Never before had the young woman been allowed to see the family she'd left behind. All she wanted was to let them know she was safe and being well cared for. Today was going to be her first contact. She walked down the aisle of the near empty church...
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It was late afternoon when a man appeared before Milene.
"A penny for your thoughts?" he said.
Milene, still sitting on the park bench, looked up.
The man continued, "There's a lot of tears in the Clarence family right now. Young Abigail and Philip are really shouting at each other."
Milene smiled.
"In time they'll understand one another," she said, "They'll heal, and become a family."
The man extended a hand to Milene, which she accepted gracefully, getting up from the bench. The man was wearing an Edwardian white suit and white hat. Just then, to compliment what he was wearing, Milene's clothes transformed into a beautiful Edwardian frock. Milene and the man then embraced and kissed lovingly.
"It's sad she never got to say goodbye to him," said the man, holding Milene close.
"Oh I think he'll visit her, one more time," said Milene.
Milene motioned to walk forward, tugging on the man's arm. "Come on 'Willie'" she said.
"Hey you!" said William.
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The pair strolled arm in arm through the park, followed closely by a fluttering and hopping house sparrow. Milene and William then faded away together. The house sparrow returned to her family in the nest in the church roof.
Abigail was in the midst of a party, with friends sitting around her, in a dark club with flashing disco lights and good music playing. Abigail only realised James was sitting at the table with them, opposite where she was sitting, when he put a pile of money on the table: fifty pounds (what had been a typical day's earnings for him). Abigail assumed it was to pay for her and her friends drinks that evening. He got up, then left the table without saying a word.
Coming to her senses, Abigail looked around the room to find where James had gone. She saw he was now about 20 metres to her right, standing in what appeared to be a well-lit elevator, with glass doors slowly sliding closed, about to separate her from him. She jumped up from her chair, leaped over the chair to her right, ran athletically across the room, knocking tables and chairs aside along the way, and managed to pass through the closing gap in the sliding doors into the brightly lit antechamber. James looked directly at her, and she at him. Then Abigail threw herself on James and embraced him tightly. She was vaguely aware of a woman standing on her right hand side, but took no further notice.
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When Abigail awoke a few moments later, she was hugging her porcelain doll and smiling happily. She'd said goodbye. It had been two weeks since James's funeral.
