A Time to Remember

Every day at 4:44, the train rocked my building. It didn't bother me. Reminded me of when Charley would act like he could tell the future and predict when the train would arrive. A tear slid down my cheek as it usually did when I knew the train was going to pass by. I looked up at the ceiling. Rain started to fall.

"How can you be gone?"

There were those tears again. Ok. I looked at my phone: 4:40. I don't need to be here for this, not today. It was our cat's birthday. Our cat. The one killed in a hit-and-run. The one Charley went to look for answers about. Only to end up dead, and me with no answers.

I ran out of my building; I was only wearing socks. 4:42. I stumbled in a daze; this was my first time out of my building in a year. Delivery has pretty much taken care of me since. Let's see. Spaghetti restaurant there, accident there, Charley must have seen something, and ran there. I tugged at my oversized sweater. That's where his body was. I looked at my phone: 4:43. I need to get out of here before the train arrives.

The light hit my eyes the wrong way. I stepped off the curb and rolled my ankle. A car honked its horn as my back hit the road. I heard the car squeal, then a door slam shut.

"What the fuck is up with this street!"

The man shouted as the train slid by. He threw off his hat, jumped in his car, threw it in reverse, and took off. A white Pontiac with a busted rear taillight. I sat up. Could that have been? I tried to get up but couldn't. I massaged my ankle and slowly got up. The city's commuters couldn't care less. I hobbled to my building, stopped, and looked back. The man had left his hat. Quickly, I limped over, grabbed it, and took it back to my building.

I tore off my socks and threw them in a laundry chute. Next, I grabbed my phone and called an old friend.

"Landa! Hey, old lady. I need you... Yes, I know. Just do some digging for me, please? Ok, ok. A white Pontiac with broken taillights. I have his hat. I just know it's him! No, I didn't steal it. Well, I'd like to see you try. I'll see you tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow! Thank you! Be in this apartment at 4:40; please don't be late."

For the first time in a long time, I was excited for the next day. I decided to call my mom.

"Hey, Mom... I'm sorry to hear that... Ok... You too."

I shook my head. Another funeral. The year was plagued with deaths. Sicknesses catching up to people, accidents, you name it. I looked at the hat and let tears fall. I stood up, cleared our little stray cat's toys, and placed them in a little wicker basket. Charley was so excited to finally save a stray. God, how could I forget what he named that sweet guy? I closed my eyes and fell asleep on the couch, ready for some answers. I woke up to banging at my door and my phone on the floor. It was 4:40 PM. I really needed to stop sleeping through the days.

"You need to shower, Taun."

"Landa, please. Did you question the shop owners?"

"Yes, and I got the same answers I got last time; they didn't hear or see anything."

"Ok forget them. I have this!"

I ran over and grabbed the hat.

"Here, take it, take it!"

I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door.

"Come on, Landa!"

She followed me downstairs to the street corner across from the spaghetti shop. I looked at my watch. 4:44. As if the planets aligned, there was the train, and there was the white Pontiac speeding around the corner and exiting down the alleyway.

"You see!"

Landa's eyes were white. She held on tight to the man's hat and squeezed.

"Landa, are you ok?"

I put my hand on her shoulder and was inside the Pontiac. The man's vision shifted from his face in the rearview mirror to Charley running behind him.

"Get the fuck out of here, dude."

The man was sweating. He wiped the back of his neck.

"Fuck this!"

The man threw the car in reverse and drove over Charley. The Pontiac bumped and swayed. I fell out of her vision and hit the ground. I knew there was something mystical about Landa, but never to this extent.

"Landa. What was that?"

I refused her hand and helped myself up.

"Don't worry, Taun. I'll take it from here."

Only then did I notice how different my detective friend was. Black, heeled boots. Red cloak, black corset, white button-up. Who the fuck was Landa?

I sat at my window with a bowl of pasta. For the first time in a long time, I noticed the black night sky. We got him, Charley. 11:11 PM showed on my phone. I smiled. I looked out my window; a flash of light across from the spaghetti restaurant made me jump. I squinted through the bars on the balcony I hadn't been on since that day. There she was, the very recognizable Landa. Where the fuck did she just come from? My face was pressed to the window; she looked back at me and lifted a large, shiny, crystal-like object in my direction.

I woke up to sirens and helicopters outside my building.

"What the fuck!"

Cops, detectives, the city morgue, ambulances, CSI, the news, and whoever else shows up to a terrible situation showed up. At my angle, I could see four stretchers with black body bags. I stepped onto my balcony and heard shouting somewhere behind an ambulance.

"My arms! The witch! The witch took my arms! Oh, God!"

I quickly grabbed my phone and called Landa. I heard a knock at the door. I opened it, and it was Landa.

"Landa, what the fuck is going on!"

"You caught him, Taun! That was a terrible form of life."

"What's going on, Landa?"

"It's time for me to go. You helped me solve my pull to this city."

"Who was that guy? What's going on outside? Can I get any answers?"

"The man had a schedule. Charley wasn't on his schedule. He approached the soulless man near his storage unit. The surprise made him panic. Let this go, please. Know Charley and Tabby Lappy have been avenged."

"Where are you going?"

"Not sure; I have a pull to the Arabian Peninsula, but who knows. Live well, Taun. And leave time alone. Set alarms for appointments. Obsessions are dangerous."

She slowly glanced out my window to the alley entrance. The train shook the building, and she winked at me. Then that was it. I heard her boots click out the door, then silence. I opened the door, and she was gone. Like that.