The rain continued for several weeks, pouring then to a light mist throughout the month . When the day came, Old Billy knocked on my door and gave me a nice black suit. I had never, wore something so expensive. When I was ready, he drove us to a nearby park filled with crosses and angels.
"Where are we goin'?" I asked. With a slight quiver of his lip he looked back at me.
"Wer goin' to see Lulu."
"She's here?! She's back?!" I jolted with excitement.
"No son, it's our final goodbye." He opened his umbrella and lead me to a stone cross. We stood there in silence for a moment.
"Hi, Lulu." I said suddenly. Billy looked at me with a slight surprise.
"I know you probably can't hear me very well, but I still like talking to you. I miss you. I hope yer havin' fun in heaven. I'm not too sure what it's like, but I heard it's real nice. My mamas up there. If you see my mama, tell her that I miss her too." I paused for a moment. The rain began to seep through my coat. Droplets of water dropped from the tips of my hair and to my surprise, tears began to fall from my eyes like rain. Everything finally hit me.
"I know you like the rain. It's been rainin' for a few weeks now. Three, four weeks, maybe longer. It's gettin' hard to work at the house. I still smell yer lavender perfume when I walk into yer room, but it's slowly fadin' away. Just like you did I guess." The rain began to seep through my coat. Droplets of water dropped from the tips of my hair and to my surprise, my lips quivered and my voice cracked tears began to fall from my eyes like rain. Everything had finally hit me.
"I know ya had ta go. I know ya had ta. I ain't blamin' ya. I just wish I could see ya again. Even if it was one last time. . .I wish I was able to do something to make you stay! I coulda helped more and made you better! Then you wouldn' have left. You wouldn' have needed to leave." Ol' Billy covered his watery eyes. He couldn't stop crying, the tears just didn't seem to stop.
"I guess we really are jus' passengers of our lives. We got no control o'er where we turn or when we run outta gas. Or whether we crash or not. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, we can never take the wheel and drive on the path we choose. I guess the one good thing that I was lead to, was you. Now, I don't know what to do. I guess I just have to see where tomorroa takes me." I put on a brave face and forced fake happiness upon my face.
"Thank you Lulu. I'm glad I got to spend the time I had with you. I can't wait for the day that I see you again." I looked up at the sky, then back at the stone cross.
"Ya know what' you said before you left, how rain washes the bad away. Well, ya might be right. All this rain will surely only leave blue sky's and clean air." I kissed my hand and placed it on the stone cross. My heart filled with a bittersweetness.
"Come on son. Let's go home." I nodded and followed behind Billy. Within a few moments a glare of light filled the air. The sun peeked behind the clouds as the rain ceased. A ray of light shined on Lulu's headstone. I looked back one last time, and there I saw Lulu, standing next to her stone cross, smiling at me.
YOU ARE READING
Passenger
Short Story"She looked up and down my body as I did the same to her. She wasn't like other women who lived around me. Her red hair fell into a mess of curls and her small body was relaxed, leaning against the door frame. She wore overalls like I did that morni...
