The whole room glared. Its smell, its taste, its sound, its look, and Ilsabel could swear that the plastic seat she was stuck to in the humidity of the restaurant, was glaring in a throbbing beat. She rest her head on her hand and looked with weary eyes through her dark brown bangs at the neon clock on the wall, taunting her with its backwards numbers and anti’clockwise twitch. Making it simultaneously seem like no time at all and millenniums had passed since she arrived with her daughters and boyfriend. Since she began counting the backwards seconds since the fifth party was supposed to have arrived, but didn’t. The aroma of burning onions and the glow of the neon OPEN sign scorched at her eyes. Merely the onions. Merely the sign. She’d be damned before she cried over her sister again.

Across from her was her bouncing little monster, Snow, jabbering non stop about nothing really. Snow was like a tinier wilder version of Ilsabel herself. Both had dark wavy hair and cappuccino skin, Snows hair was shorter and tufty and her skin was darker from being outside all the time. She was the only one talking at the table, but since she had learned how to string sentences recently she wouldn’t stop. Ilsa secretly wished she’d shut up. Next to her, her elder daughter, Rose, sat quietly humming and tracing a simple blessing spell in the fog formed on the window from the hot steam on the grill inside and the cold chill of the rain pouring on the street outside. She took more after Darius than Ilsa, but mostly she looked like Ilsa’s sister. Both of whom had albinism.

“Hey!” Snow shouted shrilly, standing up on the seat and staring at Rose, “Don’t be such a doofus! Once the fog on the window goes away the sp—.”

Darius sitting next to her threw up his arm covering her mouth and forcing her back down on her butt. Ilsa turned quickly to look out across the diner. No one else was there except one chef who was grill hamburger patties and watching television out of the corner of his eyes.

“Quiet Snow you’re the doofus not knowing when to shut your mouth—.”

“Rose!” Ilsa snapped tiredly, “Snow what have we told you?”

“But she was the one—.”

“I was only playing Snow!” Rose snapped, “Nobody would have noticed and it wasn’t gonna do any harm—.”

“Both of you!” Ilsa started, “You’re both wrong… look we can talk more about this at home, but for now could you just be nice and enjoy being out and having dinner together like a family.”

“When is your family getting here?” Snow whined, “I wanna meet Aunty-Aunty-No-Face alls ready.”

“No Face?” Ilsa asked her daughter, staring at the pouting face.

She sighed and stared over the table, Darius’ deep-set green eyes met hers from under his loose blonde curls.

He spoke softly, “Hey girls, why don’t we go and uh, put some songs in the juke box.”

“Awesome!” Snow shouted tumbling off the seat as Rose crawled over Ilsabel.

“Thanks” she mouthed to Darius.

He just nodded and smiled, “Its no problem, babe.,” before he got up and followed the two little girls over to the Juke Box sitting dejectedly in a corner next to the cash register.

Ilsa slumped down in the seat when buzzing from her purse sounded. Her heart skipped a beat as she reached in it for her cell phone. “Hola Marisol,” she spat into it before she even looked or asked to see who it was that was calling.

Through the background fuzz a voice replied back in Spanish, “Please don’t be like that Bella.”

Ilsabel stood up and went towards the back of the room to the woman’s bathroom quickly exchanging looks with Darius on the way, “Marisol! You know I wouldn’t be so fucking angry if you’d only have called earlier if you were going to be late. Where are you?”

Ilsa picked her way over spilled paper towels on the floor to lean up against the graffiti scratch stall.

“At a bus station—.”

“You must have just gotten here then… look tell me the address and I’ll go pick you up right now,” Ilsabel sighed in relief, nervously waiting for it to be shattered.

“You don’t have to come get me…” came a sheepish reply.

“Listen after the hell you put me through every day I don’t know where you are taking a drive through the rain will be relaxing,” Ilsa smiled to herself.

“Well you… um…” Marisol stammered through the other line, “You… I don’t want you to go out of the way just for me, okay.”

“Its not an issue Marisol,” Ilsabel asserted, “Look you do want to see my daughters right?”

“I… Si, of course, but—.”

“Well they want to see their tia; My youngest called you Tia No Face today… and…” Ilsabel swallowed quickly, “I want them to see you. Damn it, Mari I want to see you.”

“I want to see you too Bella,” came a weak reply, “But… I can’t”

Ilsabel bit her lip, “No you don’t, Marisol, not this time. I don’t care where you are I am picking you up and bringing you home—.”

“You can’t!” Marisol started, “I mean you can’t…its… Look I’m no where near you, I’m not in Michlanta, I’m not even in the same state—.”

“Que!” Ilsabel shouted, “Why not! Look don’t even tell me why. I don’t want to hear it! Listen this is the last time you let me down—.”

“You don’t understand! It was important!”

“It’s always important!” Ilsabel shouted, “More important than your family. More important than your own life. Now I don’t want you calling any more! No packages, no letters, not one fucking postcard! Got it! The only way your talking to us is if your standing right in front of us.”

“You can’t ban me from contacting you guys,” Marisol protest over the phone, “I know you Bella, you won’t move and you won’t change your phone number.”

“Doesn’t matter!” Ilsabel yelled, “I… I … I won’t answer the phone and… I’ll burn anything you send us and not open anything. You don’t even care about us so why should we care about you!”

“Look, I wouldn’t want to miss seeing you for the world, but… I… I’m being followed. So please don’t ask me to put you guys in danger. Just don’t deny me the right to hear from you guys. Besides, what if I send you fireworks?” Marisol pouted in the other end.

“Damn it don’t be cute, especially not when your lying right to me. I’ve given you too damn many chances and you’ve disappointed me every time. And this is the last time!” Ilsabel took the phone away from her ear and turned it off.

She took a deep breath like she’d been holding her breath the whole time and slid weakly against the stall to the floor

“Ilsabel! Wait I—,” but the phone was already hung up and Marisol was just shouting at a dial tone. Marisol grabbed the hold of the top of pay phone and slid the receiver back on it. She put her hands to her lips and brushed back a white strand of hair that had fallen loose from her long fish-tail braids. Shaking, she looked out the blurry glass of the phone booth at the street with buses lined up in the rain. She turned and leaned against it staring now up at the fuzzy Yellow letters of the bus station.

A soft humming hiss blew the hairs on her neck straight up, ‘Marisol…’

“Jesus!” she cried out stumbling over the duffel bag at her feet and hitting her head down against the glass in front of her. Twisting quickly around wincing from the pain, she saw the floating haze behind her laughing with out its mouth moving. The guardian’s mouth was the only thing decernable left in the mist, smiling in the cloud, laughing, but not moving.

“You! Que! This isn’t exactly the best time!” She spat in Spanish at the figure.

‘Oh Marisol…’ it crooned mockingly as the flustered girl pushed herself up on her feet and glanced frantically out the windows to make sure no one could see her talking to what would look to them like nothing, ‘You know I can’t remember any of your living tongues…’

‘Whatever!’ Marisol replied angrily in the spirits language, ‘its not like you can’t understand it!’

‘I always find it… so amusing… that…’ the figure laughed floating in circles around her, ‘You don’t even know… what language… you yourself… are speaking…’

‘Who’s asking you! Its not like they sound different to me, so it doesn’t matter now does it!’ Marisol snapped leaning back in her old spot, ‘Why do you always have to bug me when I come here?’

‘Why…?’ it choked swirling to a stop no longer smiling, ‘Alas… you yourself can see… how I’m fading…. It won’t be long now… before I… am no longer able to exist in this plane. The people… they’ve forgotten… me. And soon no one will remember who… I am. And when… that happens then—.”

‘You’ll forget who you are and be sent to the After world. Yeah. I know. So go cry me a river,” Marisol muttered keeping an eye out at the people coming off the bus, “I thought that was supposed to be the whole good thing about dying.’

‘Yes…’ It mused, ‘But I like guiding the departed souls…’

Marisol didn’t see the whole point of this, ‘So do I if it weren’t for you guys ragging on my ass all the time about it—”

‘I suppose you’ll want to take my job…’

‘What?’ Marisol defended.

‘But it isn’t like… you don’t do it…’ it shudder about resigning itself to float about the ceiling making the mist glow from the dim light, ‘already…’

‘Is this about that bum’s spirit?’ Marisol defended craning her neck to look at the gaurdian, “I was just bored! I swear!’

‘Yes… No… I know…’ It muttered over her head, ‘Really… this must be the last time… It is our job and we must be the ones to do it…’

‘Even Grandma admitted that there were places on this Earth where even she couldn’t go to! That only the living and embodied could go to!’ Marisol retorted.

‘Tell me... Marisol…’ the spirit murmured softly getting close to her ear, ‘Have you found any such places…’ Marisol pursed her lips and crossed her arms but stayed silent, ‘No… do you even understand what she meant… by this… I don’t think you do… How could you know the nature of these things? When you haven’t even tried understanding your own nature and the nature of your powers?”

Marisol gritted her teeth down hard, ‘I understand better than any one else alive. And I’m the only one who can do anything about it.’

‘Really?’ The spirit mumbled in shock.

‘If your just here to bug me about that I’ve heard it all before,’ Marisol said pushing the door open.

‘You really shouldn’t try guiding again… without permission… you know what… we could do… to you…’

‘No! I don’t’ Marisol retorted annoyed closing the door and shutting herself back in, ‘Tell me exactly what you would do.”

‘What you don’t want to be…’ the spirit teased, ‘Surprised…’

‘Ugh, All you guardian spirits are the same! You never let me in on anything! Anything!” Marisol shouted in frustration, ‘I think that I deserve to know things—.”

‘Why? Because of your abilities…’ the spirit continued, ‘You are a cocky one. But as you can see… I’m really… neither… lucid… or in the position… to tell you such things. You see… you’re the only living person alive… who still believes… in me. That is why I must see you every time you come here to visit your… family… That and you are most intriguing… Tell me girl… why you only get so far…’ he began winding slowly down and curling over the telephone, ‘as here when you come to see them?’

‘Shut up!’ Marisol screamed, ‘You have no right to talk about them!’

‘Who’s talking of whom…’ the spirit said dripping like heavy fog down the corners, ‘I merely was wondering aloud of you… You see I think I know why… It is because you don’t remember what its like to be with the living… to be alive.’

‘I’m standing here breathing and your… your disappearing for god’s sake!’ Marisol exclaimed furious, ‘Don’t tell me I don’t know what its like to be alive.’

‘Even if you did see them… your loved ones… you wouldn’t know how to act… you wouldn’t even enjoy just being… and being with them…’ the spirit continued as it pooled around her ankles, ‘You always did prefer the company of spirits, wandering and lost… you can’t stand the living can you?’

‘Shut up!’ Marisol repeated herself getting slightly flushed now with the palest tint of pink, ‘Just because I’m the only one who knows of you doesn’t mean you know who I am!’ With that she pushed the door open and threw up her bag over her head and ran through the rain to the ticket window sitting below Tall blue painted letters ‘MICHLANTA East’