Thursday, April 11, 2013

Spivvins' the Cab Driver's Resurrection (nearly)

Two people came to notice Tom Spivvins praying by Eustace. First came Aunt Alberta.

"What are you doing by my son?"

"Praying. For his soul."

"Was he so bad you need to worry?"

"At one time, yes. But after that I owe him, and I owe him the prayers."

"And that ... kind of ... I don't know ... sign you made?"

"The Sign of the Cross. I am a Catholic."

"Oh ..."

"Tom!" bawled a man from the group who had been singing Dies Irae. Tom Spivvins turned - and so did Susan. The man had turned his back to them, but now she recognised him. It was the cab driver from yesterday. Even if the man on the ground was very like him.

"Ah, my young lady - you did get home - but only to get bad news this morrow no doubt. I felt it jesterday, when the car jerked, that something was wrong. And here is my twin brother. We were always close."

"I thought you were dead, that would have been a blow." Susan was that one moment pretty smiling and radiant for such a day. One person she had thought was dead, who was not.

"That may come soon enough. Thank you for caring about me."

"Well, I guess I owe you that after your standing up for me last night."

"No one could have done it otherwise and called himself a man afterwards!"

Even if the figure was not very Christ like, as physical stature goes, she felt as a little reminder of ... an empty stone table she had seen in Narnia. And an empty grave some had seen in Palestine nearly two thousand years ago. She nearly forgot to add "if that is true, now" ...