Ever thought of that? Somewhere, someone has died. Yes, just now. Feel it? That's their loved ones mourning. Weeping and sometimes screaming upon receiving the awful news. It's unbelievable, it's overwhelming.

I heard the screech of breaks and the squeal of tires out of the corner of my ear. It was a relatively light day today, volume-wise, and so I was already busy processing packages and complaining inwardly about the ache of my lower back. Zalmira instantly perked up and walked over to my station. "�Oyiste eso?" she asked, her eyes wide in fear and wonder. "Yes," I replied, not looking at her, instead concentrating fiercely upon my monitor. She got the hint and went away.

But soon the flashing lights and wailing sirens came, louder than the screeches, bright in the growing dusk. I was caught between two sunsets, one artificial and hectic and noisy, the other natural and peaceful and stubbornly unawares.

Darkness came over the world, and still the lights lingered. The ambulances and patrol units and fire trucks were blocking out the only exit to the warehouse. But being locked up at the warehouse was the least of my concerns at that moment. My long thumb nail dug into my forehead in the sign of the cross. Por la se�al de la santa cruz...

Two hours went by, and so did Ruben. With the time and his prescence came rumors. It was a three-car accident, and one of the vehicles involved seemed to be a large 18-wheeler.

"There were cars in the grass of the field across the street!" Ruben told us with an incredulous half-grin. "All up in the grass!"

It seems there were more than three vehicles after all. During break at nine, all Zalmira wanted to do was talk about death. Accidents were awful, she gushed, and she hated them. "Me dan horror esas cosas." But that didn't prevent her from going on and on about them.

And someone died, that's for certain. Four ambulances were lined up along the street, parked with their lights flashing but no sirens. They rushed no patients to the hospital. Instead, they waited silent and bright for the Justice of the Peace to arrive.

In my head, I tried to block it all out. I didn't want to look! But it was kinda hard, as it had happened right in plain view of my area. I'm on the east side of the warehouse, and it faces Jackson Road, which is where the accident happened. Like I mentioned, this accident was blocking the only entrance/exit to the UPS warehouse. I shudder now to think of it. I couldn't get out, and I couldn't get away. I had to finish my work, so I did my best to ignore all the ruckus on the street and concentrate on waybills and invoices and my aching back. But not even the pain was enough to block out the pain that was pressing against my chest.

In my mind's eye, I saw it all over again, the anguish, the confusion, the yearning for him to get up out of that casket knowing well he never would again... open his eyes... He was gone forever, and the sign of the cross was etched into my forehead again with my thumb. I pressed harder, trying to block out all thought.

"So now if you don't see Marco sitting back there... you'll know why."

SHUT UP!

I almost screamed that into the vastness of the warehouse, but it would've frightened Zalmira and freaked Aaron the fuck out. They don't know. Of course. But I kept seeing him, feeling him, saw him standing next to me all bashed in and bloody, watching me try in vain to do the job I was hired for. He smiled that dead smile of his he gets like he knows so much more than I do. I wanted to punch him away, but knew he wasn't really there. And that's what kills me, that he's not really there.

When I left the warehouse at last, at 10 'til eleven, the cops and firefighters and tow trucks were still there. I had no choice than to drive by. I did it as fast as I possibly could, which was about five miles per fuckin' hour, thanks to Ruben, who was driving in front of me and slowed down to walking speed to oogle at the wreckage. Bastard. It's all fuckin' gossip to him. It's all just a bunch of "Oooo, shit!" to him. Lose someone you love in a wreck, pendejo, see if you ever wanna hear the crash of glass and metal against flesh ever again.

He never got to see my shirt! He never saw my fuckin' t-shirts! I wore the black one to his funeral, but what the fuck does that matter?! He can't see me, can he? He's DEAD! Dead! And no one seemed to care at the time, just like none of my coworkers gave two shits when it turns out it might've been one of the UPS drivers going home that got hit and died in that wreck! What if it was Connie? Or Brenda? Or Homer? Or any of the others? What if it was the nice guy whose name I don't even fuckin' know but always stops by to say, "�Buenas, buenas!" with a crooked grin, or Joe, the driver who never fails to piss us off because he brings in his packages late? The accident happened at 7:30, approxomately, the time the drivers punch off the clock and go home. It happened right the fuck outside the warehouse! They were leaving UPS when they got hit! And all these cabrones can think of saying is that the cars got hurled into the field across the street! "Whoa, shit!" That's all I heard tonight. That, and Ivan was complaining that he'd have to take a backroad and he didn't want to because his low-riding mustang would get scratched in the potholes. At least your car still functions, pendejo. At least you're still fuckin' breathing.

Gah, I'm touchy about these things. It's 11:30 now, I've gotta go for 'Ama at her work. Just one thing before I go, though:

Padre nuestro, que estas en los cielos
Santificado sea su nombre
Venga a nosotros su reino
Hagase Se�or, su voluntad en la tierra como en el cielo
Denos hoy el pan de cada d�a, alivie nuestras penas
As� como nosotros tratamos de ayudar con lo que se puede
No nos deje caer en chisme y corrupcion, mas librenos de todo lo falso

Suyo es el reino, suyo el poder y la gloria por siempre, se�or

Solo dejeme las migajas, que con eso me conformo