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Description
Gerry found Al behind the clinic. She was sitting against the brick wall, her face pressed into her knees.

"Your step-dad is looking for you." He muttered.

"I don't care."

He crouched down beside her, knowing full well his mother would go ballistic if he got his good pants dirty. "It'll be okay."

She lifted her head slightly. "My mom is dead."

"Mom said your mom just went to heaven. You'll get to see her again. It'll be okay."

"What if it's a lie?"

"What?"

"What if it's all a big lie, like Santa? Grown-ups tell kids Santa is watching them and if they are good he'll give them presents. But it's not real, it's just a trick. What if God and heaven are the same?"

"Grown-ups don't believe in Santa, but they still know about heaven and God. It's real."

"Maybe it's just a story to make grown-ups be good. Make them less scared."

"Don't say that stuff. Things will get better you'll be happy again."

Al shook her head. "How? Mom's gone forever. I'll be all alone now, forever and ever! I've got nobody!"

Gerry reached over and took her hand. "You've got me."

She stared down at his hand holding hers and sniffled. She looked back up and he was beaming at her. She allowed a weak smile to pull on her lips.

Al tugged at her sundress, her cheeks bright red. She diverted her eyes while allowing her tongue to absently play with the small gap between her teeth. She said something, but Gerry couldn't understand it. She looked back at him and her lips moved again, clearly making words that couldn't reach his ears.

He pulled her against him. Her voice was directly in his ear, but sounded more like static. He pushed her skirt up to her waist and gripped her hips tightly. She gasped clearly when he jerked her down on top of him.

"Do you need something to do?"

Gerry snapped his head up, reality coming into blinding focus. He rubbed his thumb across the pages beneath his hands. "I'll pay for the book, I just wanted to read while it was slow-"

Mrs. Eckstein mouth drew straight. "You've been staring at that same page for over twenty minutes. What's on your mind that a book can't even help you escape from?"

He took a deep breath and brushed his hair back. "Do... Do you ever have trouble with your memory?"

"My mind is a steel trap." She said sternly.

Gerry licked his lips. "Well, have you ever woke up from a dream and for a few minutes you believe it's real? Like it takes your mind a while to separate the fact from the fiction."

Her face softened slightly. "I have experienced that..."

"My whole life is like that, but it doesn't go away. The facts are never sorted out." He shut the book and folded his hands on top of it. "I'm starting to wonder if my memory is just too far gone. Maybe I'm just crazy."

"How long has this been going on?"

He shrugged. "I nearly drowned when I was a kid. My mom would tell me it was brain damage from that when parts of my life started to go...missing."

She pulled out a chair and plopped down beside him. "My husband slipped into dementia before he passed. He didn't notice the things that went missing. The way I see it, as long as you've got the presence of mind you worry about your mind, then you're alright. To be honest, his decent was scarier for me than it was for him. At the end he called me Ruth, his mother's name. I was still struggling after I'd been long forgotten." Her lips worked slowly and her eyes were misty. The expression looked so strange on her face, yet is seemed somehow familiar. Who was it that had looked at him that way?

She stood then. "Ach, no point in dwelling. Idol body, busy mind." She leaned heavily on her crutch. "The light in the alley has been out for some time. Get the ladder and a new blub out there before I get mugged one of these days."

He nodded. "Okay, I'll take care of it."

Gerry hauled the ladder out the door and into the snow. The fixture was a good way above the door; no wonder the old woman had neglected it. He leveled the feet as best he could before scaling the ladder, but it still wobbled slightly.

He unscrewed the old bulb and chucked it toward the dumpster. It smashed against the lid and rained down on top of the garbage bags below.

The other door in the alley swung open and an L-cart carrying several large trash bags emerged with Chet behind it. He stopped his whistling when he noticed Gerry. Gerry whipped back around and went to work screwing the new light in.

"Looking more down than usual Haji, Pepper finally come to her senses?" He asked.

Gerry ignored him.

"Don't worry about it. She's fickle." He tossed the bags into the dumpster one after the other. Once the last one was disposed of he looked back at Gerry. "So, what? You too good to talk to me now?"

Gerry bit his lip hard and went about covering the light sensor at the top of the fixture to test the light. It flickered on.

Chet snorted. "I was trying to be nice." He waited a moment longer for a response. "Prick." He snarled giving the L-cart a hard shove and sending it crashing into the base of the ladder. The ladder swayed dangerously. Gerry grabbed for any stability, the light fixture was the only choice. He yelped as the ladder toppled to the side taking him with it.

The light wrenched from the wall and swag loosely. The bulb flickered as the sound of metal echoed through the alley.

Gerry dabbed a wet paper towel at the black running down his cheek. The towels he'd placed on his scrapped elbow had stuck in place. What to do? These places would clean up fine, but... He looked down at the growing inky stain on the knee of his jeans.
A knock on the restroom door made his heart jump up into his throat.

"Gerald? Are you alright? You ran in here pretty fast."

Of course he had, he couldn't let anyone spot his blood. "I'm fine, Bubbe. I just... fell."

There was a long silence. "You fell?"

He wiped at his wounds more quickly, but they just bled more. "No big deal, just should have leveled it better-"

"Does this have anything to do with that punk next door?"

Gerry searched for a lie, an excuse, but his silence spoke for him.

"You should really call the police. You could have been seriously hurt!"

"No, I'm fine! I don't want to cause some big thing-"

"What will it take Gerald? This has escalated, it's not simple bullying anymore." She said firmly.

"Bubbe, please-"

She huffed. "Fine Gerald. Take the rest of the day off."

"I don't want to leave you here alone-"

"I'm going to shut down for the day. No one is in here anyway."

Gerry smiled. "Okay, Bubbe, thanks."

"Mark my words boy. He looks at you cross and I'll handle this myself."

He stared at the sink until he heard her hobble away.

Once his scraps were covered enough, Gerry headed out. He was indifferent to the cold, but huddled in his jacket deeply. He kept his eyes on the sidewalk as he hurried by. He dare not glance at the pizza parlor as he went by for fear that he would see Chet once again mocking him.

A few minutes later Mrs. Eckstein was locking up. She glared at the parlor her face scrunching up. She then shook her head and slowly made her way down the street toward the bus stop.

Al watched her leave from the alley. Satisfied with the solitude she turned back into the alley. Chet was prone in the snow, face turned toward Al, mouth agape, and his eyes stared blankly. Al stepped carefully around the red snow.

"Don't look at me like that." She muttered. "It's not like you weren't given fair warning. How hard is it to be a decent person really?" She glanced at the stone charms she'd placed at the doors and alley mouth. They should provide plenty of cover. She took a deep breath and held her hands out over the body. She chanted the spell and there was a whoosh of flames. They fizzled all too soon filling the space with the scent of charred flesh. She closed her eyes as a wave of nausea washed over her. She chanted the spell again.

And again.

And again.

Description
Gerry found Al behind the clinic. She was sitting against the brick wall, her face pressed into her knees.

"Your step-dad is looking for you." He muttered.

"I don't care."

He crouched down beside her, knowing full well his mother would go ballistic if he got his good pants dirty. "It'll be okay."

She lifted her head slightly. "My mom is dead."

"Mom said your mom just went to heaven. You'll get to see her again. It'll be okay."

"What if it's a lie?"

"What?"

"What if it's all a big lie, like Santa? Grown-ups tell kids Santa is watching them and if they are good he'll give them presents. But it's not real, it's just a trick. What if God and heaven are the same?"

"Grown-ups don't believe in Santa, but they still know about heaven and God. It's real."

"Maybe it's just a story to make grown-ups be good. Make them less scared."

"Don't say that stuff. Things will get better you'll be happy again."

Al shook her head. "How? Mom's gone forever. I'll be all alone now, forever and ever! I've got nobody!"

Gerry reached over and took her hand. "You've got me."

She stared down at his hand holding hers and sniffled. She looked back up and he was beaming at her. She allowed a weak smile to pull on her lips.

Al tugged at her sundress, her cheeks bright red. She diverted her eyes while allowing her tongue to absently play with the small gap between her teeth. She said something, but Gerry couldn't understand it. She looked back at him and her lips moved again, clearly making words that couldn't reach his ears.

He pulled her against him. Her voice was directly in his ear, but sounded more like static. He pushed her skirt up to her waist and gripped her hips tightly. She gasped clearly when he jerked her down on top of him.

"Do you need something to do?"

Gerry snapped his head up, reality coming into blinding focus. He rubbed his thumb across the pages beneath his hands. "I'll pay for the book, I just wanted to read while it was slow-"

Mrs. Eckstein mouth drew straight. "You've been staring at that same page for over twenty minutes. What's on your mind that a book can't even help you escape from?"

He took a deep breath and brushed his hair back. "Do... Do you ever have trouble with your memory?"

"My mind is a steel trap." She said sternly.

Gerry licked his lips. "Well, have you ever woke up from a dream and for a few minutes you believe it's real? Like it takes your mind a while to separate the fact from the fiction."

Her face softened slightly. "I have experienced that..."

"My whole life is like that, but it doesn't go away. The facts are never sorted out." He shut the book and folded his hands on top of it. "I'm starting to wonder if my memory is just too far gone. Maybe I'm just crazy."

"How long has this been going on?"

He shrugged. "I nearly drowned when I was a kid. My mom would tell me it was brain damage from that when parts of my life started to go...missing."

She pulled out a chair and plopped down beside him. "My husband slipped into dementia before he passed. He didn't notice the things that went missing. The way I see it, as long as you've got the presence of mind you worry about your mind, then you're alright. To be honest, his decent was scarier for me than it was for him. At the end he called me Ruth, his mother's name. I was still struggling after I'd been long forgotten." Her lips worked slowly and her eyes were misty. The expression looked so strange on her face, yet is seemed somehow familiar. Who was it that had looked at him that way?

She stood then. "Ach, no point in dwelling. Idol body, busy mind." She leaned heavily on her crutch. "The light in the alley has been out for some time. Get the ladder and a new blub out there before I get mugged one of these days."

He nodded. "Okay, I'll take care of it."

Gerry hauled the ladder out the door and into the snow. The fixture was a good way above the door; no wonder the old woman had neglected it. He leveled the feet as best he could before scaling the ladder, but it still wobbled slightly.

He unscrewed the old bulb and chucked it toward the dumpster. It smashed against the lid and rained down on top of the garbage bags below.

The other door in the alley swung open and an L-cart carrying several large trash bags emerged with Chet behind it. He stopped his whistling when he noticed Gerry. Gerry whipped back around and went to work screwing the new light in.

"Looking more down than usual Haji, Pepper finally come to her senses?" He asked.

Gerry ignored him.

"Don't worry about it. She's fickle." He tossed the bags into the dumpster one after the other. Once the last one was disposed of he looked back at Gerry. "So, what? You too good to talk to me now?"

Gerry bit his lip hard and went about covering the light sensor at the top of the fixture to test the light. It flickered on.

Chet snorted. "I was trying to be nice." He waited a moment longer for a response. "Prick." He snarled giving the L-cart a hard shove and sending it crashing into the base of the ladder. The ladder swayed dangerously. Gerry grabbed for any stability, the light fixture was the only choice. He yelped as the ladder toppled to the side taking him with it.

The light wrenched from the wall and swag loosely. The bulb flickered as the sound of metal echoed through the alley.

Gerry dabbed a wet paper towel at the black running down his cheek. The towels he'd placed on his scrapped elbow had stuck in place. What to do? These places would clean up fine, but... He looked down at the growing inky stain on the knee of his jeans.
A knock on the restroom door made his heart jump up into his throat.

"Gerald? Are you alright? You ran in here pretty fast."

Of course he had, he couldn't let anyone spot his blood. "I'm fine, Bubbe. I just... fell."

There was a long silence. "You fell?"

He wiped at his wounds more quickly, but they just bled more. "No big deal, just should have leveled it better-"

"Does this have anything to do with that punk next door?"

Gerry searched for a lie, an excuse, but his silence spoke for him.

"You should really call the police. You could have been seriously hurt!"

"No, I'm fine! I don't want to cause some big thing-"

"What will it take Gerald? This has escalated, it's not simple bullying anymore." She said firmly.

"Bubbe, please-"

She huffed. "Fine Gerald. Take the rest of the day off."

"I don't want to leave you here alone-"

"I'm going to shut down for the day. No one is in here anyway."

Gerry smiled. "Okay, Bubbe, thanks."

"Mark my words boy. He looks at you cross and I'll handle this myself."

He stared at the sink until he heard her hobble away.

Once his scraps were covered enough, Gerry headed out. He was indifferent to the cold, but huddled in his jacket deeply. He kept his eyes on the sidewalk as he hurried by. He dare not glance at the pizza parlor as he went by for fear that he would see Chet once again mocking him.

A few minutes later Mrs. Eckstein was locking up. She glared at the parlor her face scrunching up. She then shook her head and slowly made her way down the street toward the bus stop.

Al watched her leave from the alley. Satisfied with the solitude she turned back into the alley. Chet was prone in the snow, face turned toward Al, mouth agape, and his eyes stared blankly. Al stepped carefully around the red snow.

"Don't look at me like that." She muttered. "It's not like you weren't given fair warning. How hard is it to be a decent person really?" She glanced at the stone charms she'd placed at the doors and alley mouth. They should provide plenty of cover. She took a deep breath and held her hands out over the body. She chanted the spell and there was a whoosh of flames. They fizzled all too soon filling the space with the scent of charred flesh. She closed her eyes as a wave of nausea washed over her. She chanted the spell again.

And again.

And again.