January 1989

I am at my friend's wake. (She is dead in real life). She is
lying in her coffin and her youngest son wants to see her. No
one wants to show her to him. I am hesitant myself but he bugs
me until I give in. I take him in my arms and bring him close to
the coffin. His mother slowly starts to move and slowly, slowly,
she opens her eyes, lifts her head and calls out his name.
People are horrified. They want Karl and I to get away from the
cofin. They say she is better off dead. In my head, I think of
the expressin, "Let sleeping dogs lie". I think maybe they are
right yet I am pinned to the floor in front of the coffin. Lise
looks very sick, very tired. She lays her head back on the
pillow and painfully closes her eyes. I step backwith Karl in my
arms but she says: "No! No!" and gets back up. I think
excitedly, it is possible. If someone wants to badly enough,
they can come back to life, or if people will them to come back
strongly enough, they will. No one knows what to say, but Karl
and his mother embrace.

I am sitting at a type of wooden hall table. when a friend comes
by. I had noticed him from afar. He had never looked as
handsome. His hair, his clothes, everything was perfect but when
he was at my side, I noticed his face was yellow, yellower then a
lemon. He gave me a glass of orange juice he'd been drinking. I
asked him what was wrong and he turned around and as he left, he
said, "I already told you. I have Aids." He left and I knew I
wouldn't see him again. I didn't want ot drink his orange juice,
but felt if I didn't, I would be disloyal to him. I thought of
his wife and wondered if she would die too.


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