“Please don’t call my mother.” I begged, my eyes pleading yet strangely devoid of tears.

The man ignored me and waved loose my grip on his sleeve. I clutched at his arm again

feeling his muscles tense, then soften. I stared into his eyes, searching for even an ounce

of compassion. I searched in vain. He moved his arm away from my grasp and continued

writing. My nervous energy was making my stomach boil and my mind race. Again I

pleaded, “Please don’t call my mother. Just tell me what I to do, and I’ll do it.” The

man’s eyes rose with suspicion and I was given new hope. I took a deep breath and

frantically scanned my brain to think of a new approach. Before I could speak, the man’s

eyes lost their interest and he again looked away from me. I knew now that I should be

crying but there were no tears, no feeling of welling-up. There was no lump in my throat.

When I spoke my voice betrayed my emotions and sounded even and calm.

“Please,” I begged again. Behind me I heard a door open and the light cut through the dimly lit room. The man shielded his eyes with his hand and squinted towards the doorway. The shadow in the doorway spoke in words I could not understand. The man nodded his head in agreement and the door shut, leaving us alone in the din of the room. For the first time I studied the clothing of the man in front of me. He was dressed in a dark one piece uniform that appeared to be that of a mechanic or a sanitation worker. He seemed to be undaunted by my pleas, somehow oblivious, but there was a box of Kleenex on his desk, the tissue standing at attention. Someone had cried in this room before. Was it him? Why wasn’t it me?

The door behind me opened again and this time I could hear muffled crying. A hand reached beside me and plucked a fresh tissue from the box. The rings on the hand looked strangely familiar, but as I turned to see the person’s face the light was relentless in its brilliance. I could only make out a shadow but no features. The sobbing continued and I looked towards the man in the jumpsuit. He was now heading for the open doorway, He paused beside me but spoke only to the new being in the room. “I’m sorry.”