I waited until he walked up to me, and I walked along with him. "Hello, Walter, do you remember me?" He turned quickly toward me, then smiled as he recognized my face. "Oh, sure, hiya, how are you?" "I'm fine, Walter, how are you doing?" "Thank you, ok. How are you doing?" "Fine." We walked a few steps in silence. Suddenly, I had the old feeling that grandmother was still alive and that Walter was still coming to the house. Without thinking, I asked "How is your girl, Walter?" Suddenly, he was on me holding and tearing my shirt. He pulled me close to him and shouted "She is still alive! She is still alive!" His cry was loud and real. He pushed me away from him and I fell to ground, he ran down the street. As I got up, I could still hear him crying until his voice was lost among the sounds of playing boys. |