The Story

Last week I saw remains of yellow crime-scene tape on a chain link fence in our neighborhood. This is not caution tape, I said to my husband, this is crime-scene tape. Something serious has happened. I looked in the newspaper and there was a story about a dispute at that location. One man used his vehicle to deliberately hit a man. That man was in critical condition and we just heard that he died. Now the murderer is at large and the police are hunting for him. We realized the man who drove the car looked familiar. It was because his father was our neighbor for many years, and we'd occasionally see him. His uncles still live around the corner. Many of them have spent time in the tank. The tragedy is profound because they are our neighbors. Last night there was a parade of tow trucks honking while slow-driving with lights flashing. A crowd stood at the telephone pole turned shrine. I had seen this earlier, surrounded by lit red candles. But this time the pole was decorated with helium-filled heart-shaped crimson balloons. The trucks slowly drove by as people watched. Some were crying. This was a street funeral procession for the deceased.