Lorem Ipsum: The Aloysius Angelasia Archives (Chapter 38j)

I don't know how long I had been standing there staring at my reflection in the shattered mirror of the bathroom in the rest stop on the way out of Florida, but I do know for sure that I stared each version of me down in hopes that one of the "me"s in the mirror would speak back and give me guidance to get me out of the shattered state I was also feeling on the inside.

None of the reflections did anything other than return my gaze with the same damaged, albeit determined, look.

I thought I was alone -- both Mattie and Gator were outside in the car in the parking lot that had been empty when we had pulled in.

From back beyond the urinals, I heard the distinctive flush of the commode.  A door opened up and out walked a familiar face.

"What's your problem, kid?  Do you think you're the only one who didn't get a happy ending?"

Mario was all tensed muscles and deliberate motion as he approached me.

"I'm on the run ... just like you ... except only I've got a sister who is trying not to die while we up and relocate."

I couldn't believe that we had both ended up at the exact same rest stop at the exact same time as we fled Papa Kalfu.  For that matter, I couldn't believe that he hadn't reacted to the sound of the mirror when it shattered into pieces when I had touched it.

I stayed silent while he continued his lecturing.

"You know -- the best laid plans and all that shit.  They went astray.  We went astray.  But that's not the end of the story."

I was hearing his version of a motivational speech, and it was working, for the most part, considering the source.

"We go on.  We survive.  It's what we do -- it's what YOU do.  Stop wallowing ... and start surviving."