THE NIGHT JOEY DIED
“Dead as a bat.”“No way….it can’t be so. I don’t believe it!”“He is gone, there is no doubt about that.”“Joey, STOP PRETENDING!! Look here, Joey, prove me right. Joey, LOOK THIS WAY!”Maya crouched beside him, sobbing uncontrollably.A pair of black eyes stared at the ceiling, their stubborn resolve shining clear.As someone covered Joey with a sheet, a whisper sneaked out of the room, past the apartmententry, making its way into stray ears, spurring random pupil dilations. The neighbors weremumbling condolences. Joey Wallace was dead. *****Mrs. Flat No 307 was stating to a wide-eyed audience, “Oh I tell you, Joey was such acharming, young creature. Impish, yet patient and at times, the very soul of docility. Lovelychap. I still can’t believe he’s gone, so out of the blue…”“My dear, it wasn’t entirely unexpected”, a voice replied seriously.“Do you mean to tell us that
you knew that Joey was going to die?
Oh no, don’t tell us…Areyou telling us that you suspect
foul play
? ” piped in a shrill voice. A stunned murmur broke outacross the room.“Young lady, I wonder what trashy detective stories you’ve been reading!” countered an angryvoice, before returning back to its somber tenor. “When I said that it was unexpected I meantthat there was a definite droop in the young blighter’s spirits when he came around my placefor lunch last Tuesday. He was looking a bit low key, so I served him some bread and cheeseand tried to find out what the problem was. But
foul play
? Come be serious!”“Never mind that”, added a new voice impatiently. “What is Maya going to do? She was soentirely devoted to him. I say the poor girl is still under shock…”Some faces turned pensive as they chewed upon this latest declaration. To think of Mayawithout Joey by her side was like doing crosswords and mind exercise, taxing to the brain, anact which cost some effort.“Let’s go to sleep for now. I heard that the funeral was tomorrow. We will think of some way tohelp Maya get through this trauma. May Joey’s spirit rest in peace. Amen.”Several feet wavered uncertainly for a moment and then shuffled their way out of the room.*****
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