Day 276 - Graves Story

Graves Story

Matthew Ryan Fischer

Morning came, and when the fog cleared, it was revealed that three graves had been dug up in the night and the bodies had been stolen. The cemetery was large. There hadn’t been enough funds to have proper night security. The fog was just an added obstacle. There really had been no way to watch the entire cemetery.

There was an investigation, with limited success and little evidence discovered. The names on the graves were unrelated and the occupants’ final resting dates were different, so it was unclear as to whether there was any connection that way. The graves were close, but not actually next to each other, so it also wasn’t a crime of proximity.

The graveyard decided to have extra security the following night. The police had a patrol car drive by during the night, but they didn’t have the extra resources for much more than that. None of these measures mattered very much as the next night was extremely foggy, even more so than the night before.

As the sun rose and the fog dissipated, it became obvious that the slight increase in security had done little to deter the grave digger. Again – three graves near each other, but not next to each other, featuring unrelated people were robbed.

After that, everyone took the grave robberies much more seriously. A full scale investigation was launched and the cemetery added extra shifts and help. All employees were subject to investigation, but it was unclear as to whether any of them would have motivation. After the exhaustive day of examination, there was still seemingly no connection or leads as to what was going on.

That night, there was an overwhelming presence of feet on the ground. There was no way that anyone was going to slip into the graveyard and do any digging that night. On top of that, the night was clearer than the previous week. A few well-placed sentries would have been able to handle the job. Everyone else was just overkill.

After the events of the previous three days suspicions and questions and fear was running high. Permission was received and several other graves were exhumed. Three graves were dug up at first, all in the general vicinity of the six victimized graves. For each grave that was dug up, each coffin was found empty.

It was a bit baffling. Who had done this and why? It was as if this one particular area was slowly being dug up. If that was the case, for what purpose? And why had whoever did this gotten sloppy and not covered up the recent thefts as they had clearly done so before? Was there some sort of scheduling problem? Were they rushed? In the past had they been freer to take their time and cover their tracks? What had changed? Maybe things had changed and now they wanted to be caught? But if so, why? And why not leave a more obvious clue to trace them with?

Elsewhere Aldo meticulously arranged his menagerie of the dead. Some were standing, others sitting. He put skeletons together like puzzles, gluing and binding them as needed. He created patterns, filled the rooms of his home and furnished and clothed them all. Aldo made a beautiful playground for his mind to play in. He had friends and family and loved ones. There were things to do and people to talk to. He was important and well-liked.

Aldo had a home. He never had to feel alone again. He had made himself a home.

There was still an empty table, and an empty bedroom. He was still missing a wife and his eventual children. But that could come later. That could wait. He knew he had to be careful. He knew you didn’t rush into marriage or make the decision to have kids lightly. He wanted to make sure he was ready. He wanted it to be perfect. He wanted to make sure he would be a good husband and a good father. He could take his time and really make sure. He could search her out and make sure she was special, and that she was the one. Then he would slowly court her and make sure she loved him with all her heart. Then, when the time was right, he would begin his family. He had the ring picked out. He knew where he would propose. And he knew where she would stay once he found her. But only when the time was right. He could wait. He wanted to be in love. He dreamed about being in love. But he could wait. He was good at waiting. He had all the time in the world to wait. In the meantime, he had his friends and loved ones to keep him company.