It was the morning of Halloween when Rhonda opened up her kitchen door, walked in and started cleaning. The boys had made a proper mess of things. Dishes were piled up, the margarine had been left on the counter and the bananas were so dotted with black and brown spots that they could barely be considered edible. And what was that horrible smell?891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAZSzTCwku
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Rhonda sighed as she changed the garbage sack. There was a wicked crick in her neck and her back hurt. Such is the price of getting old she thought to herself. She took the trash out and threw it in the rubbish bin. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdflj2u9WOI
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Mrs. Wiggins, from across the street, was doing the exact same thing. She had a gaggle of boys, too. Mrs. Wiggins was dressed in a baby blue bathrobe and slippers. She hadn't quite gotten her day going from the looks of it. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5WYXqiEIn
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“Hello, Regina,” Rhonda said. “How’s Henry and Matthew?” Henry and Matthew were her two boys. They went to the same school as her Johnny, Mikey and Billy. They played football together and got on very well. So well that their families had spent many a summer day together having barbecues and swim sessions in the Wiggins’ pool. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaL8yJdVj5m
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Much to her dismay, Mrs. Wiggins didn't return her cordial greeting. Mrs. Wiggins dropped the trash bag she was holding and it split open and spilled rubbish onto the sidewalk. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91XyzFtknD
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Regina Wiggins whimpered and ran back into her house with a look of terror on her face. “How very rude,” Rhonda said, but then she thought better of it. “Don't be judgmental,” she muttered to herself.891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHOdVKqcoZ
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She remembered that Regina suffered from IBS. Irritable Bowel Syndrome. When she felt the need to run to the bathroom she had to go right away or an unfortunate accident was sure to follow. The IBS had taken it’s toll on her poor neighbor. Aged her prematurely. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDmyybD9X6
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Being the good neighbor that she was, Rhonda cleaned up the trash that Regina had spilled onto the sidewalk. She decided that she would bring Regina a nice cup of tea later and find out if she was all right. But not until she finished cleaning that dreadful kitchen.891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsEcHTQ57k
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She filled the sink with suds and water and began cleaning the dishes. Most of he kitchen had been put back in order, but there was still a dreadful smell coming from something. One of the boys had probably dropped a piece of fruit behind the trash can. It wasn't unusual. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgURcpEGYHU
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The clinking and clanking from her cleaning of the dishes awoke her husband Eddie. Eddie walked into the kitchen and he paused at the door. He looked at Rhonda for what seemed an eternity, but was actually no more than a few seconds. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5n0JoJFx5s
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The look on his face was one of bewilderment and worry. “Well hello to you, too, dear,” Rhonda said. “Are you hungry?” she asked. “Have a seat and I'll make you a bite.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNA6QbWZdZf
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Eddie stood there in his boxers and white tee shirt intently watching his wife of twenty seven years. His eyes were wide and his wispy, white hair was out of place. He took a step backwards. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9Lt3Ark6Q
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“Sit down if you want some breakfast, Eddie,” Rhonda said again. Eddie took a step forward and paused. He took another sheepish step. “Sit down, you unusual man,” she instructed him again. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgH5YUz363P
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Eddie pulled a chair out and sat at the table. Eddie’s eyes never left Rhonda as she stepped over to him, bent down and kissed him on the forehead. Eddie’s brow wrinkled in horror and confusion.891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuffWFWiswn
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Rhonda grabbed a skillet that she had just washed and sat it on the stove. She walked to the refrigerator and shook her head when she opened it. “My word,” she said. “I really need to go grocery shopping. It's as bare as bones in the ice box.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSMFdkQkDC
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She pulled out an egg carton and opened it. There were only two of them in it. Clicking her tongue, she took the two eggs and sat them next to the skillet. She ignited the burner and put a wee bit of olive oil into the skillet. Before long the two eggs were sizzling.891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeopu5SzUJA
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“I would make you some toast, but it seems we are out of bread,” she said. Eddie watched her in silence. When the eggs were finished she dished them onto a plate and sat them in front of her husband. He just stared down at plate of eggs. Every now and then he would look up at his wife, who was now sitting across from him.891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFEh8EGT53
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“Well eat them,” she said with an annoyed tone. “Would a thank you and a good morning be too much to ask?”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmF0y1ohjR
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Eddie shook his head. “Thank you, dear,” he replied. “And good… good morning.” He picked up his fork and began to put small bites into his mouth. He chewed, but all the while he never took his eyes off of Rhonda. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8OmdpZmZx
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“I swear,” she said, “everyone has forgotten their manners today. It must have something to do with it being Halloween.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3H0UIf9SYZ
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Eddie just nodded his head. The look of worry and confusion hadn't left his face. He took a few more bites of his egg. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnm03XiSjx
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“Well what is on your mind?” she said to him. “I can see something is bothering you. Out with it then.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGRT1AhLUW
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He sat his fork down and looked at her intently. “How?” he asked gingerly. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEHHQ14rcr
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“How?” Rhonda asked. “How what?”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8EVjJInyF
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“How are you here right now?”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspLgpaf6wh
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“What kind of question is that? I live here.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRH88hidXX
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“But, but…”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmlYoVTEYU
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“But nothing. I live here. What kind of question is that? I swear, Eddie, old age is finally getting to you. Making your mind soft.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3RKoOkuKH
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Eddie picked up his fork again and took another bite. He sat the fork back down on the plate. “I don't know what's going on right now.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORX8vpcU7v
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“You are sitting with your wife having breakfast,” she said to him. “As pathetic of a breakfast it is. I apologize for letting the shopping lax.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMeuyOVJ9k
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“I'm the one who does the shopping now,” Eddie replied. “I don't keep much here. I eat out most nights.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgmXCrL7IX
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Rhonda rolled her eyes and stood up. She walked over to the garbage can and looked behind it. “Do you smell that?” she asked. “It smells like something's gone rancid.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSzZl452pt
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She searched the kitchen for a few minutes. Her husband stared at her the whole time. His look of worry turned to one of wonder. Then his wonder turned to seriousness. His eyes hung on the floor while she searched for what was rotten. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEvzkMSEYE
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“I bet Mikey left a piece of fruit out,” she said. “It wouldn't be the first time and it won't be the last.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUS2gckqFf
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“Mikey doesn't live here anymore, babe,” Eddie answered. “None of the boys do.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcC7jaqGL7
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“Nonsense,” she replied.891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEbQLihOig
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“Mikey is off in college now,” he said. “Johnny is in the army and Billy is working at the DMV. He has a family of his own now.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZY9t63Bny4
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“Ha ha. Very funny,” she said with no amount of amusement in her voice. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuESCx0HIa
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“I'm telling you the truth, babe,” he said. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6azx794mNg
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Rhonda grabbed the small pad that sat on top of the refrigerator and grabbed a pen. She started making a shopping list. “Is there anything you need from the market? Razors? A new toothbrush?” she asked. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKo3UB5Brb
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“Sweetheart,” he said, “you have to listen to me.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeumf5eRBs
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“I don't have time for your nonsense,” she replied. “I have to get the house in order before the boys get home.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjp2DerHxQw
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“Baby, the boy's ain't coming home,” he said, “I told you. They don't live here no more.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0npfO5zLl
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This time she slammed the yellow pad she was writing on down on the counter. “Enough with this nonsense, Eddie!” she declared. “I have enough to do without you adding to the list with your foolish pranks! I need to go to the market and get groceries and Halloween candy for the kids in the neighborhood. Now are you going to make yourself useful and help me or are you going to sit there and continue to be a horse’s ass?”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYL3RfY7A2C
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Finally finding the courage, he stood up and walked over to his wife. He gently put his hand on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. “Babe,” he said quietly, “you've been dead for twelve years.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHvfXMPocW
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She lifted her eyes to meet his. “Rhonda,” he said, “honey, you've been dead for twelve years.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8Z369wMqy
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Rhonda pushed him away. “Enough of your tomfoolery!” She cried out and then went back to writing her list. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyb5iySWhas
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He put his hand on hers and stopped her from writing. “I'm not fooling you, babe,” Eddie told her. “You got in a car accident after you dropped the kids off for school. Twelve years ago today.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdB6wqM6aU
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She put her pad down and sat the pen on top of it. What was he saying to her? Then suddenly it came back to her. Just like Eddie had said, she had been driving to the market after dropping off the boys and a van came out of nowhere and hit her station wagon. Then there was nothing but blackness. Until earlier when she walked into the kitchen. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzFIPKWOZF
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Pulling out a chair for his wife, Eddie sat her down and then sat on the edge of the table. She looked confused. Almost as confused as Eddie did. “Okay,” she said in barely a whisper. “Okay. Will you help me find what that horrible smell is, Eddie? And then I'll go back to where I came from.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxcieEIWFZ
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Eddie nodded. “I would help you with anything, darling,” Eddie replied. “But I think what you are smelling is yourself. You been in the grave a long time.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUIBzI8lZA
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“He’s right, mom,” came a voice from the entrance to the kitchen. It was Mikey. There he stood, grown and handsome. Beside him stood Billy. He was much older than he was the last time she saw him.891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCAIOBm95D
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“My boys!” Eddie cried as he ran over to hug them. “When did you get here?” 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqvyUoQCTg
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Billy returned his embrace. “We got here a few minutes ago. It took us a few minutes to process what was going on, so we just sat quiet in the hallway.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUiguFYX9O
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“We figured you could use a few minutes alone,” Mikey added. “To sort things out.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ecUL4lq8m
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“Oh,” Eddie replied. “Where’s Johnny?”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauQWYu9Oc4
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“Johnny couldn't be here, pa,” Billy replied. “He's living overseas now. You know that.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYc488EqVH
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“Oh yeah,” their father replied. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ002uTV979D
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The boys turned their attention to their mother. “Hi, ma,” they both said. They took turns giving her a long hug. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlGMjrjAig
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“I don't know how I got here,” their mother said to them. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjeihqUmyg
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“It don't matter,” Billy said softly. “But you can't be here anymore. It isn't right.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbu5OdCeb27
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Mikey took his mother’s decaying hand into his own. “You need to go be at rest again, ma,” he said. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVhdBWydPs
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“Okay,” Rhonda relied. She knew he was right. She didn't know where he came from, but she knew it wasn't natural for her to be where she was now.891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9EOi1aPpb
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Billy opened the back door and motioned for her to follow him. Holding Mikey’s hand all the while, she did. The four of them walked out into the back yard. Under a tall tree there was a hole dug in the ground. There was a wooden cross at the head of the hole. “That's where you came from, ma,” Mikey said to her. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRbqFvvaMO
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“I'm buried in the back yard?” she asked. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZitWuHIELY
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“We had you in the cemetery for a while,” Billy answered, “but every year on Halloween you would dig your way out of your grave and make your way back here. It got to be a real hassle sneaking you back into the graveyard, so here you lay.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPIkOUkUlH
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They all sat and just stared in silence for a few moments. Rhonda broke the silence. “I guess it's time for me to go,” she said. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31dvTw0w8l
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The boys and their father nodded. They boys took two shovels that were there waiting for them and turned the hole into a nice, deep, rectangular grave. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnx1QvL83gH
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They all said their goodbyes and their mother climbed into the freshly dug grave. As soon as she laid back in the dirt her eyes closed and she was gone once again. The life had slipped from her. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQaG88cCbek
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“How did you boys know? Why did you come here? You aren't playing hooky from school are you, Mikey?” Eddie asked. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hFga0PQW7
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“No, pa,” Mikey replied. “I'm not playing hooky from school. I haven't been in college for ten years. I graduated. I have a family of my own now.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDWkZNGZ6R
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Eddie’s brow furrowed once again. “What?” he asked. “You just enrolled last year! You couldn't be done already!”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oieSp69Jx
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“Billy patted his pa on the back. “It's true, pa,” he said. He's been out for years now.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bMCIqQ75d
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“This is insane!” Eddie exclaimed. “This whole morning has been bonkers!”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCGb7Vx5E7
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“It has, pa” Billy answered. “It is every year.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnbYPQ08xN
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“Every year?” Eddie said. “It ain't ever been like this! I would have remembered a morning this whacky!”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHPfvr1pFx
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Mikey turned his father a half turn and nodded towards the east end of their back yard. A hole, not unlike the one Rhonda has come from sat there waiting. “It happens every year, pa,” Mikey replied. “We don't know why, but it does.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jgeuM7TaQ
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“Naw,” Eddie responded, shaken. “Naw it can't be right.” He looked at his hands. There was no decomposition of the skin like Rhonda had. There was no stink on him like there was on her. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzUZC6NhxN
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“It is, pa,” Billy answered. “You died six years ago. Had a heart attack at the factory. On Halloween morning. Just like ma.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPTgbazgXa
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“But that ain't right,” Eddie muttered. “I ain't rotten like she was.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zM1S2CO57
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“It's true, pa,” Mikey said. He put his arm around his father’s shoulders and led him to the hole. “Every year on Halloween you and ma both come back. We don't know why. You just do. And we don't know why you aren't rotten. We can't figure that out.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBJ0HTeXfX
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Eddie’s look of confusion turned to one of acceptance. “Well it is what is I guess. It was good seeing you boys again. You know your mother and I love you dearly.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTtdkxmpce
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“We know,” Billy replied. “We love you, too.”891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7DlaWDGPk
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The boys took their shovels and dug the grave while their father watched. When it was finished Eddie walked over to it and said, “I guess I'll see you next year,” he and the boys both laughed uncomfortably and Eddie jumped into the hole they had dug. As soon as his feet touched the dirt of the grave his body fell limp and lifeless once again. For another year at least. 891Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHFl1HgeTw
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