by story artist Brian Andreas

Disappearing

The day he first told me he was starting to disappear I didn't believe him
& so he stopped & held his hand up to the sun
& it was like thin paper in the light
& finally I said you seem very calm for a man who is disappearing
& he said it was a relief
after all those years
of trying to keep the pieces of his life in one place.

Later on, I went to see him again
& as I was leaving, he put a package in my hand.

This is the last piece of my life, he said,
take good care of it

& then he smiled

& was gone

& the room filled with the sound of the wind


& when I opened the package there was nothing there
& I thought there must be some mistake or maybe I dropped it
& I got down on my hands & knees
& looked until the light began to fade

& then slowly I felt the pieces of my life fall away gently


& suddenly
I understood what he meant

& I lay there for a long time

crying

& laughing at the same time.