25 September 2008, Mast Road.

Dottering little Edwina Amelia Matilda Morgenstern let herself down off the senior citizen's bus that ran up to Pinardville from South Main. What could be said about the small, blue haired old lady was usually impolite and often used the phrase 'raving lunatic'. She was not remarkable otherwise, wearing the kind of flower print dresses that little old women often do.

The horned rimmed glasses on her nose had been given new lenses more times than she could count, a leftover of a life of 78 years that had been full and meaningful, until the day she had lost her nerve, some 50 years before. The demntia and a few other maladies had been a welcome gift to a woman who had seen too much, fought too hard, and had paid with the life of what was to be the only child she would ever have.

Fred Morgenstern had come into her life and cared for her all those hard years after. He had been so gentle and kind, lonely like she was. Then, like all the good things had always seemed to, he died. Taken from her on that terrible long night when the world seemed to shake forever, she was the one who held him as his heart beat its last rhythm. Suddenly it seemed that the sleep had lifted again, the Dove returned to her and put her back to her task.

By now, she had long been sidelined to the life of the parish 'eccentric'. No matter, she took up the role of "Crazy Edwina" with the gusto of an angry bull in a china shop. Mostly people had ignored her, or patronized her. For all she wanted more, she knew it was better this way, to bide her time and do the thing that she had come to do in this life. She had waited, watched, and prayed for the cup to be passed from her.

And yes, the tinfoil lined hat, named after the only man she had ever loved, Fred, stopped the voices in her head. This was a big plus. But moreso, Edwina had finally had found the one who would take her place, and passed on the ring that had been a constant reminder of her own failures for the last 50 years.

It took Edwina Morgenstern a little better than 5 minutes to walk the 150 feet to her porch. She was tired, very much so, and wanted to rest. 5 steps up to the porch and she took a seat in the rocker that had been her friend these last few years. She glanced down at the finger where that itchy, ill-fitting ring had been and smiled a littl old lady sort of smile. It was finally done and she could spend her remaining time on Earth sane....finally sane.

So happy was Edwina Amelia Matilda Morgenstern on this clear Fall day, when it seemed that you could look off into eternity....

Carrie Michaelson found her dead at 10pm. Even as Edwina's dead eyes stared in a worried way at the remnants of the Good-n-Yummy Family Bakery Company, her face was finally, for the first time since Carrie had met her, some 20 years before, at peace.