybe two hours after my dream.
Maybe two hours after my Walgreens
yellow smiley faced alarm clock,
alarmed me for the last time.
I saw the face of John's wife looking at me from the obits.
She had died at home.
She had died peacefully.
She had died with her family there.
She had been sick with cancer for a year.
They had tried everything.
But in the end,
she had to move on.
Only a few minutes.
Just a few words.
So a few days later I called John.
I told him about the dream.
He said that she had just wanted to say goodbye.
It was her way.
Only a few minutes.
Just a few words.
Then I get sucked into this dream.
Wait. Let me start about six months earlier.
My old friend John was back in town for a few days.
He had remarried.
He introduced us.
We talked for a few minutes.
Just a few words.
She was one of those people,
that you are sure that you have known for a long time.
A very long time.
Big liquid eyes.
The face of a saint.
The three of us only talked for a few minutes.
Just a few words.
I was in my car.
They were on the sidewalk.
Only a few minutes.
Just a few words.
Things like " Hey John!"
"I want to introduce my wife to you"
"Still living in New Mexico"
"Gotta go now"
Only a few minutes.
Just a few words.
Like I said before,
I had been sleeping pretty deep.
Then I get sucked into this dream.
In this dream I am at Walgreens.
In the check-out line.
Paying for some double print fotos.
Probably fotos of some party.
I don't know.
This woman walks by me.
I can only see her back.
But she seems familiar to me.
Maybe the hair.
But I am watching her.
When she gets to the door,
she turns around and smiles.
Then she says to me,
"I just wanted to say goodbye"
And she walked thru the door.
And she was gone.
Only a few minutes.
Just a few words.
Then I hear my alarm clock.
The one that I bought at Walgreens.
The six inch tall one.
The one with the yellow smiley face.
The loud one.
The one that finally died that morning.
So, while I was reading the morning paper.
Maybe two hours after my dream.
Maybe two hours after my Walgreens
yellow smiley faced alarm clock,
alarmed me for the last time.
I saw the face of John's wife looking at me from the obits.
She had died at home.
She had died peacefully.
She had died with her family there.
She had been sick with cancer for a year.
They had tried everything.
But in the end,
she had to move on.
Only a few minutes.
Just a few words.
So a few days later I called John.
I told him about the dream.
He said that she had just wanted to say goodbye.
It was her way.
Only a few minutes.
Just a few words.
posted by Fred Garber at 8:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home