Bartholomew stumbled very slowly into the main bus station. He knew that he could not take the bus and still keep his promise to Aurora, but he was so tired and hungry and he thought maybe someone in here would give him something to eat. He walked through the station like a ghost, and he may very well have been a ghost because no one paid any attention to him, almost as if they couldn't see him at all. He could not help but pause in front of the case holding the Virgin of the Guadalupe, and he liked to think that she could see him and was even smiling at him. He felt a little stronger and continued his trek around the station.

Upon one of the seats in a corner of the station, next to a sign that talked about pyramids, Bartholomew found Angela's sleeping form. Completely surprised at his discovery (what were the chances?), he bent down close to her and watched her face as she slept. She seemed so calm, so untroubled. He smiled at the unconscious smile on her sleeping face. A great sadness came over him as he thought of the troubles in his own life, and how his troubles had caused so much trouble to the people he loved. Part of him wanted to wake Angela up and playfully suggest that they go back to Frazetta's and order that pizza she had talked about. But he knew it was too late. He knew that he didn't have much time left and he wanted to get as close as he could to his goal. Still, if only she would wake up -- maybe she could think of a way to save him. She had seemed so happy to see him the first time they met...

Slowly, very slowly he raised himself back into a standing position. He stood there for a minute longer, listening to the sound of the people rushing by inside and the buses rushing by outside. He thought of everything he had seen in his life and the best thing he could think of out of all the things was Angela's smile. Yes, even better than Van Gogh's Sunflowers. A thought flashed through his mind of that day when he escaped from the black and white darkness into the light and color that was to fade again much too quickly. He had always wanted to go back to that museum at some point, but he never did. And he knew now that there was no chance that he ever would. He closed his eyes and tried to remember his childhood and how brief it had seemed in the grand scheme of things. And then he slowly headed for the large glass doors at the front of the station.

By the time Angela woke up, a little while later, he was gone.



THE END