The man glanced over his shoulder and darted down the alley. Russell stood alone for a moment watching him, and wondering, knowing deep down inside that he had once known this man as a boy. He followed on behind, unsurprised to find a small bookstore hidden in the depths of the alley, kept away from the sight of Gentiles. Russell pushed open the door, hearing the clear tinkle of a bell, and stepped inside the musty store. He took in the floor to ceiling shelving, filled with religious tomes and papers, and then moved towards the back of the store to where the man sat quietly at a scholar's desk.
"Avi?"
The man smiled; pleased to be recognized for he knew he had lost the gangliness of youth many years ago.
"Mr. Quinn. I'm pleased to meet you again. How is your son?"
"He's good. He wants to be a lawyer like me when he grows up."
"And you? Are you well?"
"I'm fine." Russell looked away before continuing, momentarily embarrassed. "I read your account of what happened... to Abby. It still seems so far-fetched and yet..." He cleared his throat. "And yet no one has provided a better explanation for why the world seemed to go to hell for a while, and then for it all falling so deadly quiet the moment my son was stillborn."
"He was the Seventh Sign. The first child born without a soul... until Abby offered her own life for his."
Russell sat down on the stool placed close to the desk.
"She was never very strong. Always strangely despairing of the world. She tried to end her life once but I found her in time... though I always wondered if she might have resented me for saving her life that day."
"No. She loved you, and she wanted to give you the greatest gift any woman can give... a child."
"I love my son... I do... but I still miss her so much." Russell turned to scrub away the tears burning in his eyes. When he looked back, he gave a shaky smile. "I'm sorry for not coming to see you long ago but I just couldn't... It was all so fresh and..."
Avi stood up and came round the desk, and Russell could see old eyes in the still young face, understanding how the events from twelve years ago must have affected a boy on the cusp of full manhood.
"I do understand. You had much to grieve for... and a motherless son to take care of."
"If it was true what you wrote, then was it worth it? The cells are still filled with the innocent asking for justice... and Death Row has another prisoner making one last appeal for life." Russell took a deep, ragged breath. "We are still playing God with the lives of others."
"Yes... but the playgrounds still resound with the joy of childrens' laughter -- our psalm of life. For the Guf... the Hall of Souls... is filled and we have all been given a second chance to find the right path."
"But will we find it this time?"
"I don't know. Maybe... but without Abby's sacrifice there would have been no second chance." He laid a hand on Russell's arm. Russell looked into the dark eyes, seeing his grief reflected there, but also seeing a measure of peace and joy.
"I knew her but a short time... but the love you gave her was enough to give her hope and love for the whole world. All her fear and despair disappeared in those last moments of her life. She is at peace now... and she has found her place in heaven."
Russell stood up and walked to the door, followed by Avi. For some reason, the tinkling bell reminded him of the sparrows, and he wondered if each chime announced the arrival of a new soul on Earth. He turned on the threshold and reached out for Rabbi Avi's hand, feeling the strong fingers in his.
"Thank you. I'd like to come back again... and talk about Abby."
"I'd like that too."
He took several steps along the dark alley but stopped as he heard Avi's voice. "You are a good man, Mr. Quinn. Don't be a stranger for you will always find a welcome here."
At the edge of the alley, the peace and solitude became lost in the cacophony of sounds from modern life, but as he walked along the busy street, Russell drowned out the sounds of machines, pausing at the playground. He sat down on a bench and listened, a smile forming as he heard the sound of children's laughter.
THE END