Chapter 3

"Can you believe this?" Bill grumbled to the cat that was sprawled out on Bills bed. "Raining again. I'm sick and tired of all this damn rain." As Bill stared out into the downpour, he saw a large crow fly up to the roof top garden and land next to an old woman sitting under an overhang watching the rain come down in sheets. "Strange old woman," Bill mumbled to himself.

As he was looking out over Calloway, he saw a young man running along the sidewalk. All of a sudden he saw the man lose his footing. As he tried to catch himself, the young man stepped out into the road. It all seemed to go in slow motion for Bill. He watched as the aspiring boxer tumbled head first out into the street and was plowed over by bus 52.

Suddenly, Bill was no longer in his apartment watching this grisly scene play out before his eyes, but back in Italy during World War II. He saw his brother again. Standing before him just like he had been on The Day. Young, strong, full of energy and life. This all came crashing down as Bill remembered seeing the bombers materialize out of the low hanging clouds over the small village. There was noise everywhere. Bill ran for the nearest house, hoping for a miracle. As he dashed through the door, he turned to help his brother in after him. He was'nt there. Terrified, he looked out into the street and watched as his brother tripped over a piece of rubble. Thats when the bomb hit with a flash of white and an earsplitting bang, Bill's world had come crashing down.

Bill found himself on his knees sobbing. It had been years since he had had a flashback to that terrible day. Slowly, Bill pulled himself off the floor. As he looked out the window, he saw the paramedics arrive. With a cry of pain and sadness, Bill pulled the vlack curtains around the window shut and sank back to the floor with tears streaming down his face.